Alpha Realm (OP.MC.|Harem|NSFW)

Earth

「 Before Aizel's 1st day on Geas. 」

Alex's eyes were glued to the screen. There was a woman speaking in a language he did not understand; there was no need to, the automatically generated subtitles did not even need audio to work. He toggled the text-to-speech function on the screen. His eyes were glued to the image on her back, unable to leave even for the brief moment it would take to read them subs.

〔 "The test is ready. We -unknown- to begin the countdown!" 〕

"Arre, they finally testing Da' shit?" Pablo came from the side. Offering him a beer with that thick accent that was a mix of Latin-American Spanish and Russian.

"Yeah. But it's a bigger deal than we thought. Look at the stock from the Asian markets. I've never seen it so red before." Alex said as he popped open the beer with the edge of a wooden table. At this point. It had more chipped wood than varnish.

"Holy… Ya-r'iht." Pablo said 'You are right' after glancing at one of the monitors on the side. "Got a cig?" He asked for a cigarette after getting a closer look.

"They are about to bite you… Look down, you idiot."

"Oh… he- Danks!" Pablo lit one and offered Alex another.

He happily took it and inhaled. They did not know if it was because of genes or what. Some of their family had died of cancer without ever touching nicotine or alcohol. Yet here they were. A Latino and a 'gringo.' As Pablo loved to call him. Indulging in every vice known to man, well into their nineties and in almost perfect health. At least if you compared them to most people their age.

〔 "The relativistic -unknown- five minutes!" 〕

"Huh. Wha'r day haven trobl' translating 'Annihilation?'"

"The fact that you can pronounce 'Annihilation,' but not the rest of that sentence is possibly a bigger mystery." Alex chuckled.

The feed showed the woman floating in front of a large window that looked out at the moon. There was a large metal barrel poking out to the side. The countdown reached T-minus five minutes. It began to glow red.

Pablo sat beside him and opened his laptop. He unfolded two extra screens and added other feeds to it. On one of them, he placed a telescope feed. An amateur streamer. On another, the news channel from Australia. And the last one was keeping an eye on the price of Q-coin.

"You bought more q-bits?"

"Yeah. Bought ya sum two."

"Thanks. If this thing works, that shit is going to skyrocket."

〔 "Look! -unknown- four minutes!, the toroidal barrel is accelerating the anti's to -unknown-" 〕

"Ya think's dis gonna finale pu'an 'nd to da heat-wars?"

"The only two things that can happen are equally scary."

"N' what're douse?"

"One. The heat-wars end and whoever owns this tech owns the world. Two. The heat-wars end, and a single worse one begins."

Pablo said nothing. Took out a joint of the finest purple weed he had. He did not light it just yet. However, Alex was already salivating at the prospect of smoking that rare delicacy.

"How many of those are left?"

Pablo shrugged. "Less dan a hundred. 'Member dhey nuked Panama."

"Yeah… That's why I'm asking. There is a nonzero chance that you have the last stock of those things."

〔 "-unknown- three minutes to -unknown-" 〕

"Sig's getting worse."

"What did you expect from a satellite feed? The fucking firewall won't let me get through to see this shit."

"Huh. Hardr dan norml?"

"Much harder, old friend. They must have released a few AGI swarms to keep this shit contained."

They heard something drop on the balcony. Pablo turned towards Alex and was met with a glare. Pablo glanced at the beer, the cigarette, and the stock graph and returned the glare with pleading eyes.

"Fine… But you better look for those polymer joints. I'm going to end up severing the nerves to my legs at this rate."

"Already found 'em. Problem's getting 'em here. Da border keeps moving 'round."

Alex did not reply and got up. He grabbed his cane and walked to the window. There was a pizza box wrapped in so much plastic that it looked more like a pillow than fast food.

〔 "-unknown- T-minus Thirty seconds! The RKVAM is shooting any moment now" 〕

"Our swarms 'r winnang," Pablo said once he saw the translation and signal get better.

"It's the AGI swarms from Australia. They just raped the Indian sat constellation. Look at the feed on their side of the net."

"Ha—Ha. Servs'em right. Gotta unplug dam feed geeks! Betta'r dan loosn some sats."

"Yeah. If they don't stop poking… Fuck, the RKVAM is ready to shoot."

Pablo joined Alex in silence. The feed suddenly became stable. There was a man who came into frame with a big red button wired to some cables. It was probably just for dramatic effect; they could shoot that thing automatically or with the click of a mouse.

"…"

There was no sound coming from the explosion that happened next. Simultaneously, all feeds, even the ones from telescopes, showed how the moon had a new crater that was expanding. Sending rocks the size of cities into the moon's skies.

"The Australians say they can see mantle…"

"Does da moon even hav'a mantle?"

"I… I don't know, I think they are just referring to how deep that shit went… Pablo… W- What are they doing?"

Pablo did not reply. Their blood turned cold as the feed changed into a similar one, with a toroidal barrel aiming at Earth.

"They wouldn't…"

Before Pablo could reply. A large chunk of Australia was now a crater.

Alex did not know how long it took. It could have been instant, or maybe hours. It was probably a few minutes. But the shock wave reached Central America in the form of a small quake that only shook their building.

"I've never been more glad to be so much higher than sea level…"

"Alex… Qué - putas - hicieron?"

— — —

The Death Valley — Temporary Camp.

Name: Aizel Kadashi | Age: 19 | Level: 42

Title: Gold-rank Hunter (S-)

SE: 0 | HP: 535

Race: Crimson Were-Dragon

「 Noon, his 33rd day on Geas. 」

With a jolt and covered in cold sweat, Aizel stood up while breathing heavily. Valerie had gotten lost at some point, so Aizel went looking for her and left Lisa as her designated guide until the Shinigami learned how to see his (Monitor) mark. He had taken a short nap while the girls were scouting for camps.

'The fuck did I eat? That was ancient history… That's a first… Do I miss their warmth for sleep? Fucking body regressed quite a bit for old traumas to be—'

Thump!

Vanessa landed in front of him before he could calm down from the nightmare-memory he just had.

She immediately could see his inner turmoil and came to his side.

"Aizel! What happened!? I have not seen you this scared even after fighting Oni!"

"I took a short nap and had a bad dream…" He said with a little shame. "Well. It was more like a memory than a dream."

"What could possibly scare you so much, love?"

"Something better forgotten."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, love. Thanks. You would not understand most of it. And as I said, I'd rather forget about it. The lesson will stay with me without the need for the horrible images… Just… Nothing. I heard the dogs speaking about Silvia's birthplace. And it got me wondering… I don't know if this will sound… Huh, there is no word for it in Geas…"

"About what, love?" Vanessa said as she pushed him playfully with her shoulder. He hugged her and guided them back to the tree where he was resting before.

"The color of your skin. The word 'race' in here is a synonym of 'kin.' It does not translate well…" Aizel said as he sat down.

"What about my skin? You thinking 'bout the cheetah again?" She teased with a grin as she took a seat beside him.

"No. For once. I wanted to know more about this world. Like the skin color of you two. Is uncommon on Redvelia. And, from what I remember. In places that do not have much sunlight during most of the year, like here. People develop skin similar to Valerie and Lisa."

"Oh! Geographical Ethnicity." Vanessa said. Stunning Aizel at his stupidity and lack of tact. And at the group's 'airhead' being so insightful.

'That shit even was a big deal many times back on Earth; no wonder I failed so many classes in school.'

"Yeah…"

"Well, I'm from the south! No… My family's family was from there. All the way close to the arid lands before the fertile fields near the Fire Shield."

"Lisa mentioned that one before… From what I understand, it would take me flying all day to just reach the imperial capital, and the same amount of time to reach the Fire Shield. The fuck are you doing so far north?"

Vanessa shrugged. "Don't ask me, I was born in Zigelida. Southwest of here… Like the same distance that Lisa is from Pops' home. I left five winters ago. And I never asked much since I did not really get along with my old family… Oh! That's right! I found something nice!" She added.

"What did you find?"

She got up and slapped her ass to clean the dirt, sending shockwaves through her cheeks that made his (Focus) activate on its own to sear that image in his mind.

"Come!" Vanessa turned towards him and began to open and close her hands for him to grab. He took hold and tried to get up. "~Yii" Managing only to pull her down to his lap.

"Yeah, I don't know what you were expecting, love. I weigh more than twice as much as you…"

She giggled and got comfortable on his chest. Pulling her legs to his side while hugging his neck.

"Giddy-up! Onwards, my Steed! We fly West!" Aizel chuckled and completed the princess carry. Taking them into the air. The dogs looked at them with confusion but said nothing.

"I missed this, even if it was not so long ago." She kissed his cheek and scratched his stubble.

Aizel closed his eyes and just basked in the feeling of her warmth. Feeling her curves sinking into his arms. Smelling her rose-like fragrance, a product of her chemical makeup and not some perfume or even cleaning product.

"Hey… How can you even fly with your eyes closed?"

He inhaled one last time and slowed down before speaking. "I suppose you found a pond or something?"

"W- How? Is not even visible yet!"

"You sound like Lis. I can smell a body of water nearby. We are getting near the edge of the valley; it's just tundra-like desert after it, and there is a lot of melted water on that edge."

He opened his eyes when he felt the shift of her weight. Aizel was met with Vanessa's crossed arms and a cute pout.

"Pff hahaha. You weirdo. I'm pretty sure you will be able to do the same with skills alone, love."

"Whatever." She copied him. "There."

Vanessa pointed in the distance. There was a pond just after the edge of The Death Valley. It was a deep turquoise and looked hollow, like the kind that has vertical caves that extend deep into the ground.

"Huh. I had never seen one of those that is not close to an Ocean. And not in that color; they are usually clear blue, not turquoise. Must be an ancient… What?" Aizel asked once he felt Vanessa's stare.

"Is there something you have not seen?"

"In two realms? …A redhead more beautiful than you?"

She blushed and rolled her eyes. Then she pouted while sticking her tongue out and crossing her eyes.

"If that is your attempt at becoming an ugly pufferfish, you are failing miserably." He pulled her into a kiss that she returned.

Vanessa began to wiggle out of his arms. He looked at her with curiosity but did not let go. She stopped moving and glared at him, then she materialized her wings and extended them. He let go of her and just watched her fall.

Thump! She landed with their favorite pose.

Aizel landed softly at her side. "That's what you wanted to do? It's becoming an addiction at this point, woman."

"Its good practice" She mocked him before turning towards the pond. "Do you want to swim?"

"Not really. Though, I do want to see you naked."

She looked down the pond, but sadly did not strip down.

"What?" He asked.

"It's kind of scary. Like the maw of a giant beast."

"I have to agree on that one. And I don't remember if the color is healthy or not. (Restore) might help us in case it is not, but I'd rather confirm it. You know, magic - water monsters, predators… My senses are blocked past its surface. I mean… I can see really well through it. But it's rather discomforting not being able to sense or smell as much as I usually can."

"I see what you mean… My senses are all blocked. I can also see pretty deep into it. Is the part where even my sight no longer can see anything that scares me."

"Yeah, shit's deeper than Valerie's cunt."

"And whose fault is that she's now so deep?"

"The demigod, the master of all dragons, maidens' end, the defiler, Arch heal—" She cut him off by tackling him into the gravelly sand. He had to let her do that for it to be effective, but she loved it anyway.

"I've often wondered what would happen if that day I was posted at the south gate. Or simply in a break and we did not meet."

"Woman. We would have found each other; I crossed from another realm to meet you."

She lay on top of him and kissed him for what felt like minutes before finally having enough of him and sitting on the gray gravel-sand.

'Gray… I almost forgot that last name. Alexander Gray… It feels like he's an old friend and not my past self…'

"What cha' thinking?"

"Just the past."

"What brought this sudden introspection?"

"Peace."

"We are a few days away from a huge raid; no matter if you call it 'mini-raid' or 'training for the real one,' it's going to be huge."

Aizel shrugged. They needed to train the hunters arriving. And the best way to do that in Aizel's eyes was through combat, and the only way to not have to waste time either carrying parties to the goblins or the other way around was to lure them. So there would be a little raid for training.

"Compared to real war. That is more like children fighting over a piece of candy, love. But please, I want to forget that, or push it so far down my mind that only the lessons remain."

"You can't have one without the other."

Aizel shook his head. "You can. It just takes time to make peace with the things that left the scars in my memories. I think it is this body. My mind is affecting it, and it doesn't know how to handle some things, not yet."

"Fine…" She sat beside him and just leaned on his arm. "Do you know how long it would take a party of hunters to reach this place?"

He shrugged.

"From Redvelia. A full season for a round trip. And many would die, not only from the monsters, but also the terrain. A sudden rain could make the valley slippery or muddy and make them fall. There is usually no healer unless it's a really high-ranking party."

"So…" Aizel narrowed his eyes, not knowing what she was getting at. 'I'm such an idiot; she must only be trying to distract me. She can sense how I feel…'

"So! We are probably the first ones to ever see this beautiful place!"

"Yeah. You might be right. Only nobles with Airships, 'Born' kin that can turn into birds, or Arch Hunter Lords could probably make the trip. And I have not seen it on any map, even if it makes for a good landmark… So. What will you name it?"

Vanessa narrowed her eyes and looked back at the beautiful pond. Then the realization hit her, and she opened them wide while getting back up and jumping in excitement.

"I can name it!"

"Yeah? I mean. You can name anything you want." Aizel took a smooth rock in his hand. "For example. I name this rock. Felipe."

The weirdo Vanessa came close to inspect Felipe.

"It's a pet rock. It's of the immortal race rocky. And it does not know how to swim."

Vanessa narrowed her eyes again and turned her head to the side, probably not knowing what the fuck he was talking about. Aizel stood up. And threw the rock in the middle of the pond.

Splash!

"No! Rocky! You monster!" She turned back to Aizel and assumed a fighting pose while covering her face with one wing.

"You did not even remember its name! It was Fe-li-pe, not Rocky."

Vanessa did not reply, but he could see how she was smiling under her wing as her eyes smiled with her. She relaxed and turned around while kicking Felipe's siblings into the pond.

"I was going to name it Valerie's cunt." Vanessa said with a giggle.

"She will hit you. She's extremely tight, and this thing looks like a mountain used it to relieve itself."

"That's because you did not see how gaped you left her."

"No. But I felt it. It was majestic. How it slowly recovered its shape and tightened back up."

"But, you are right." She continued speaking while walking along the shore. "You can see the end of that cave."

"Wait, what? Can you?" Aizel said, and was ignored.

"So. This will be… this will be… The Leviathan's Lair!" She growled the last sentence.

"W— What? Why?"

"That way, anyone who sees it will stay away. Or drown trying to find it, and leave some treasure for when you figure out how to survive down there. He-he."

Aizel chuckled at her idiocy and creativity, pulled her wing towards him, and took her by the waist. Staring into the rubies she had for eyes.

— — —

The Death Valley — Hobgoblin Territories.

Name: Valerie Kadashi | Age: 23 | Level: 27

Title: Aizel Kadashi's Soul Bound

SE: 5 | HP: 118 | MP: 50

Race: Shinigami Angel

It took Valerie a while to find the mana mark that Aizel had placed on them and the camp. Thankfully, once she managed to see it—because she was seeing it, not sensing it, as weird as that was at first—It was impossible to miss.

Something awoke inside of her after she took to the air once more. The air threatened to peel her eyes as she rose; it was a weird feeling. Normally, she would be scared, but just as it was the first time she became one with her husband, once she got past that fear barrier, a new world opened up before her.

A normal human, or probably any mortal race, would already be blind and deaf from the air passing through her. That being said, Lisa was right. Angels were meant to fly. There was no pain; her eyes just adjusted. And the weird sensation in her stomach became excitement once she was in the air.

After getting lost and being rescued by Aizel before she went North, thinking she was heading South, she became hyperaware of her new family's position.

'New family, huh. Look at me. From failed blacksmith to mediocre huntress, and now I'm flying… I just wanted them; I knew there was a small chance of this happening… And then it did. Some day I'm going to go back to my father and introduce them to the love of my life—'

As Valerie thought of that, the image of Aizel and Vanessa overlapped. 'Heh. Thankfully I have a long time to completely fall for Lisa. I really like her; hard not to. She's probably the most beautiful woman in the empire. And her tongue technique is— What in the name of The Sun is that…'

In the distance, Valerie could see a huge aura flaring in and out of existence; it was nowhere near what Lisa, Vanessa, or even Aizel's aura looked like when they used their skills. 'Wait - wait - wait… Just how far is that!?'

It was quite far. In fact, it was so far away that she wondered how she could see it in the first place. Valerie used (Focus) and (Infuse) to flare up her aura. The signal she and Lisa agreed upon using to communicate from a medium distance.

'Good. Her (Monitor) is coming closer… There. She also flared hers.'

Lisa came diving in from further up. It was something simple yet ingenious Aizel had told them to do. Go really high up. And then just use 'Pops technique' and 'fall with style.' That way you arrive rested instead of flying like a maniac.

'That was a convoluted way to say glide down. He-he.'

Valerie's mana was falling once again. It was clear that Aizel would have to assign all of her Soul Energy to Mind Power, and nothing to her Health Power.

'Is not like I was even a true brute to begin with… Compared to him, I have the strength of a bronze mage.'

"Val. You called?" Lisa arrived and hovered at her side.

"Yeah," Valerie said with a pant in her voice.

"You are already tired! Let's go down and rest; I can't—"

"Wait! Look there. Directly North of our position." She pointed.

Lisa frowned at her. "I don't see anything there, Val. Let's go down. I have some health potions… Huh. How did you… Holy!"

"Ok! Now we can go ~down." Valerie said and almost passed out, just letting herself fall to the ground and using (Push) and (Pull) to aid her wings to break her landing, not even having a chance to do their little explosive landing. 'Fuuck me…'

She pulled one mana potion from her satchel and chugged it.

Thump! Lisa landed besides her.

"Show… off…"

"Jealous Raven. Let's just assign your SE already, Val." Lisa pulled a Health potion and almost shoved it into her mouth.

Valerie complied and opened her mouth. Lisa made her drink the whole thing.

"My Mind Power is the one that is low, not my Health."

"I know. We can see our stats at all times. But this is from the ones Aizel took from my father when he thought we weren't looking. It has a stamina potion mixed in."

"Hehe. I love that man… How is that possible, Lis? Am I just a fool? We have not known—"

"Stop that right there, Val. You said the words, remember. 'Clear of mind and heart.' The (Vow) would not have worked if you were not being honest. Why do you think the (Bind) we force on slaves does not have that line?"

"I just… Sorry."

"Ready to go back and assign your points?"

"No. Just a little more training like this. I need to find the limits when my Mind Power is low."

"Aizel can just move them from health to mind, Val."

"Yeah. And do you think he will let me move them around? First he will begin to blab about how people don't do that, and that he's from another realm, and he's been doing it for long…"

"Fine. But rest up, or he will not let you join us in the hunt if he sees you like this. I found us some hobgo camps."

"That's the other thing. I want to go see what that aura belongs to."

"Ughh… Fine. But rest - up. Or I will tell him how you had to drink two potions to keep up."

"Yes mom."

"Ew! Don't say that!" Lisa shivered cutely, her breast bouncing to the sides through her huntress gear. She must have noticed Valerie staring because she covered her chest with her arms and turned away, faking disgust.

—

"Holy gremlin shit on a holy stick, Valerie!"

They were staring down on an Orc camp from the top of a hill. It had goblins, hobgoblins, and a single standard Orc. He—because it was clearly a 'he'—was no longer radiating aura like before. There was a dead hobgoblin on the dirt, already being devoured raw by the gobos, so they were probably fighting when Valerie saw them.

"And you saw that from all the way back there! Your… Shinigami-Eyes? Are amazing."

"Hey, I guess I get to name my race traits, right?"

Lisa shrugged. "I guess?"

"Nice."

"You are talking more like Aizel with each passing moment, Val."

It was Valerie's turn to shrug. "You two already behaved a bit like him when we met. I wonder what your family will say once we arrive."

"hehehe…" Lisa laughed evilly.

"Erm… Why are you laughing like that?"

"So… Val. You know how hard it will be for us to conceive… and how—"

"You want to throw your entire family at Aizel," Valerie said, already knowing where this was going. And she was right. Based on how red Lisa turned and her newly found awkwardness.

"Except my Mom… You are not opposed… right?" Lisa shyly asked.

"No? It's kind of the thing with powerful men." She shrugged. "Be it a king, an emperor. Hell, I bet even your father has an army of women to fill. As long as his love for me does not change. I don't mind. It's only weird when it's the other way around."

"Huh… An empress… How would that even work? If she can only produce one heir at a time… And imagine if she was from an immortal race! It would take her forever to have descendants!"

"Yeah. What does Vanessa say?" Valerie asked.

"The same thing you did. Except she added that the moment one of us cheats on Aizel with another man, she would stab us in our sleep."

Valerie shivered. Vanessa was probably the scariest out of the three of them.

"She's probably still feeling bad about something that happened before," Lisa added.

"What happened? Did she!?"

"No… She did not. Vanessa had a thing with a Were-Dog when Aizel was still at odds with our realm's way of doing things and his. Don't tease her about it. She gets all weird when she remembers it. The poor man is probably going to die if we see him again."

"Because of Aizel… or Nessa?" Valerie asked. She supposed it was because of Vanessa. But Aizel had told them many times how he was the jealous kind, and that he would never hurt them. He would probably break his hunter (Vow), and kill the man who dared to touch them.

'Good thing I find even thinking about that repulsive.'

"Aizel will probably try to help the were-dog escape from Nessa. Hehe."

"Huh? Why?"

"As I said, Vanessa did not cheat. So Aizel feels bad for the man. Last time he said something about going to live with the goblins if that had happened to him."

"Yeah. After he burns the entire town."

"Probably. You look rested enough. Let's go report this to the others."

— — —

The Death Valley — Leviathan's Lair.

Name: Aizel Kadashi | Age: 19 | Level: 42

Title: Gold-rank Hunter (S-)

SE: 0 | HP: 535

Race: Crimson Were-Dragon

「 Noon, of his 33rd day on Geas. 」

They were about to kiss again when a sudden Thump! Landed at their side.

"Oh, hi, Mark," Aizel said.

"What?" Lisa asked, all confused.

"Nothing. Zup, found us some nice gobos?"

"Yeah. This place is amazing! We need to move our camp!"

"Hmm… No. It's too exposed for the night. We will return one day when we have better defenses."

"It's called The Leviathan's Lair!" Vanessa said. Making Lisa jump back from the shore and stare at the turquoise pond with fear.

Aizel and Vanessa began to laugh hard; Lisa did not pay them any mind and slowly crept towards the water. They did not explain anything and were just using her as live entertainment.

— —

The Death Valley — Temporary Camp.

"I'm going to poison your food. Lying dragon." Lisa said once they were back in their camp, just waiting on Valerie to finish cooking.

"What? Why me? She's the one that named it!"

Lisa did not even look at Vanessa and just glared at him.

"Yes. But you could have said something and not let me just shoot random (Discharge) bolts at an empty pond!"

"It was quite fun." He shrugged.

"The heck is this?" Silvia said once Valerie placed a plate of meat and veggies with a side portion of purple potatoes in front of her.

Aizel smelled the plate, not knowing what Valerie had pulled out of their food reserves to cook.

"Blood Orc."

Silvia just stared at him with her jaw hanging open.

"Huh, I did not know we still had some," Vanessa said.

"We kept some for training sessions like today; we need the energy. And it's Blood magic purified Blood Orc, Silvia." Valerie said while biting her lower lip and wiggling her eyebrows.

"This would be worth a fortune in any city! Can you imagine selling Orc in the Duchy Capital! And purified!"

"Maybe one day. This one is too lazy to do that. And we are kind of the same… We'd rather just hunt and sell, rather than stop and purify. We need his Health Power for other things." Vanessa said before stuffing herself with a large portion of meat that would probably choke a normal human.

'Her fucking maw is scary.' Aizel thought, and then shivered as he saw her tear her meat apart with her Kizukami fangs; they were not long, but they were strong and sharp.

"What other thing— Oh… Fuck."

"Ye." "Mhm." "You got that one right."

Aizel almost choked on his water after hearing them say that. Silvia glared at him and even flashed her were-wolf fangs at him.

"What the fuck was that for? I'm not the one teasing, woman."

Blaze was having a blast and just quietly enjoying his meal.

"By the way, love. Valerie's mana sense is almost as good as yours." Lisa said in between bites. "She found a standard Orc camp; they are actually really close to the hobgoblin territory, so it's probably a new one. It's perfect for training."

Vanessa chuckled. The crazy woman had already finished eating and was on her second serving. 'All of that must go to her boobs.'

"Can you imagine calling Orc camps 'training' a fortnight ago?" Vanessa asked.

"Sir. With respect. You all might be able to defeat Orcs. But I…" Silvia said.

"You won't be getting close to it. In fact, only Lisa is allowed to. Vanessa is in charge of the Hobgoblins. The rest will only engage goblins. I will be watching you all and be ready to step in if you need me."

"So after eating?" Vanessa asked while biting her lower lip, as if she was asking about a road trip or dessert.

"I fucking love the bloodlust behind your eyes right now. No. We will wait some more; this food is kind of heavy."