I decided to greet Oeyne in a fun way. A wave of my hand, and the mana gathered around her, which rushed into the metal lying around her, turning into chains to clamp around her arms and legs.
I was ready to stop if she actually panicked, but her response surprised me. “Finally, you’re here,” she simply said, showing that she was very quick to recognize me.
“Wow, what was quick recognition,” I said as I chuckled, approaching even as I made the chains turn her toward me, enjoying her beautiful face. She said nothing, just opened her mouth happily as I kissed her, her arms still immobile.
“I recognize that shoddy technique to bypass the need for proper forging everywhere,” she said, her smile cheeky.
“Oh, really,” I said as my hands slipped to her hips, enjoying the way her expression shifted as she caressed her ass through her leather pants. “Someone is looking for another reason to be punished.”
“A-another,” she stammered, surprised at the statement. “What do you mean, another reason?”
“Well, you didn’t realize the Eternals are using you as bait for their trap. I think that deserves proper punishment, don’t you think?”
At first, a flash of panic went through her face, but the moment I tightened the chains around her body, the flash disappeared just as quickly. She recognized that, if I could feel free to tease her, it couldn’t be too serious. “Yes, punish me,” she whispered. “I deserve it.”
“Whatever I want?” I asked.
“Whatever you want…” she responded, her voice begging for it.
“Good,” I said as I waved my hand, and suddenly, her chains melted, and she ended up on her knees … a great loss, considering her physical abilities were much greater compared to the amount she had when she still had the System.
Her own form of spark seemed to be improving her physical capabilities far more than I expected.
“W-what,” she stammered, shocked.
“Since you’re happy with any punishment, you don’t mind waiting until we deal with the Eternals, do we,” I said as I presented my hand to help her stand up.
She slapped it away. “You’re a right bastard, you know that, right?” she grumbled, her frustration only made me chuckle more. It was amusing to see Oeyne focus more on her pleasure than the danger … but hardly surprising.
Oeyne was an excellent, passionate blacksmith, but apart from that, she only had her pleasures. Those pleasures were only gambling and alcohol before we met, and sex was added after — no doubt because she never had someone who could properly dominate her as she enjoyed.
Ultimately, however, she had very little concerns about the strategic aspects of the world … so, even the mention of an Eternal trap didn’t faze her. She was clearly happy to take clues from me without even questioning the exact status.
A dangerous combination of trust and carelessness.
No wonder the Eternals were able to find her.
“So, tell me everything that happened,” I said, happy that, finally, I had a choice to question someone about the events of the attack. Helga and Mariel were unable to answer that question since both had been unconscious due to the situation.
“Should I start from the battle,” she asked. I nodded, and she started giving an extended breakdown of the battle itself. Apparently,, Mariel had displayed a very effective battle performance before she had been taken down by a mysterious artifact and disappeared … which was probably used by the crown prince.
Helga had fallen about the same time, while she was trying to build a ward to defend them.
“Then, the princess dragged her away, but I wasn’t able to pay much attention, because it was when I felt some kind of energy flooding me. It felt weird, like the satisfaction of completing a very complicated set of armor … but at the same time, flames of a volcano.”
“The technical term is Divine Spark,” I cut in.
“Sounds fancy,” she answered. “Anyway, as that hit me, I felt distracted for a moment and lost connection with the System, but for some reason, I got even stronger.”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t enough,” I suggested.
“No, not even close. The enemy was simply too crowded. I was near the walls, and I managed to get away, but it was a close call,” she said.
“Any idea about the rest?” I asked.
“Some of them,” she said. “I saw the librarian getting captured by a few robed figures, but before I could go help her, they teleported. I don’t have a clue who they are, though.”
“Most likely the Eternals,” I answered. “And, even if they are not responsible, I’m sure they know who. The other?”
“I remember seeing the princess on top of an emerald dragon, but when the same robed figures appeared them, they disappeared through a multicolored gate…” Oeyne explained.
Not exactly bad news, as it implied they were able to avoid being captured. The problem, I had absolutely no idea where they might have been.
The princess had the ability to conceal herself with Darkness Spark, and Janelor was a dragon with the ability to travel through the Primordial Aether unaided.
They might be anywhere, and I had no clue.
“How about Cornelia and Marianne,” I asked, knowing that she was familiar with them thanks to Helga keeping everyone connected after my disappearance.
“They, I have no idea,” Oeyne answered. “Marianne, I don’t have the slightest clue … but I remember seeing some kind of battle where one side had been using a lot of flame attacks. However, before I could go there, it had been gone, leaving behind a scorched waste.
I asked several follow-up questions about the situations, but unfortunately, Oeyne was not a mage, and the information she could provide was extremely limited in this context, even with all the follow-up questions that we asked.
“I think this is the best we could get,” I finally admitted as I stepped asking questions and waved my hand, creating a large couch to sit on. There was no point pushing Oeyne with too many questions and ruining our reunion. Ultimately, she confirmed that Janelor and the princess were likely in good condition, and gave a clue about the potential location of Titania. Combined with her own safety, it was far better than I could have hoped.
It was frustrating not to have any clue about my lovely healer and angry fire mage, but at least, even with our connection diminished, I could feel that they were alive … just like I could feel Aviada was still alive.
Not ideal, but still far better than some of my fears.
I sat down on the couch I conjured, and Oeyne followed, hugging me tightly. “So, what’s the plan now?” she asked.
“We need to stay here a while and understand the plans of the agents around us. For now, they seem to be happy to stay in the background while searching.”
“But why?” Oeyne asked. “They are so strong already. What exactly could force such a strong organization to stay on the defensive?”
“The other members of the same organization, of course,” I answered. “It’s clear that not all of them are willing to support whatever experiment that was going on with Mariel. It can be to our advantage.”
“How exactly?” Oeyne asked as she hugged me even tighter, showing that she was less concerned about my answer, and more about enjoying our closeness … a bit too much, even, her body rubbing against mine subtly yet steadily.
I acted like I didn’t notice her ‘subtle’ trick.
“We’re going to force their hand,” I said. “I’m going to leave —” I started, and her arms immediately tightened, and returned to the town officially, acting like I had managed to get away from the hands of the fourth prince. Since one of their agents is already talking about going to the side of the second prince, it’ll give me an excuse to deal with them.”
“Interesting,” Oeyne answered, which was hardly a compliment, considering her expression was already getting glazed, and one of her hands sneaked down her shirt under her leather apron, unbuttoning her shirt.
Somehow I thought that she was being subtle. No wonder the Eternals easily found her after her escape.
“I know. Challenging them directly has some dangers, but it’ll work. Though, maybe I should just go and challenge them one by one to show them my power,” I followed up, deliberately giving a nonsense answer.
“Whatever you think is the best,” she said as she pulled her hand under her apron, her dusky caramel cleavage looking far more alluring.
Under different circumstances, I would have punished her even worse … but after such a long separation, I decided to be merciful.
“You’re really pushing your luck,” I said as I grabbed her hair, pulling hard.
She just moaned enthusiastically, and I sealed her lips with another kiss…
{Strength: 115 Charisma: 115
Precision: 115 Perception: 115
Agility: 115 Manipulation: 122
Speed: 115 Intelligence: 151
Endurance: 168 Wisdom: 122}
{Purified Divine Spark: 1.147,577}
{ADDITIONAL SPARKS
Twilight - Chosen 30
Nature - Chosen 10
Knowledge - Chosen 10}
{GODDESSES
Elven Goddess
Goddess of Knowledge
Twilight Archangel}
