Chapter 1075: Chapter 1074: Bascra (1)
Chapter 1075: Chapter 1074: Bascra (1)
By the time I returned to Anput's chambers, the Death Jackal Hera was already waiting for me, her body almost completely concealed beneath the loose, black cloth that she wore, alongside that veil that covered her face, leaving little for me to judge at all.
I had no real idea if she was a futanari or a woman, and I also initially didn't even know she was a she since she was - again - completely concealed, but her voice was certainly feminine enough to answer that question for me.
Still though, even if she was a woman and even if she was someone the Sultana trusted with a myriad of tasks that were requiring confidentiality and the ability to put aside her emotions, I wasn't going to let her walk into Anput's chambers and see the state of which I left my three women in, so I stopped her as she was about to open the door.
"I'll go heal them; would you mind getting the jackals ready for the ride? We'll be out in a few minutes tops, alright?"
Hera paused and stared at me for a few moments before handing me the vial of red liquid, the elaborate glasswork and vibrancy of the liquid inside making it abundantly clear this was an important and expensive concoction, and that was only solidified as she said "Only a drop per person; any more than that and they might over heal themselves, which can be... dangerous."
When the vial of 'Scarlet Veil' was in my hands, Hera disappeared without another word, the only trace of the Death Jackal having been here being that slight lingering scent of oil that was used to keep blades and armor from rusting, which I had to admit... it was something that made me appreciate Hera just a little bit more.
Letting that thought drift away, I opened the door and returned to the bedside of my three lovers, each of them looking much better as they cuddled together in their sleep, giving me a moment of pause as I felt a bit bad about having to wake them up, especially since I knew they weren't feeling the best right now, not after what I had done.
A part of me was happy that they were still in 'pain' from that, and that part of me was swelling up somewhat as I looked them over, but the vial in my hand felt a little heavier as I did my best to ignore that swelling.
Uncorking the Scarlet Veil, I carefully allowed a single drop of that vibrant liquid to splash onto Anput's face, the tanned Jackalkin furrowing her brow as the potion began to do its job, a 'veil' of mana covering her skin and worming its way into her flesh as it started the healing process, working alongside the spell I had maintained beneath to get her to normalcy.
I kept an eye on her as I dripped some of the potion onto Leone and Kat as well, cancelling my own spell as the Death Jackal's warning of 'over healing' someone flashed into my mind, but it seemed my spell either wasn't strong enough or that the potion itself was far stronger than I anticipated since nothing bad happened.
If more than a single drop was considered a threat, and I had a vial in my hands that easily fit a shot's worth of liquor, I wonder what would happen if you drank this entire thing... and why do I have a feeling that they had learned what would happen through some definitely not so shady testing..?
Either way, if they trusted it to work on Anput, I trusted it to work on everyone, so I didn't worry too much as I corked the vial back up and waited for them to begin to stir, all while I began to get everything else ready for us as I tossed together some decent clothes for them, grabbed our armor and weapons, and made sure that we had everything else we needed like some of the potions we picked up and other small things.
Anput was the first to sit up, her 'damage' from last night far less drastic than everyone else's since she had been targeted only for her mouth, much to her surprise last night, but as she sat up and rubbed at her jaw, her bleary eyes tried to focus on me as she muttered "That was... pretty... interesting."
The Jackalkin didn't even try to dodge the clothes I tossed her, letting them drape over her head as she just yawned and stood up, giving her aching body a stretch and shuffling over to me as she asked "So... while they take their time to wake up, can we..? Y'know, I wouldn't mind giving you some more oral, but I really want my brains railed out right now..."
I rolled my eyes at that as she took the clothes off her head and yawned again, only for her to blink a few times as I said "Later. We're heading over to Bascra to kill a Tza Fiend. Get ready.", the Jackalkin needing a few moments to figure out what I said before making her way back to the bed to sit down, mulling it over whilst also repeatedly poking Leone's and Kat's chests. "Bascra..? That's not that far, but another Fiend..? So close to the last one..? Weird." "Bascra and Khidan, actually. Two at the same time, but your parents are heading over to Khidan to take care of that one. We're taking the Fiend at Bascra, and a Death Jackal is coming with us, so get dressed."
Anput continued to rub her jaw after Leone and Kat sat up, the two women rubbing the sleep from their eyes as they both muttered "Fiend..?", only to wince slightly as their clothes smacked against their faces, just like Anput had.
That red mana veil that shimmered on their skin was disappearing with each passing second, the potency of the potion making itself known as they all stood up and opened their eyes completely, showing almost no signs at all of what happened last night, and as more time passed, they even had an abundance of energy as they moved efficiently, though Anput and Leone really had an abundance of 'energy' too...
"What did you do to us? I'm not complaining right now, but if we have to leave right away, this is going to be an irritating trip..."
Anput smacked herself softly as she raked her eyes across Leone's body, the two sharing a heated gaze before turning to me as I held up the vial, my Jackalkin wife sighing as she muttered "Scarlet Veil... damn."
As we got to putting our armor on, she answered the obvious question that was about to leave Leone's lips, as well as the question that was lingering in my mind as well as she said "To put it simply since I only know of it simply - it's a healing and stamina potion that is made from really rare, potent flower that blooms in the wellsprings beneath the desert. It heals all wounds on your body, places your body in a nice little cocoon of healing energy that doesn't dissipate for a few hours, and give you an even nicer boost of adrenaline and energy to get right back into it. Since we aren't in danger right now, that adrenaline and energy is being diverted to something more biologically productive..."Nôv(el)B\\jnn
"Like reproduction... fascinating. It targets certain workings of the body on its own... though they are rather intertwined... fascinating indeed... and rather... um... potent indeed too, that's for sure..."
Leone was blushing hard as she tried to hide herself from us all, though thankfully for her the robe that Kat tossed her was better than the dress I had given her originally, so the Vampire changed swiftly and managed to hide that part of herself for now, much to my displeasure.
The chatter slowed down as we finished gearing up, and within a few minutes of them waking up we were heading outside to get onto the jackals and head over to Bascra, where another
fight awaited us.
"Any idea on why these Fiends are coming out at the exact same time, Cali? Should we be worried about the world at large right now, or..?"
Kat spoke to seemingly no one, but as the pink skinned harlot appeared and began to float alongside us with no issue at all as we began to ride, we all glanced at the Arch Fiend and listened as she replied "Kinda, I guess. The little ones are full of piss and vinegar after being locked up for decades, if not centuries, so most are just yearning to exact vengeance on the mortals that 'wronged' them..."
She tutted a few times as she stared up at the sun, her snakes hissing softly as if agreeing with her as she muttered "It's too damn hot...", though she seemed to sense my impatience when dealing with her as she continued on, waving her hand theatrically.
"Most of the ones making a splash are the little fishies that no one cares about. Little hungry guppies hoping to find a morsel to eat, not realizing that they are the morsel themselves. Right now, the world is unprepared for our return, but if there is one thing that all of us Arch Fiends agree on - even if we want to vomit when we say it - is that you mortals know how to adapt really quickly to any kind of threat.
Human's especially, since it's engrained into their very being, but all of you are tricky and cunning pricks. This first wave will be disastrous for the unsuspecting and unprepared, but in a month or two? Don't be surprised to hear that those sexy hunks like Batu or whatever his name was have somehow participated in killing a Fiend. And if they get really desperate... maybe we'll see a couple of mortals crazy enough to feast on the Fiend's they kill~? Mm... that'd be fun to see~! I just cannot WAIT for what is to come..."
I glanced at the Arch Fiend and frowned at the maniacal grin on her face, wanting nothing more than to shout at her to explain more, only for her to vanish just as suddenly as she appeared, though she left behind not only a cloud of sweetness, but also the ringing sound of her not so soothing laughter.