Path of the Slayer B3 46. Dreamers & Killers

I slowly made my way over to Sharia and Zez. “Your thoughts, my Veterans?”

The ratkin Bard remained curled up in his wife’s lap and unresponsive. He was definitely gnawing on something cheese-related and had lost himself in it.

“Can we adopt you into our family?” Sharia asked, the housewife reaching out to grip my arm gently. “You wouldn’t have to worry about cleaning a thing if you can cook for us like this every now and then. I’m great at cleaning.”

I shook my head. “That time passed years ago. But perhaps we can find a more friendly and earnest footing after we finish the Royal Quest?”

Sharia licked her full lips and gave me a beautiful, toothy smile.

I could see why Zez had fallen in love with her. In another life, if I hadn’t met Melody, I might’ve sought a half-orc Raider wife as well.

“I can tell what’s happening with my Domain,” she said throatily. “The power boost I’m getting from this … it makes me feel like I can fight a Legendary twenty Levels above me. If they’re Epic, maybe even forty Levels! This is crazy.”

“Enjoy.” I turned to everyone. “Also, please thank Grimmy. She’d assisted me for a long time to get this done correctly. Quite frankly, I think it’s safe to say Grimmy has elevated herself beyond what any of us would’ve imagined when we first forged this squad. It’s only fair to recognize her as an equal among myself and my friends.”

Grimmy gasped, breaking her knightly bearing. The juniors turned and clapped for her as Noodles and Redfang shrieked, “Elder Grimmy! Elder Grimmy! Elder Grimmy!”

Thumper gestured for me to come over while the shouting, shrieking, and screaming continued. I joined him on his side of the table as the half-giant leaned over.

“I think I know what you are,” he whispered. “But if you’re that guy. If you’re him. Then we have to move quickly after we complete the Royal Quest. We might have to skip the library city and take a week to get lost among the Realms.”

I looked into his open silver eyes and saw genuine realization and worry. He would know because of his background, wouldn’t he? So, I gave him a nod, confirming such.

Thumper slowly straightened in his seat and looked wide-eyed at his plate. Then in a low voice, he muttered, “Oh my freaking System, you’re actually him. Holy crap, it all makes sense now. This is so nuts.”

“What’s that, Thumper? What is it now?!” Merlin shouted from across the table. “I swear on the System, if Arden has any more surprises for me, I’m going to go on a private excursion to find my own super protagonist secret, too! I’m the damn Diamond Castle Tournament Champion, and that means squat around this guy!”

“Wait till you try my souffle,” I said, my smile like the cat that caught the canary.

Merlin shook his fist at me until Syleth snatched up his attention again by shoving more food into his mouth. The two of them moaned in pleasure, though that only led to Merlin being outraged again. Syleth took it upon herself to redirect his attention again with a deep kiss followed by another scoop of the feast.

It was safe to say the Diamond Castle Tournament Champion would have his attention occupied henceforth.

“It’s strange, but I feel like I’m going to go off and live a greater life after a meal like this,” Brug admitted, the half-orc grinning, his eyes filled with a new light. “All my life I thought I was too dumb, too slow, too weak as a Raider. But today, for the first time, I feel capable of anything. Even if this feeling doesn’t last, it’s there. It means something. When I raise my family, they’re not going to just have a father, they’ll have the greatest version of me!”

“You think I can have friends and be happy?” Noodles asked, her feline ears twitching, her knees tucked into her chest. “Yeah, I’m a psycho. I know I’m messed up. I’ve been ready for you guys to kick me out or slit my throat and just end me. But you keep treating me as one of yours, and … I love that. I’ve even changed my … fixation … to accommodate you all. Maybe I can keep that going instead of relapsing. Maybe I can be on my Path of the Tormentor and not be a bad person?”

“I might give myself wholly to Velira,” Weaver admitted, leaning bodily into his lover’s side. “While her attempts to court me have been so desperate, it was laughable, she’s quite sincere about the whole thing. I’ve been afraid of doing so because … well … frankly … she doesn’t compare to a grand drider duchess. But she makes me happier than I’d ever believed.”

“I’m going to find a husband who’ll love me for me and raise a big family,” Marnarka swore. “And I’m going to do it with … confidence!”

“I’ll be that husband!” Brug roared.

“I’ll … I’ll be excited to see you court me, then!” Marnarka replied with a free-flowing thrill.

“I’m great to be around, and people like me!” Redfang cheered.

“We do like you! And you are great to be around!” Velira added. “And I like you too, Noodles. And I’m in love with Weaver. And I’m just so happy to be here!”

“We are truly blessed,” Kroker said quietly, his hands held in prayer. “Truly, truly blessed.”

As the squad overflowed with open emotions, Grimmy shuffled over to me. “When do we get to eat?”

I leaned down to whisper. “Give it about ten more minutes. Then we’ll take a few plates and eat somewhere else. There are a couple of things that we know that might slip out if we get a little too … caught up with the feast.”

Grimmy nodded along and waited. Then, when it seemed appropriate for us to eat, we took our plates and smoothly went into another room. The others didn’t seem to mind, knowing that I had secrets and Grimmy was aware of them.

I took a bite of some honey-glazed cheese and nearly collapsed to the floor. Oh yeah, Slayer Feast was a game-changer.

The power swelling inside me was immense. My soul felt like it was spiraling like the core of the world.

Grimmy’s Oath shone so brightly it was like a constant solar flare, the half-goblin skipping from side-to-side. She had to use her oneness even more heavily as she ate from the Slayer Feast. Her reactions filled me with further joy, but my attention turned elsewhere.

To Doomie.

For months now, the doom avatar waited inside of me, staying under pressure. She remained inside, but the power of the Slayer Feast had a huge effect on her.

She became denser to an immense degree. The crushing weight of her doom that I’d successfully ignored became more present again.

I nearly let her out. Nearly. She couldn’t come out on this lesser plane of existence, or the weight of her power would reach too far.

Knowing that, I bore the burden of her increased significance until she suddenly settled down and became a more plain burden.

At the very least, the negative karma was gone. My time in the Second Portion of the Slayer Sanctum had wiped it out for me and Grimmy.

“Master, are you okay?” she asked.

I was sitting in an unrefined position against some cabinets. I couldn’t recall when that happened. “I’m both energized and weary, actually. Doomie demands a lot of attention.”

“Oh. Hm. Let me feed you!” Grimmy snickered. “Then I can use that against your wife-to-be whenever she acts naughty against you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Wife-to-be?”

“The Dragon Princess.”

“Grimmy, you’re skipping a few steps.”

She shook her head vehemently before shoving pulled pork into my mouth. It was hard to argue when the power of Slayer Feast was refreshing itself.

At the very least, I didn’t make an embarrassing moaning sound like the others did – especially Merlin and Syleth. Those two should excuse themselves with some leftovers and retire to their room.

“I’m not skipping anything,” Grimmy insisted, preparing another fork filled with delicious meat.

I still looked at her with doubt.

Grimmy yammered onward with stalwart fervor. “We aren’t like the mortals! We can live long lives and move far quicker than them. We can understand each other easier through our Path Energy, through the power of our souls.”

She fed me again, leaving me unable to respond as she continued. “We don’t need that much time or wasted effort, especially if you’re true to your real Path. That’s why we understand each other so well. That’s why you’re my master. And the way you act when the Dragon Princess is mentioned makes me think you will have her. And she’ll be a fool not to want you.”

Before I could argue, another delectable scoop entered my mouth. Damn, when did the Little Fighter grow such a backbone.

“But if that doesn’t work. I’ll help you find another,” Grimmy added. “Only the best can be wedded to my master.”

Before she could force-feed me again, I gulped and snapped back. “Oh yeah? What about you? Got a special someone in mind?”

Grimmy froze. She looked shiftily left and right. “Um. Well. Have you ever heard of gnomes?”

“I’ve heard, but never seen one.”

“I’ve seen one. They’re one of the tiniest folks. Only two feet tall. And they’re so cute. I want … a gnome husband one day. Or a gnome wife. I don’t mind either.”

I gave her a flat look. “You want to dominate someone smaller than you, don’t you?”

Her expression became smooth and unreadable. “It’ll be a nice change of pace.”

For the rest of the day, the entire squad feasted, rested, and spent some time deepening friendships or fulfilling their romantic needs. The next day, we took a different tower to go further down. We rode all the way to our destination on Merlin’s Dragon Gunship, granting me enough time to meditate while fully armored and prepared.

We worked out some last details until everyone knew how things should start. There was one particular change in our plans that took me by surprise. This came from Thumper after I explained how a soufflé related to the Spirit Blaze technique. 

He was going to be out of the fight mainly.

But he might gain a breakthrough with the Spirit Blaze technique … so … I told him to focus on that.

Then we reached the floor ruled over by the Embassy of Defilement.

The doors opened out of our way and revealed a dark and tainted land. The smell was foul, the most foul I’d ever experienced.

Other than the smell, there were Rankers serving as guards at the tower’s exit. Unlike the ones above, the guards were Rank 5 and heavily mutated by their defilement.

Two dozen of them turned at once toward us, each of them smiling, if they could smile. A defiled half-gnoll stepped ahead with a disjointed lurch and an open belly filled with gnashing teeth.

“Welcome, Arden the Nomad and friends. The great masters and mistresses, the ultimate gods and goddesses, the lords and ladies of the Embassy of Defilement have been waiting for you. They’ve been preparing for you. Would you care for a most friendly escort?”

The defiled half-gnoll woman took another lurching step closer. Her smile was monstrous, contorting her entire head as if it were made of rubber.

“It would be a grand time. We can talk about our lords and saviors, the Defiled Covenant.”

The BOOM from my Epic Rank 5 Lever-Action Arm Cannon was enough of an answer. The speaker’s head burst apart into defiled bits of skull and brain matter.

[You’ve slain a Rank 5 defiled half-gnoll!]

With a flick of my right arm, I spiraled the black and red arm cannon around, working the lever – or what Thumper and Merlin called the ‘Judgement Day Reload.’

Clack-Clack!

The spent shell exited out of the side port. A new shell entered the chamber from the under-tube, a genius design that cut down time spent on loading shells one by one between shots.

The magic involved was also simplistic, more of an enhancement for the mechanics and the weapon’s integrity. Despite that, it was still an incredibly deadly weapon, hence my first kill on this floor.

“Baron Foundling sends his regards,” I said as a follow-up.

The defiled Rank 5 guards screamed at us before rushing in. More of them appeared from the twisted woods and from around the darkened hillocks.

It was nice of them to give my squad a warmup.