Greed God chapter 82

January 27th 2016 Under Gotham 12:00 PM EDT

Zee  was so jittery from the supercharged cum I'd dumped up her ass she was  twitching like a junkie on a caffeine high, and as much fun as the sex  was, I didn't feel like listening to her jittery, too fast voice change  topics three times a sentence. I made a mental note that apparently  taking magic cum up the ass made people like Zee lose it. I guessed it  was like the Homo Magi version of butt chugging. My appraisal confirmed  it easily enough.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Zatanna  Zatara- D ranked Homo Magi. A powerful sorceress with an unquenchable  thirst for magical knowledge. Zatanna is willing to do basically  whatever is necessary to delve further into the mystic arts. Currently  intoxicated by the power granting effects of lifestorm wyrmkin semen,  this Homo Magi is capable of incredible feats of spellwork and the  ability to tap into massive reserves of magical power.]

I  was pretty fucking shocked pretty little Zee was a fucking D ranker.  I'd just been seeing all sorts of terrifyingly strong people lately.  Still, it wasn't an insurmountable gap. Zee's power was all mystical,  and physically she wasn't any stronger than a normal person. I could  still fuck her into submission when it was time, but I really did want  to try to corrupt her first. I decided any progress I made when she was  cum drunk would be a waste of time though, so I let her wander off to do  more tests while I headed off on my own.

Since  I lacked the magical skills to understand literally any of what was  going on with the ritual nonsense I couldn't keep going, but I wanted to  try checking out the site of that first ritual again. I was pretty sure  if I messed with it someone would show up to check what was happening,  and without Zee there to play nice for I could kick the shit out of them  and take them hostage for info. Drench was supposed to be this big  bad's go to guy, and he was F ranked like I was, so I should be able to  handle any random thug that came to check on things.

I  retraced my steps from the entrance to the market easily enough,  finding my way along with my perfect memory to the spot where the  symbols were engraved on the stone. Once I got there I grabbed a piece  of rebar and smashed it into the rock where the sigils were resting,  expecting to fuck up the spell easily enough by breaking the material it  was cast on with a big piece of metal.

Contrary  to my opinion though when I brought the rebar down on the stone the  entire fucking array of symbols just...shifted slightly. It literally  moved out of the fucking way. I stared down at it in annoyance.  That...that was bullshit. Magic was bullshit. But it was fine, I just  had to figure out some other way to break it. I needed advice. I could  have called Zee, but I suspected I'd get a migraine from listening to  her talk right now, so I consulted a source a little closer to home.  "Hey, Crassus, any idea how I can wreck this spell?"

[I  mean, I wasn't much of a magic user, I had people who did that for me,  but I can probably think of a few things that could mess it up.  Destroying spellwork is easier than making it obviously. The easiest  possible answer isn't complicated though. Tear it apart with your claws.  Your new lightning shield ability can interface with magic.]

I  blinked. That was true. I forgot about that. I guessed wyrmkin claws  were the kind of magical nonsense that would fuck up spells too. I  shifted my hands, getting ready to tear into the stone, but I paused  before making the actual attack. "While I have you, do you think this is  a good idea? Because I'm having second thoughts about wrecking a super  powered magic ritual to attract the attention of a mysterious force  behind it. It seems like it might be risky. Any advice on how to  proceed?"

[You're asking  for my advice? That's a new one. I approve. Well, I don't think the  core concept is too foolish. You've considered the power level of the  force in question, or at least who they're likely to send, but I do  think you're going about it wrong. My suggestion is to put on your mask  and regalia. Your Mantle of Raiden is powerful, but it isn't invincible.  An extra layer of security is always a smart call, not to mention the  anonymity of your mask.]

He  had a point. Not only that, but the masks secret keeping abilities  would make it more feasible for me to wreck the thing and hide to scope  out whoever came. I didn't have to wait out here like a dip shit and  leave myself open to attack. I could scope out whoever came to check and  see if they were an enemy I could handle. Then assuming I was strong  enough I could just jump the bastards. Worst case I had the Babylon  Candle for escaping, though I hoped I wouldn't have to waste the damn  thing.

So I headed back up to my  car, busted out my Mammon gear, and once I was wearing my mask and  regalia I made my way back down to the magic site and popped my claws,  tearing through the stone with one swing. I expected it to be easy, but  there were sparks of electricity as they made contact, and I had to  struggle a bit to tear through the magic holding the ritual together.  Interfacing with magic let me attack the thing, but I had to actually  have the strength to tear it apart. Luckily this was a small ritual and  it was easy enough to break with some effort, but I'd have to watch the  power level of spells I tried to take apart in the future.

Once  I saw the red flash of the spell coming apart and the suddenly once  again burning symbols flaked away into a puff of ash, I darted off to  the side of the tunnel to step into the shadows, focusing on the  Plutonic Veil and it's ability to conceal the secret of my identity. I  pushed a bit, trying to conceal my entire presence, and I felt a drain  as the mask was able to funnel some of my dense life energy into magical  power, using the item itself as a focus to work my will.

It  wasn't fool proof. I could feel that. It was only G ranked, and the  effect was more one of obfuscation than concealment. If they were  looking for me they would find me, but they wouldn't notice me  otherwise. Hopefully they would take the lack of people for granted when  they didn't see anyone on arrival. To help the magic of the Veil along I  stood motionless, doing my best to blend into the shadows as I waited  for someone to show up and take a look at the ritual I'd busted.

I  stood motionless for what felt like hours. I knew realistically it was  much less time, but the human body isn't really designed to remain  absolutely statue still for long periods of time. It was probably closer  to thirty minutes before I heard the sound of someone coming down the  tunnel. A light flicked over the space around me, missing me by virtue  of my mask's ability. Once it passed above me I hear a curse. "Damn it. I  told you we took too long getting here. They're gone. Now we don't even  get to kick some ass for the inconvenience."

A  man stepped into view. Well, I say a man, but a male would be more  accurate. A male demon to be exact. Or at least someone who looked like  one. I knew better than anyone that looking like something didn't make  you that thing. Sure, he was red, and had horns, and smelled of  brimstone, and his eyes appeared to be flickering with fire, but there  were plenty of explanations for that. I appraised him.

[Appraisal  function activated. Treasure detected. John "Jack" Cassidy- G ranked  Demonkin. A hardened criminal empowered by the Arch-Demon Neron, John  Cassidy, who goes by the name "Jack of Fire", is a dangerous pyrokinetic  magic user who is often an enemy of the magic based hero team known as  the Shadowpact. Currently in service the mysterious entity employing  Ivan Drench along with the rest of his team, Pentacle.]

I  winced. Well, shit. Demons were a thing apparently. Hopefully if there  was an actual Mammon he wasn't an "arch-demon" whatever the fuck that  was. I didn't know what a title like that implied, but I was pretty sure  it didn't belong to anything I was eager to fuck with. A second voice  caught my attention. A pretty female voice  specifically. "Yeah, well, you don't always get what you want. He said  he wanted us to fix the break in the ritual layout, so we fix it. Maybe  next time you dumb assholes decide to wake a primordial mystical evil  you'll listen to me when I say it's a bad idea." A pretty redhead in a  tight red dress stepped past him, half of her face covered in a white  ivory mask. I appraised her too, just for good measure.

[Appraisal function activated. Treasure detected. Strega-  G ranked sorceress. A skilled and ruthless neophyte sorceress who  dabbles in curses and necromancy, Strega has long since renounced her  birth name, selling it to dark entities to enhance her abilities.  Notably older than she appears, Strega is the resident blood magic  expert of Pentacle, and a wanted killer with a taste for human  sacrifice.]

Interesting.  Another magic user. I didn't note a mention of the employer they were  talking about,but then again, that wasn't exactly necessary given that  the first appraisal noted Pentacle as a whole were serving whoever this  big bad was. I was also starting to get really pissed off about the fact  that I couldn't get a name for whatever this thing was. My only real  guess was that things that were powerful enough needed to be appraised  directly to get details on them, which was it's own kind of worrying.

Strega,  who had a pair of very jiggly milky white tits absolutely spilling out  of the front of that low cut dress leaned forward, giving me an  unintentional eyeful of big fat magical jugs. I didn't know why female  magic users were all so stacked, but I made a mental note to try and  make inroads in the mystical community. I was an ass man first and  foremost, but I had nothing at all against a nice fat pair of milkers.  She started scrawling symbols on the ground on a new spot, clearly not  bothering to recast in exactly the same place, though she was definitely  trying to get close.

Jack  of Fire glanced around in obvious annoyance. "Do you think he's  watching us right now? I feel like I would notice, but with someone like  him it's so hard to say for sure. Fuck! I hate admitting when you're  right, but we really fucked up with that ritual. Who knew he would press  us into service. This is bullshit. We're elite criminals not a fucking  city restoration committee." He kicked a rock, hissing in annoyance.

Strega  finished her ritual and stood up. "Agreed. But he has us over a barrel.  Luckily it's a figurative barrel this time. I have a demon brand on my  left ass cheek to prove that sometimes they're a bit more literal." She  brushed off her red gloves. "And I wouldn't worry. He has better things  to do than watch nobodies like us. If we decided to disobey he wouldn't  need more than a passing thought to end us. Now, since we finished up  the job lets get out of here. I need a fucking drink." She turned and  headed off down the tunnel.

I  waited until they were gone before moving, tracking them back down the  tunnel as I pulled out my phone. Knowing they were out of earshot I  dialed a number, and when Jade picked up I smiled into the phone. "Well  hello there kitten. How have you been lately? I had some questions about  a villainess who runs in Gotham circles and I thought my pretty kitty  might have a decent idea where I could find her." I wanted to check in  with Jade anyway. I didn't have time to convert her more thoroughly  during all this though, so all I said was. "Text me anything you can  find on a woman named Strega." I had information to get on this big  boss, and I was curious what a demon brand looked like anyway.