Genetic Ascension

450  One More

Sunniva didn't seem to think that it was enough. Even Sylas' expression twitched somewhat as his tongue began to do things to Nosphaleen's toes that most wouldn't even do in bed, let alone without their consent.

Nosphaleen blushed with one part embarrassment and another part arousal as she felt Sylas' gaze.

"… I would stop her, but it's best to allow them to embarrass themselves as much as possible. The cognitive dissonance avoidance will stop them from breaking free in the future and it'll make things easier on me. Otherwise, it would take too much stamina to keep them under control, especially for this woman who had decent Will, comparatively speaking."

Sylas nodded in understanding.

It seemed that Nosphaleen, too, used a combination of hard and soft tactics.

There was a reason why cults started with their more palatable beliefs, and only when their new recruits were in deep would they expose their harder-to-accept ones.

Part of tricking humans into subservience, or any Race at this point, was making them trick themselves.

The more embarrassing Sunniva's actions, the more likely she would be to justify it in her mind later, allowing Nosphaleen to release the reins bit by bit until Sunniva kept herself under subservience.

It was a terrifying ability to be sure, but when Sylas saw Sunniva's tongue creeping up Nosphaleen's leg and then further up her thigh, he shook his head and turned away as the warrior woman's head disappeared into Nosphaleen's skirt.

"Let me know when you're finished."

Sylas turned and left.

Different Races obviously had different cultures. Although Nosphaleen had seemed embarrassed, the fact she was willing to do this meant that she was, while more reserved than many of the other members of her Race, quite used to actions like this one.

He was finding that his body was feeling more and more… heat these days, so in order to keep his mind clear, it was better he not witness it at all.

Plus, he had to make sure that there would still be no one sneaking up on him.

Still, he was Sylas Brown, after all. He couldn't help but analyze things.

'Sunniva is a woman, so this would likely be embarrassing for her. Unless she was a lesbian or bisexual to begin with, that is. But would a man feel the same embarrassment in doing such a thing for a beautiful woman? I wonder what different approach she would use if I needed her to charm a man… 'Maybe embarrassment isn't the right word. You need to trigger cognitive dissonance. You could easily find something you could force a man to do in bed that would trigger something like that…'

There was also a part of Sylas that obviously realized that Nosphaleen enjoyed this. She couldn't hide her anticipation at all.

So there was no telling what approach she would take with a man.

Either way, so long as it was effective, Sylas didn't care.

Nosphaleen would be a valuable tool for him.

…

The process didn't take long. In just ten minutes or so, Nosphaleen called Sylas back from his patrol to the scene of Sunniva curled up by her lap like an obedient kitten.

Sunniva seemed to have even been healed somewhat, though only in part. Regardless, the look in Sunniva's eyes said she would rather die than allow any harm to come to Nosphaleen, which was perfect.

"Would you like to use her?" Nosphaleen asked a bit sheepishly, almost as though she was offering a bite of food.

Sylas gazed at her.

A normal human would probably feel disgusted by her words. But he simply wasn't a normal human.

"There's no need. Just tell her to answer my questions."

Nosphaleen nodded. "Answer whatever he asks you."

"Yes, mistress."

It was mind-numbingly easy. She was obedient to the point that it was creepy, and she practically purred every time Nosphaleen touched her.

Although it was a bit odd, there was no doubt that Nosphaleen's methods were more than effective.

'Her second Gene Talent is Siren's Call… I wonder if her Race is related to the legends about the Sirens of Earth. If that's the case, then a lot of this would make sense.'

The odd part was that Siren's Call wasn't much of a Charisma-type technique. Or rather, not in the normal sense. It allowed Nosphaleen to have strong control over water-type Aether, which was why the Frostbane Armor would work well with her. As for whether she would be able to deal with the poison aspects, only time would tell.

It wasn't long before Sylas got information about all the checkpoints and was ready to set out.

But that was when Sunniva said something that caught him off guard.

"Repeat that." Sylas said.

"… There's a strong concentration of Ravenclaws near the Congolian Portal—."

"No, before that."

"We opened up a portal—."

Sylas raised his hand and made Sunniva stop, his gaze flickering.

Why did these two situations feel so similar?

The Multi Quest wasn't just about gaining control of the Evergreen Territory. It was also about stopping the Aether Plane and Earth from intersecting on points that would be bad for it.

The Evergreen Territory was a region in near perpetual winter. By comparison, the Congolian Portal exited right into a rainforest not much different from the Amazonian Wilds other than the fact that it was of Earth and not the Aether Plane.

Now, Sunniva was telling him that Ragnar had opened the portal there on purpose?

If before, he had been questioning whether or not the Ravenclaws were traitors, now he was even more certain.

This sort of malicious attack against Earth that seemed to be helpful on the surface… wasn't it exactly what that professor, or the man Cassarae would call a "limp-dicked bastard," wanted to do with the seas by York City?

If it was just one aspect, it might be a coincidence. But he had already been speculating, and now this felt…

It seemed he had more than one reason to crush this wing of the Ravenclaws.