Harem of Moms and Milkers

Luciella and Asdel circled each other in the middle of the devastated prayer room. One fought under threats of losing her child, and the other fought for freedom. Neither one of them could give up without a fight, not after committing so much.

Luciella pressured Asdel using her superior range. She shamelessly rampaged to chip his aura down, but stepped back whenever he was about to close the gap, not leaving him the slightest hope to retaliate.

“Raaaah!” Asdel got smacked on the head and lost his temper. There was nothing more infuriating than getting harassed from out of range. Even with Soul Mind, his adult self couldn’t keep his composure.

“You still get angry so easily. You’ve never had much discipline.” Luciella chuckled.

They couldn’t be more different. Luciella had always been cold and calculating, while Asdel was a temperamental goblin.

A fleeting memory came back to her mind. She played with baby Asdel, lifting him up to the sunny sky. It wasn’t her child, but she loved him with all her heart. It was a bright and joyful time. Asdel helped her overcome the depression of giving birth to Luke, the child of her tormentors.

She taught him everything she had. Even though he was too young to manifest all his skills, he still absorbed all theories like a sponge. She even helped him to refine his own ‘light weapon mastery’ after Loreley had taken him away.

But that was also the reason why Asdel would never win against her. She was confident in her victory, even if she couldn’t recover the energy needed to perform an exalted skill. She could beat him with eyes closed with only basic attacks!

’I’m sorry, Asdel, but I will take you with me.’ Luciella struck his guard and narrowly locked his sword in grapple.

“This is unfair! You’re much heavier and taller than me.” Asdel barked.

She smacked him on the head again. “Who are you calling heavy? Did you see me whining while I fought the boss to save you? You’ll face many creatures with higher reach than you.”

He gnashed his teeth. ’Easy to say when you have a blessing to overcome that gap!’ Compared to her full arsenal, he only had Cloudsplitting Ascent equipped for this fight.

’Right, I only have that martial art!’ Asdel wagered everything on a move that wasn’t part of his soul arsenal.

“I said you were a big, fat-” His head shot backwards before he finished his words, narrowly dodging Luciella’s vengeful strike. Provoking the timing of her strike was only the beginning.

The chips were down. Very soon, the next wave packet he had queued shortly after the first evasive move would reach his head and propel him forward. It was the blind leap of faith. Whether his forehead got smashed by a counter or he slipped through her guard was left to destiny.

Everything happened in a flash.

Asdel’s shortsword was stained in blood, and Luciella collapsed with a deep wound on her leg.

Her eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, shocked by her defeat. 'Ah, you've grown so fast since the last time we fought.'

A pendant fell off from the nun’s damaged inventory space, revealing a family portrait. It slipped on the floor and broke.

Asdel threw his shortsword and ran off to Luciella.

[+10 favorability with Luciella (47/100)]

The nun lowered her head, hiding her teary eyes. ’Are you still concerned with me, even though I pointed my blade at you?’

“Teacher! You didn’t have any aura to protect yourself?” The discovery startled Asdel. He didn’t realize that Luciella was exposed to fatal hits since she tanked quite a few blows from Vicar Cortel until recently. ’Oh, devils replace aura and ki with demonic energy. She lost all her resources after her devil transformation wore off.’

“Did you think I was holding back for your sake? I would have finished you with a single Profaned Edge if I could. Even so, I didn’t expect you to actually win.” Luciella crawled to her broken pendant and sighed. She was unable to put any weight on her injured leg.

Asdel fetched his bag and treated his teacher. “Why don’t you tell me more about your kidnapped child? Maybe we can work together to rescue them?”

“My late husband died trying to achieve this very task. I can’t involve you in such a dangerous quest. I don’t even know where my daughter is.” Luciella grabbed Asdel’s medicine and bandage to treat herself.

“Oh, so it’s a girl? Is she cute?” Asdel asked the important questions right away.

“I haven’t seen her since she was a baby.” Luciella smacked Asdel’s head.

They sat next to each other, watching the unsettling scene of corpses slowly disappearing into Amaranth’s mouth.

“I won’t take you to the Rigard Liberation movement.” Luciella finally spoke.

She felt suicidal lately, wearing herself down for the devils and the church. She was stuck in a deadend for decades without any hope, and her only idea of escape was to give up on everything. But Asdel’s unyielding will sparked something in her. She wanted to see what would come out of his wild struggles.

That's right, if she had to leave this world, she might as well go with a bang and give a blow to the devils who actually hurt her instead of leaving them scott-free. And her rebellion started with letting Asdel go.

“Is this going to be alright for your daughter?” Asdel asked.

“She will be fine as long as I’m useful to the devils one way or another. I may have failed this mission, but with my remaining lifeforce, I should hold on for another five years. What about you? You will have a hard time against the alchemy guild and the duke-bishop. It wouldn’t be surprising if you were thrown into prison while your shop gets picked clean,” Luciella said.

Even if that was the case, Asdel would rather fall into the church's hands than let Loreley become Inferno's pawn and have her experience Luciella's misery.

Asdel struck his forehead with his palm. “Ever since I was born into this world, I felt so free with countless paths standing in front of me. Now, I realize that everything led to a demise of my own making.”

“If you want a worry-free life, you only have to give up on your potion recipes and wealth,” Luciella said.

“Yeah, and to free yourself of these devil bastards, you just need to give up on your missing child,” Asdel retorted and went to wake his stunlocked companions.

She watched him leave her side with a bitter taste in her mouth. However, she had the hunch that Asdel might be able to oppose the devils, stop Rigard’s destruction, and save her daughter. ’Perhaps, if I just hold on a bit longer…’

…

He ruthlessly slapped Severine, Tomoyo, and the foxboy until their cheeks swelled. Only then, did their mind wake up.

“Did you have to hit so hard, bastard?”

“Grand elder! What happened?”

“Ugh… I feel dizzy. I swear I only took a look at- Huh? Where is it?”

The three people stared at the wooden pentagram pole.

“Hey hey hey! Don’t look, you’ll lose consciousness again!” Asdel waved his arms to cover their sight.

“No! It’s gone! Look!” Severine pointed her finger in amazement.

Asdel turned around and saw an obese slime laboriously climbing down the wooden pole. ’Holy crap, Amaranth just gobbled a giant aberration! Somehow its size isn’t as big as it should be…’

“You guys are lucky, if you had looked a little longer, your soul would have broken under the influence of insight,” Asdel said.

“Scary!! Are we going to die? Are we going to turn into monsters?” Severine screamed along with Tomoyo. They already suffered so much in this crazy rift.

“Nah, it’s fine. The influence will fade with a good sleep, don’t worry about becoming a monster,” Asdel stroked the girls.

“Speaking of monsters, that reminds me…” Asdel walked up to the altar and pushed the lid that served as table.

A chained woman wriggled like a rabid beast to escape outside, but her restraints were too sturdy.

Asdel explained to everyone. “She’s a sacrificial host like Magdalena. She takes upon herself all the mortal aspects of a believer, so that they can ascend during the ritual of Extirpation.”

Just like Vicar Cortel, the host was so far removed from humanity that she no longer needed food to survive.

“Are you going to exploit that creature too?” Severine asked.

“I don’t have any use for her, except that her blood is more potent than Magdalena’s as far as potions are concerned. We’ll just give her as a pet for granny.” Asdel found it insanely cruel to leave the sealed host in the altar, so he might as well make the lonely souls keep company to each other.

Everyone gathered at the center of the praying room, ready to leave after Amaranth looted the room clean.

…

Luciella helped the party go through the high-level aberrations. When it was time to part ways, she tightly hugged Asdel. “You’ve grown in the blink of an eye. I hope that we won’t have to fight the next time we meet.”

She left, keeping her promise to leave Asdel alone.

The party’s arrival at the library raised a little ruckus.

"Young lady! Why do you look like this?!" Chiyo dropped her ladle into a cauldron and rushed towards Tomoyo.

The whole party looked worse for wear, and their fellow clansman Haku was missing. Naturally, Magdalena and Chiyo had a lot of questions.

Fortunately, the party had a nice meal waiting for them, and it was time to take a well-deserved rest.

Asdel and his friends checked their loot.

“This leather armor is for you.” He gave the male foxfolk slave the best set of equipment from all the devils. These thugs were broke as fuck and didn't drop anything above F-rank items.

The alchemist from the guild had the most money on him, with about 800 vars. It was probably the hiring fees for the thugs to bully Asdel’s group.

The real highlight was Cortel’s drops, but they were too high level for them.

[Ceremonial Knife

Description: Made from the rib of a special existence. Change the soul of the wielder, granting the class ‘Aspirant of Insight’ to human users after accumulating enough ‘experience’ from kills.]

[Clerical Stole - Rank C

Description: Scarf that facilitates Insight arcanes. (Insight +2) Increases the wearer’s spell power.]

[Greatsword of Extirpation - Rank C

Description: A sword that disemboweled countless people. (Insight +4)

Exalted Skill: Extirpate (rank C) - Strike the target’s abdomen, removing all negative status. Physical and soul damage depends on the removed status and the target’s Insight. Small chance to spawn an aberration from the damaged mortal shell.]

“The two-handed sword would go well with Severine since it can also detonate Heroslayer’s marks.” Asdel traced his finger along the extravagant ornaments of the hilt. It was fit to be a ceremonial sword, with the jewels embedded and gold plating that would make the wealthiest noble jealous.

Severine lifted the swords with both hands with eyes sparkling in anticipation. All her focus went into circulating her aura in the blade. Beads of sweat trickled along her cheek, until the mystical glow vanished.

She shook her head in disappointment. “I can’t use that. I feel drained just holding it.”

“Don’t be too disappointed. There are ways to lower the ranks of items to make them easier to use.” Asdel slapped her back.

In the end, all the items went into Magdalena’s custody.

“So that person died? Ha! Well done!” The old hag cackled as she wrapped the clerical stole around her neck like a scarf.

[Quest: Free Magdalena

Remaining priests in Grave of Flesh: 5/7]

“But… You didn’t forget the purpose of your trip, right?” Magdalena nudged Asdel.

“We got you gems from higher ranking monsters than usual.” During the return trip, Asdel picked up the soul gems from the monsters that the Liberation group had defeated during the pursuit.

Magdalena got quite lucky when she transmuted the soul gems to gamble for items.

[Bladeclasped Sword - Rank E

Description: Templars discarded their mortal concerns through asceticism, dedicating themselves to swordsmanship. Their hands fused with their sword, and hunger no longer tempted them.

Exalted Skill: Weight of Knowledge (rank E) - A strike with the strength of four hands behind it. Damage increases with the user’s Insight.]

“Me! Me! I’ll take it!” Severine bounced around Magdalena. She was still a young, easily excited teenager.

The old hag threw it like a dog’s bone to get rid of the pestering girl.

“Good for you, you can train with two-handed swords with it before you use the Extirpation sword,” Tomoyo said. The relationship between the foxfolks and Severine was surprisingly good after standing on the same battlefield for a week and going through life and death together.

[Bladeclasped Blindfold - Rank E

Description: Templars strove to see more than what their eyes could.

Exalted Skill: Intuition (rank E) - Blocking move. It allows the user to dissect the opponent’s move, increasing mastery of the opponent's move and grants a clashing bonus against that specific move. Only a single move can be dissected at a time.]

“No one? Alright, I’ll keep it…” Asdel picked it up, since no one wanted to go blindfolded.

[Wiseman’s Akashic Record - rank F

Description: A one-time use scroll that teaches a random spell.]

Everyone made a fuss to get it. But Viola was the one to receive it after a rigged lottery made by Asdel.

“I learnt ‘Magic Drain’.” She could feel the knowledge flowing into her soul.

Magic Drain stole spellpoints from a melee target. It wasn't that great in Heroes of Wars and Wonders, since spellpoints were easily recovered from 'soul essence'.

In addition, it was dangerous to go over the maximum capacity since all energies were inherently toxic. As a rule of thumb, the more volatile and potent an energy form was, the more dangerous it was for the human body to store as is.

In the end, only Tomoyo received no reward. But she didn’t feel that it was unfair as she already had the candle spear. She would have died during their wild escape without it.

After the reward, Magdalena tended to the rescued sacrificial host. It had no real need to eat or anything, but she didn’t want to neglect it.

She released the gag ball that prevented the aberration from eating. A chilling scream and intestines spilled out from her mouth.

“Ugh…” The party walked away from Magdalena. No one wanted to take part in the taming process.

They discussed their plans moving forward briefly.

“We lay low. In a few days, I’ll go to the Lucky Slime shop to fetch the two human Tailbrush clansmen. We will take the opportunity to hoard supplies to hide in the library for a long time,” Asdel said.

He wrote a checklist for Severine. “You stay here. If something happens to me, you can start another business.”

"What are you saying? We're together in this! Who's going to protect you, if not me?" She felt excluded and wronged, as she protected Asdel pretty well so far.

"I'm sorry, Severine. I promised to train you until you could stand proudly among the Skylanders. But my schemes to get experience potions and money backfired because of my greed, so let me take care of this on my own." Asdel glanced at the Bladeclasped two-handed sword. "Besides, you need to train with a new type of weapon."

…

After their hearty meal, the only thing they wanted was to collapse on their sleeping mats.

Despite this, Chiyo and the foxfolks had a funeral wake for Haku, burning candles and paper talismans written on the spot all night.

Since it was difficult to sleep with Tomoyo’s sobbing, Viola clinged on Asdel.

“Hold on, w-what are you doing?” Asdel asked.

“I exerted myself too much for your sake.” The maid had the eyes of a predator. She was about to gobble him.

Severine also invaded his sleeping mat, but it was to cling on Viola. “Big siiis, what’s going on? Why do you hide in a box when you are so pretty?”

The situation alarmed Asdel. “Wake up, Severine! You got charmed by Viola’s curse. Use the first arcane Magdalena taught us, ‘Light of Truth’.”

Severine ignored Asdel but went along with Viola's coaxing. A blinding light surged like a ripple. The invisible influence of insight had weighed down her soul ever since she caught the sight of the nailed aberration, but it finally vanished as the price for the arcane.

She regained her clarity, and Viola no longer looked like the irresistible seductress in her eyes.

The girl tumbled back, shocked by her previous behavior. “W-w-what was that?”

Her question was lost to the wind, as Viola refused to elaborate.

Asdel brought the coffin-like box they had retrieved on their way back. “Alright, Viola. In the box you go.” He pushed the maid inside the box, but she dragged him inside in a moment of inattention.

Severine couldn’t believe the surreal situation. On one side of the library, strange sounds came out of the box, and the other side was grieving in a solemn funeral ritual. Worse, their future was bleak with their conflict with both the duke-bishop and the Rigard Liberation.

“Ah… Fuck it.” In the end, she fell asleep pretty quickly from exhaustion.