Underworld - Book 4 - Chapter 27

Standing alone in the middle of the stone pathway, I hardly noticed the drop offs to either side. Quake sat silently Indian style in the pit to my right. His body of earth and ice was so huge that his humanoid head was almost level with the platform. I was considering remaking him with more mana, but to do so to the best of my ability would require using my Light Magic buffs. There was no doubt in my mind that the dark power coming toward us already knew where we were, but in case I was wrong, or if I was being overly cynical, I kept my Light Magic in check. Even if I did remake him, I already knew he wouldn’t be any help with what we were about to face.

I didn’t trust my ever-increasing Intelligence and Wisdom stats. They were a tremendous help, but there was a danger to placing too much faith in them. My mental stats helped me process information, but they didn’t truly make me intelligent or wise. One thing they made much easier though was remembering the past with great clarity.

Lord Darius, the Head Mistress, Mistress Nava, and Xaphan had processed mana of such purity and quality that I could still feel it despite the separation of location and time. Our normal weapons, magic, and abilities just weren’t enough, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t hope.

I transformed into Fire Incubus, before immediately changing into my Rock Giant Form after it had taken full shape. Minotaur came next, then Solar Mage and back to Fire Incubus. It was an exercise to prepare my mind magic connection. Dying in the first exchange because I was too sluggish would be an embarrassing way to go.

Like flipping through a stack of snapshots in my mind, I sifted through the numerous ways the battle could go. There were countless approaches Mistress Nava could use to initiate her attack. More ways than I knew. She could have an army with her, another pet, or she may come alone. I had to be ready for anything. There was much I could imagine that I couldn’t counter but knowing which form or spell I could use to best face each situation was something I could manage. Focusing on what I couldn’t do would get me nowhere. So instead, I’d focus on what I could.

The darkness was getting closer. It was impossible to ignore. Mistress Nava wasn’t just coming to visit. She was raging toward us like a comet aiming to destroy us and all that we’d built.

“Patch me through to Master Khaba.” I said, knowing Richard would hear me.

He did so in a snap. It was probably unnecessary to even ask, but knowing he was actively responsible for our communication made it hard for me not to address him first.

“Friend Elorion.” The elder goblin said as soon as Richard connected us.

“Any updates?” I replied. “I fear she’s drawing near and any extra information might help.”

“Another scout that was near the Belly has returned. It seems clear that it is mostly likely Mistress Nava and that she’s alone. I doubt the others will be able to give more detail than that. They are trained to avoid such power monsters. I can confirm she passed through the Belly more than an hour ago. She should be close.”

I thanked him once again and returned to my preparation. I felt Aeris approach before I heard her. “You’re not changing to your human form?”

I stopped my series of transformations stopping on my Rock Giant Form. I didn’t turn to reply. “Not yet.” She’d heard the conversation between the elder goblin and me. She knew there was little room left for any doubt that the ancient succubus was on her way here.

Aeris was suddenly floating at my side in her Sprite Form.

I sunk down to Solar Mage and grabbed her hand with mine. There was enough physical substance left of me that I could still hold her even if she felt distant like a physical echo.

“So you’re going to save it?” She said. The lightness of tone didn’t match their seriousness. “Isn’t that dangerous? What if she overwhelms you before you can use it?”

“That’s what I’m worried about too.” I replied. “I fully acknowledge that I’m assuming that she’s cruel enough to play with her food before she tries to eat me. She said as much when we first met. If I’m wrong…”

“Then I’ll tear her to pieces.”

I cocked my head to the side as if to see her from a different angle. “That would be sweet of you.”

“I’m nice like that.”

I shook my head, thinking back to when we first met. “Do you think I would have had a chance with you in the world above?”

“Not a chance, Mr. ‘I do sports, so I want to fight upfront’.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You remember that, huh.” It was what I’d said to her in our introduction.

“It wasn’t that long ago.”

“You thought I was incredibly handsome right away then…”

“No.” She said it with such certainty… “You were the biggest idiot in the group.”

“Then why’d you group up with me?”

She shrugged. “You suggested food, and I was hungry.”

“So bacon is the key to your heart?”

“You’re obsessed, you know that?”

“Yes. With bacon and Wind Sprites.”

She reached up and kissed me on the cheek. “You’re such an idiot.”

“After I take care of this fat old succubus lady, we’re going to have to talk about where we’re going on our honeymoon. There’s got to be some high-end resorts in the Underworld. don’t you think?”

“We’re going to have to talk about when we’re getting married first.”

I held her with my eyes for a long moment to draw her attention.

“What?” She said.

“How about tomorrow?”

“Yeah right.” She shrugged it off as a joke.

I didn’t take my eyes off her.

She stepped back when she saw I was being serious.

“Why not?” I said.

She struggled to find what to say. “Because it’s too soon. I don’t even have a dress.”

“Then how about a week from now?”

She seemed to slink away without even moving. One obvious thing was missing though. She didn’t say no.

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow.” She said with a half-smile that didn’t leave her face. “There is so much work that goes into a wedding.”

Pulling her into an embrace, I cut the amount of mana flow to my face so that more of my human nature slipped through. “Yes, ma’am.”

She looked up at me fondly for a long moment before our current situation seeped back into her thoughts. Sighing deeply, she lay her head against my skeletal armor covered chest and stayed like that for a long time. Reminding her that we had more to look forward to than basic survival was the best I currently had to give her.

There was only one thing that could remove her from my embrace and that was the arrival of the old red-headed succubus chick. The darkness seemed to slow as it neared the borders of Sanctuary. The amount of overflowing power also dimmed to a fraction of what we’d been feeling. She’d wanted us to know that she was coming.

“She’s here. There’s no more reason to hide,” I whispered to Aeris.

She pulled away from me as my Solar Form faded and my new human form took its place. An internal light shone from me, but it was nothing compared to the glare of my Solar Form.

Aeris poofed into her Wisp Form before flying toward the mana cannon. I watched her go.

With a wave of her hand, she called. “Kick her butt!”

“Don’t’ get distracted by wedding planning!” I yelled back.

She spun and faced me with her hands on her hips. “As if. You just do your job and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“I know.” I gave her an obnoxious grin.

She darted across the gap between us and was suddenly hugging my neck.

“Should we ask her to come back later?” I said.

She smacked me on the chest with an airy palm. Leaning back, she didn’t want to let go. She looked at me like she was going to say something. Shaking her head, she must have thought better of it. Give me one last warm smile, she was gone with a gust of wind.

Turning toward the entrance of the Pits, I flooded my armor with mana so that Skeleton Titan’s Defense covered me in thick plates of bone. My tail sprouted from its place and my armor covered it as it grew to full length. With Mana Sight at full power, I waited.

“A small girl with red hair has entered the Outer Perimeter,” Richard said over the command channel. “She’s alone.”

It was impossible to forget the first time she’d appeared. She’d looked like a barefooted small girl strolling through the Underworld all alone, and not as one of the most powerful monsters we’d ever faced. 

The dreadful power she’d loosed as she traveled toward us had all but been drawn back. Her presence was still impossible to miss as she headed directly for the Pits. 

Before I saw her, I got the eerie feeling of something crawling all over my body like a bunch of playful spiders. It was strange knowing that she was there, when I could hear and see nothing. She hadn’t even entered the adjacent room when I got the first glimpse of her through Mana Sight. I’d guess she was still six or seven rooms away and yet her crimson tinted dark mana shone through. It was clear enough after a moment that I could clearly see her small dainty shape as she skipped through the Outer Perimeter. 

Here comes our friendly Underworld psychopath…

Once she reached the adjoining room, I could see her in the mana realm as clearly as if she was standing a foot away. She slowed. Tiptoeing toward the entrance, she kept up her mock performance, by poking her head out to take a peek. Her long, unnaturally vibrant red hair hung down to just a foot off the floor. I could see a glint of purple in her eyes even from across the room.

Watching her quickly pull back, I couldn’t suppress the chill that ran up my spine. To anyone watching, it would look like I was playing hide and seek with a young, teen girl. But that didn’t stop me from feeling like a box of fried chicken that was being talked dirty to by the person about to eat it.

For no other reason than to be done with the games, I called out to her while bowing my head. “Mistress Nava.” It was more respect than she deserved, but I never took my eyes off of her mana image.

She stepped into clear sight and threw her hands down in a pout. “I’ve been caught.” She replied. Instead of the skimpy red dress she’d worn during our first meeting, this one was lavender and resembled a ballroom gown. Once again she lacked shoes and had her toenails done up.

Strolling toward me, she swayed back and forth as if to some internal music. “Hello boy with the old blood. How brave of you to come out and meet me all alone. The Underworld can be a scary place.” Looking around as if to prove her point, she nodded toward Quake. Her eyes went wide in fake surprise.

When she reached the midpoint of the room, I was able to make out clearly the images that had been magically painted on her toenails. One foot depicted her pet Hell Hound in black and Waldemar. On the other, each toe had a different picture of Lady Contessa.

Noticing where my eyes had fallen, the playful act vanished from her face. “I’ve been detained for far too long.” She said rigidly. “I owe you much for what you’ve taken from me.”

Stopping ten meters from me, and about twenty from the room’s entrance, I considered having Aeris fire the Mana Canon now since she was standing in the perfect spot.

“Welcome, Mistress.” I said, once again bowing my head. “Have you come for the tour?”

A great pressure rose up from her. Even though they weren’t visible to the naked eye, I was able to see the whips of Dark Magic that snapped out from her near the base of her feet. It reminded me much of Lady Contessa, but the tendrils she’d wielded had been present for all to see.

Creature Observation gave me the same information as before.

Mistress Nava

Ancient Succubus

Level: ???

All of her Blue Magic was also still out of my reach. 

You are unable to learn this spell at this time. 

No surprise there. I didn’t bother trying to use Force Learn to try to break past her resistance. It was a waste of mana at his point in time.

“Still rude as ever I see.” She lazily lifted her hand. Her index finger flicked up and a river of power rushed out of her in a thin strand. It reached out from her finger back toward Quake. Before he could turn in response, his icy stone head was cleaved down the middle from top to bottom. A wave of power ran through him from where she’d touched him, and his head began to crumble. He tumbled over from his sitting position causing the platform to shake beneath our feet.

“Rude?” I replied. “I was going to give you Quake as a gift because I felt bad for killing all of your pets.” I had a familiar urge to hit an imp in the face. Technically, she had once been an imp and evolved into her succubus form, so it wasn’t completely irrational.

My comment caught her off guard. It didn’t look like she was used to people mouthing off to her. After a few moments, she began to laugh. “You have gall, I’ll give you that. And you’ve also grown much since I last saw you. I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you one chance to survive this. Become my pet. All that I ask is that you kill all of your friends, then come with me. You don’t have the same level of talent as my late apprentice Lady Contessa, but I’ll have a lot of fun breaking you in.”

“I’ll pass, thanks. We wouldn’t work out anyways. It’s me, not you. Besides, I’m already dating someone.”

Her eyes narrowed and nostrils flared. “Then come boy. Show me what you’re capable of. I’ll break you here and now.”

“Yes, Mistress. Eh, that’s awkward. I don’t think my girlfriend would like me calling you that. Do you mind if I just call you Nava? She’ll probably kill the both of us if she were to hear me call you that.”

She began lifting her arm again, indicating she’d had enough of my smart mouth.

Beating her to it, my tail, which wasn’t visible from where she was standing, bloomed into its Solar Mage Form. Artificial Sun flashed into existence above and behind me shining blindingly bright.

Mistress Nava redirected her hand to shield her eyes.

Even more than was normal with Mana Sight, time seemed to slow. This was it. I stood face to face with the monster that had sent us fleeing into the unknown. I felt a surprising amount of calm as I began my attack. Once this was over, if we survived, we’d finally get a chance to relax. The fighting would never end because we’d have to continue to please the Head Mistress, but marriage, kids—who knew what was possible? All I had to do was win.