Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

"Is- Is it over?" Aegir asked slowly and then was startled when a Beast leaped for his jugular.

"Ngh!" with a groan of effort, Carleine leaped onto the Beast's back and stabbed it in the head, turning it into a Grey shadow before its attack could be successful,

"Judging by the fact that you were only seconds away from death, I'd say not," Carleine told Aegir solemnly.

"Thank you Miss, but I assure you, I had it all under control," Aegir told her with a respectful bow and a smile before gripping his sword tight and getting hack to killing Beasts and commanding his Crew to do the same.

With such obvious finite numbers, it would not take long for all the roaming Beasts to be killed but everyone on the scene was quickly in awe of Evian's work rate that spike up even more.

It was like he had not been affected at all by his altercation with the massive Beast and how he had needed Zayda to come to his assistance- He just ran all over the battlefield, cutting down as my Beasts as his Spear could hit.

He delivered the killing blow to the last of the Beasts and as he absorbed the Quadi-Eldritch essence it had to offer, he felt a wave of ease blow all over everyone as Aegir grinned and repeated a statement he made a bit prematurely earlier,

"Is it over?"

"It is, Dear brother," Haegis said, "For the first time in over a month, the Knights of Kalkoa will get to rest at night."

*CHEERS!*

The sound of celebration erupted among the Knights of Kalkoa City, led dutifully by their Captains but Evian's ears were mostly shut off to all these as he directed his thoughts to his assistant,

'Update?'

[You currently have 35 000 Quasi-Eldritch Units]

'Convert-'

[Converting...]

[Conversion complete...]

[You currently have 0 Quasi-Eldritch Essence...]

[You now have 700 Soul Points to be added to your previous balance of 1050 Soul Points...]

[You know have a balance of 1750 Soul Points!]

"Tch," Evian said out loud in a mumble, "Just Seven hundred? I'd get that easily with Seven Third Order Knights. What an absolutely unfair exchange."

"Evian," Zayda called to him while he was receiving weird looks from Kalkoa Knights standing close enough to overhear his mumble,

"May we have a word as we head back to the Baron's Manor?"

Evian thrust aside his annoyed frustrations, and gave her a bright smile,

"Of course."

Now that the Beasts had been dealt with, and the portal had been closed intentionally for the first time ever, the whole host of Knights set off in return to the Manor. Evian and Zayda walked side by side so she had a chance to talk to him,

"So," Zayda started, "You were right."

"It would appear so," Evian said with a nod, and before Zayda could raise a brow at how he was taking credit for a situation he could not have possibly known would play out exactly like this, Evian looked to the side at her,

"Couldn't have been without you."

Zayda nodded confidently,

"So, that's it..."

"Hmm," was all Evian said with furrowed brows.

"That Beast-" Zayda started slowly, "I heard what it said."

"Hmm," Evian said again.

Zayda frowned,

"It might have acted with animosity but it spoke to you with a strange kinship and now that it's all over, I'd just like to-"

"Over?" Evan asked, "Who said this was over?"

Zayda blinked,

"I closed the Portal. I slayed the Beast. It's over."

Evian shook his head solemnly before his grey eyes stared pointedly forward with an intense focus,

"I regret to inform you Commander, but it's not over," he said in such a clear tone that Kalkoa Captains such as the Aegir and Haegis brothers looked over with concern but even then he continued,

"If we leave now, we'll just be dooming this City to continued attacks.

This is far from over."

-

-

•••

Quasi-Eldritch Essence...

A sub-essence that's merely a piece from a creator...

Even though the Beast Zayda killed was larger, stronger, and possessed attributes that the smaller roaming beasts did not, when it died, what Evian had felt from its flaking shadow was Quasi-Eldritch Essence. Stronger than the units he got from the smaller beasts and definitely packing a much more beneficial exchange rate but Quasi-Eldritch essence nonetheless.

Something nefarious was at work over the City...

Evian like everyone else has no idea why but he at least knew they had yet to eliminate the source.

"There'll likely be another attack tomorrow night," he said and although no one wished for such, they should take it seriously either way.

Zayda left him as soon as they arrived at the Manor saying she had to confer with the Baron but stating she and Evian still needed to continue their talk. The fact that he was so attuned with the energy that powered the Beast she claimed she had sensed his kinship with in no way helped his case but Evian was glad to have that temporarily thrust aside.

He went into his room alone, stripped, and took a soak in the bath, sighing multiple times in disappointment that this single night's Beast killing and Quasi-Eldritch Essence gathering had not gotten him where he wished to be.

When he stepped out, his body covered by a robe, he paused as he realized he was not alone.

Long hair down her back, -a back that was barely covered and was shown off in all its smooth silky glory- an ass so wonderfully rounded even while planted on the soft foam of his bed...

"Evian Stygian, you said?"

... Baroness Karenssa was quite a sight to behold as usual.

"Baroness," Evian said slowly as he put down the towel he had been using to dab his wet hair, "This is quite the surprise."

Karenssa looked back at him with her usual sultry smile,

"We have only seen each other one other time but you don't have to be so formal."

"I apologize," Evian said with a jovial smile that caused her to chuckle,

"Oh stop. You're doing it again."

"Is there are reason you are here?"

Evian had never truly disliked the presence of a beautiful woman in his room and he was not about to start right now. That said, there was something that just bothered him about the Baroness- So much so that he was trying his hardest not to let his emotions get so quickly swayed.

Karenssa was not planning to make that easy.

She stood up from the bed and turned around to walk over to Evian,

"The Knights are rejoicing about the end of such a long ordeal and in all the merriment, I managed to get a few of them to recount what they witnessed... What they witnessed from you."

Evian raised a brow but said nothing even as she got closer until she was only a foot away. Her scent, arousing as it was, was so close and so-- noticeable.

"They spoke of how you fizzed across the battlefield, cutting beasts left and right..."

"Everyone was like that," Evian said humbly, "It was either that or get overwhelmed by the massive horde."

As he spoke, Karenssa raised a hand and placed it on his chest, pulling aside the closing halves of his bathrobe to best rub her hand across his pecs in a blatantly lascivious motion,

"Hmm, but it doesn't matter if everyone was the same," the Baroness said, "It was YOU who caught my eye after all."

Evian chuckled mostly to himself as he gently grabbed her wrist,

"Very forward."

Karenssa thrust out her tongue slowly, licking her upper and lower lips while she raised a leg and wrapped it around Evian's to pull herself closer to him,

"You don't like?"

"I am partial to being the one to pursue my prospects but I do not object to being wooed or in your case, Seduced."

"Good," Karenssa said while nodding, "It would be such a shame for you to resist but really, how could you? Who in their right senses would turn ME down?"

The Baroness pulled closer, her lips inching closer to Evian's until he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently urged her to lean back,

"For how long have you been with the Baron?" he asked gently.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Karenssa asked, her hand still rubbing Evian's chest.

Evian shrugged,

"I was just curious."

"We celebrated our first anniversary three weeks ago."

"Oh so a Year then," Evian said.

"A year?" Karenssa repeated with a frown, "Who said anything about a year?"

"You said-"

"I said our first anniversary," Karenssa said and when Evian still appeared confused, she clarified further, "We celebrated our first full Month as a married couple three weeks ago."

Evian opened his mouth to express just how much of a misleading sentence construction that was but he was interrupted by rapt knocks against his door,

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

"Evian," Carleine said from behind the door, "Are you awake?"