Melli's Challenge

"What's it like being a demon worshiper?"

Melli's voice wakes me up around sunset. I blearily come too, and look around. Melli is dressed on the other side of the room, dagger in hand. She looks a lot less threatening with that, than her staff.

She can't cast magic without the staff can she?

I may have just been woken up, but my little rat brain is already thinking of an escape.

That's just how I was raised.

"So you know." I say slowly, getting up.

"Not hard to figure out once I saw her brand." She says icily. Looks like the six or so orgasms she had, cleared the lust potion out of her system. Geez, I felt so used. All that hard work and she turns on me now?

I nod. "It's wonderful." I say honestly. "There's a peace in knowing that when I die it won't be oblivion. There'll be a god who will claim my soul, and take me to their realm. The Flesh Fields are much like the entertainment we just enjoyed. Sex and companionship forever."

"That's not what that was." She approaches just one step. "You **** me. Did you think I wouldn't recognize the feeling? Which means it wasn't a mistake that got Kal and Car killed! You did it on purpose."

I shrug. "I didn't know you'd take it during a fight. I just through you guys would fuck while camping in the dungeon."

"No excuses." She swipes the dagger through the air. I go to shake Elizabeth awake, but Melli points the dagger at me. "Leave her alone this is between you and me."

"It's not all scarifies and evil you know. Bellowyn is about community, love and sex."

"Sex with demons." she snarls.

"Sex with everything, everyone. You know, minus children and animals. I feel like since I'm fighting for my life here, I should make that clear."

"But you'd kill for this."

"Absolutely." I say. "People of the kingdom are loyal to their nation, I'm loyal to my god."

She shakes her head. "She's an enemy of humanity, all the gods are. She was jealous of our divinity so she devised a way to **** us."

I roll my eyes. "Yes because humanity was so much better off being chaste mountains."

She narrows her eyes. "Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you."

"You don't have to do this." I shake my head.

"Wrong!" She moves forward and holds her knife to my throat. "It's my duty to humanity."

"No." I say casually. "I mean you don't have to do this threatening thing." I smile. "You can just join me, I won't judge you for having a weak will. I like you, I'll welcome you."

She starts as if struck, and backs up. Giving me some precious breathing room between my throat and the knife. "W-what?"

I gesture around the room. "You could have just left while we were asleep, and reported us to the guards. You could have slit my throat in the night. But you didn't, because you wanted..." I sigh, and stand up. "Fine if you want to be tempted by the devil, then I shall happily play that part."

She takes a step back now, as if I'm the one with a knife. "Stay back."

"The reason you shouldn't kill me, is because you'll lose your power too." I smile at her. "The mana flowing through your veins? That's me. The power in your spells? that's me."

"I was magic long before I met you." She says, putting a hand on a chair to steady herself.

"And you'll be after you kill me. A 1-star too. One in a hundred." I pause. "You're One in a million if you're with me. You'll never find another person who can give you mana like I do. You'll never find a person with The Witch King talent either. If you kill me, I'm dead. You don't get a reward, you maybe get my share of the dungeon loot of Elizabeth and Cyrus don't kill you first. That's it."

"I get rid of a murderer." She says, throwing the chair down.

"You tried to kill Cyrus." I remind her. "That was **** to me."

"He's just a goblin."

I shrug. "I await your decision."

She growls at me, and starts pacing across the room. "That's it?" She's red in the face. It's a good look. "I thought you were supposed to be some master manipulator. You had me fooled all this time. I already thought of the power argument."

"Sorry to disappoint." I smile. "And keep it down. If you wake Elizabeth up, she'll decide this for both of us."

"Don't tell me to keep it down." She looks at me from across the room. "You're the hostage here."

I sigh and roll my eyes. "Like I said you don't have to do all of this. You can just join me, I won't think any less of you."

"Join you?" She asks incredulously. "On your evil crusade?"

"Well I'm a long way from a crusade." I laugh. "But if you want to know my goal it's spreading worship of Bellowyn. More sex, more cults, more religion all around. The kingdom stands in my way so It'll either have to be destroyed or coopted to suit my needs."

"You're crazy." She shakes her head. "You think you can take down the kingdom?"

"In my lifetime? Probably not. I'm just spreading seeds, for what will come next." I shrug again.

"And I'm a seed?"

"You very well could be." I agree. "The most powerful mage in the world, would be a valuable ally."

She glares at me. "I could achieve that without you."

I nod. "Just four stars to go. Another one in a million gambit. Awfully risky when you've already landed on the jackpot once."

"I've never held this much Mana before." She says looking down at her hands. "I've got three days worth in me right now."

"And each spell is twice as powerful as it was before." I remind her.

"It's not just about mana and power. It requires a lot of study, theory."

"I'm an alchemist I understand."

She shakes her head. "I can't believe I'm going to let you go." Yes! “After all you did."

"I'm grateful."

"Shut up." She sheathes the knife. "I'm doing this for me, not you." Melli +8CP (36 Corruption)

"Well that was tense." Elizabeth yawns and sits up in bed.

"You were awake?" Mellis gasps and jumps back. "I'm a bad ass monster slayer, you think I wouldn't wake up the moment you pulled that knife?"

"You just seem like such a sloppy drunk." I say.

"Irrelevant." Elizabeth says.

Melli is shaking, no doubt coming to realize she'd just escaped her own ****. "So what's your role in all of this?"

"I'm his ****." Elizabeth sighs, tugging at her collar. "Little shit got me good when I tried to kill him." She shrugs. "I was really hoping you'd get out of all of this kid, but regardless if you tried to kill him I'd be obliged to pop your head like a cork."

Melli squirms. "Good to know I made the right decision."

"Now I didn't say that." Elizabeth sighs.

"There." I say with a smile. "We're all friends again!"