Chapter 16: ~Raid.~ (2/2)

I don't understand. Why does this other voice in my head sound so vengeful and full of hatred? Is this really me?

My vision blurs into a tunnel and then my outstretched hand closes around the blade of the descending sword. And stops it! My eyes must be as wide as Mom's and the swordsman's. But while theirs show utter surprise, I feel my face distort in hatred and anger. They hurt my family!

A twist and the blade breaks. The man jumps backwards, as if fearing me. My hand moves so fast, it's just a blur of motion and the broken blade flies at the man.

His hand blurs too, deflecting the projectile with the guard of the broken sword. But that's what the other me wanted! The action brought his hand back into reach!

My left hand closes around his wrist and yanks, pulling him back into my embrace. My right arm moves up and around his neck, taking him into a headlock while my legs snake around his torso. A muffled scream is all he manages as my arm applies more and more pressure. He struggles, but I am so much stronger!

See? They already break just from a gentle hug.

My body arches and pulls at his head while my legs keep his torso firmly in place! The head detaches, spine and all! There is so much blood! I never knew there could be so much blood! The bad memories from my fight with the goblins come back alive! Why are my past lives so brutal?

I want to scream and forget what I just did! I killed a person! Not a goblin, but a person! A living, breathing human being!

The other me basks in the satisfaction of having rendered justice. The other me isn't done!

The spear wielder re-evaluates the danger I represent. He pulls his spear out of Titho's shoulder and aims it at me. A burst of searing white light blinds me as I block it with one hand, redirecting the energy upwards. I can actually see the bones in my hand and it hurts a little, but I doubt that there is much more than skin damage.

When the burst stops I just stand there, chuckling, and looking at my hand. It's a little red. As if I got a light sunburn. The other me thrusts her open palm at the gaping spear wielder and I feel a sizeable part of my inner mana bursting forth. It is a short, compressed burst of power, but enough.

The spear wielder's upper body evaporates, no, is blown away. The energy of my thrust was transferred directly to his upper body, while the lower part stayed unaffected. Somewhere at the horizon far, far behind him a rock formation shakes and a hand-print makes a visible dent, then the whole thing crumbles. The remaining lower body falls on Titho, defiling her with innards.

My eyes search the battlefield, but there is no one here who is worth my effort. Most of the attackers broke and ran when I dispatched their leaders. The rest are currently being cleaned up by our fighters.

Again I get this tunnel vision as I step towards Titho who is lying on the ground, her eyes moving left and right in despair. Apparently the spear wielder ordered her not to move.

I kick the body away and kneel down, forcing open the slave collar. I try to avoid hurting Titho while doing so. Luckily the metal feels like clay between my fingers, so I have her free in no time.

When it is off I point at my mother who is still on the ground and holding the ugly wound on her torso. “Heal her!”

Without waiting for an acknowledgement I head out to search for other attackers. I use the new stepping technique to zoom towards the area where I saw the most fighting when I had a better view from above.

There I find six of their immortals fighting seven of ours. And we are barely holding our ground. I zoom in directly on the leader and attack him from behind while he is busy with Shawn and another immortal.

My strike goes through, but the brown haired, bulky man barely notices it. There is a visible imprint of my fist in his metal armour. Though all it accomplished is that he bristles with anger from taking a hit to the guts. “What's this? Now you already need three people for me? And one is just a teenager.”

“Elona! What are you doing? Get out of here!” Shawn calls out in utter terror from behind me.

“So she is your weak point? Elona. I'll have fun with her once I've you out of the way.” The walking mountain of a man moves with more speed than his size suggests. In a moment he is in front of me with both hands raised high in the air. Then he brings them down to crush me with a double hammer fist.

But all I do is step forward, into his attack. For a moment we look like lovers in a tight embrace as our lips almost touch each other. Then my arms embrace him and I use my wings as a lever to utilize his forward momentum.

I throw him over my hips, crushing him heavily into ground and landing on top of him. The force makes him gasp and before he has time to react I have wrapped myself around his body.

He roars as my wings close around us and make it impossible to move. Though his arms are still free.

I barely notice his attempts at getting in a good blow. They hurt and bruise me, but some instinct inside of me doesn't allow to let go! He is mine!

When nothing else helps, he grabs my horns and pulls. At first he manages to pry my head away from his chest. But as my fingernails dig through his metal armour and into the soft skin beneath it, they draw blood. And touching him is all I need. I feel his power rapidly flowing into me.

This feels so good! I want more! Without even realizing I shift higher on him like a boa constrictor to get into a better position.

Slowly he loses the strength to fight me. His rugged, unshaven face is so close, but I don't care. He will do the job until he is empty. Ever so slowly my face closes in on him and all I can concentrate on are his lips. A moment before they touch he turns his head away and screams. His voice has a high pitch and lost its manly tone.

I am a little disappointed at such a let-down. “What? Didn't you want to have fun with me?” I exhale into his ear as our cheeks brush past each other and I shiver as even more energy is transferred to me.

This power of mine doesn't collect just mana, but life-force and vitality itself.

He tries to squirm his way out of my grasp as my lips touch his neck. But it's hopeless. For him at least. I shudder in ecstasy as his power drains into me and I feel the bruises which he caused on me healing.

A shudder runs down my spine and a burning sensation spreads through my hips. I close my eyes and moan. Then I realize with embarrassment that I came. Just a little, with such a guy.

Curse this ability!

When I open my eyes the moment is over and the atmosphere destroyed. I am hugging a shrivelled, dried up corpse. “Gods, I hate this ability,” I mumble with a fair amount self-loathing.

Remembering about the battle, I unfold my wings and sit up atop of him. It seems like the enemies fled and the fight is over. I am surrounded by Shawn and his comrades at a respectful distance. It also seems like Doreen returned with her hunting party while I was... busy with my opponent... or should I say victim?

Let's call him a snack.

No! How the hell did that come to mind? Am I falling for my instincts?

Grandma is standing in front of me and eyeing me warily. “Elona? Are you... you? Or who am I speaking to? You are leaking a lot of your aura. Could you try to tone it down a notch? The pressure is a little unsettling.”

Ah, now I get why they keep their distance. They are afraid that another personality is in control. And... erm... I've just eaten someone. That might be a tad bit unsettling. I focus on my mana and pull it into my core, sealing the leakage. That guy filled up my reserves and I must have lost control when I came.

“Yes and no. I think I am a little bit someone else.” My eyes wander to the ground. “I think I was the goddess Celes in a past life.”

I touch my lips in thought, trying to remember as much as possible from my flashback. “Queen of the realm of Chimera. Wow. My old lives sure had flashy titles.”

Then my eyes catch Chloe who approaches us from Yggdrasil's direction. She is assisted by Titho and Quianna because she has trouble walking and is still missing a wing. When she sees me she abandons her helpers and bulldozes into me, pulling me up and into a tight embrace.

“Oh, I am so proud of you! Your first kill! And a big one at that! Now you are a real succubus!”

Please. Let me die. I don't want this lewd ability.

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