(draft) Vol 3, Ch 32. ♥ Tropes and Threats
Bonny curled her feet and legs up over her head, then pulled them back down while simultaneously pushing off the ground with her shoulders and hands, flipping up into a crouch.
The lion kin hadn’t yet finished sheathing his sword and stared at her in disbelief as she stood.
“Almost, but not quite.” Bonny’s voice was rough and jagged.
“[Flash C-]”
Bonny’s hand smashed into his face, cutting off his command. Blood, spittle, and teeth flew from his mouth as his jaw shattered.
She had hopped forward as soon as he opened his mouth, grabbing his wrist with her right hand and slapping him full force with her left.
“No!”
She clenched her right hand and his wrist shattered.
He screamed in pain and collapsed. She turned to check on Willowbelle.
When Bonny had first arrived back at the city and saw the situation, one of the things she had shouted was for Kanae to try to control the girls holding her dryad and the other townspeople hostage. As the golden light faded from their eyes, the fox barked.
Willowbelle was curled around her sapling, crying. Several branches had been broken and hung loosely, barely attached. One was missing entirely except for a ragged stump.
Bonny crouched beside her and stroked her hair. She straightened the branches that she could and cast, "[Mending!]". She was happy it worked.
The next few minutes were a riot of confusion as the Beaverton hostages were released and the various animal kin that accompanied the Prideful champion came to their senses after being released from their own bondage. Many of them started crying as the impact of his actions hit them.
In the pandemonium, despite Bonny, Eloisss, and Freja all keeping an eye on him, Haruto escaped.
He mumbled a garbled skill command that sounded like “[Naruto Run!]”, then blurred as he hopped to his feet, evaded Bonny’s companions, then sprinted north with his arms extended out behind him.
“Fuck!” Bonny hopped onto Freja’s back and shouted some quick commands. “Zeal cut him off. Elss stay and manage this. Addy and Freja, let’s go. Everyone else help Elss.”
She kicked her heels into Freja's side just as the fairy landed in her hair. “Go, dammit.”
Freja gained ground quickly at a full gallop, but he was already in the forest before they caught up.
Zeal had taken a minute to shift, but quickly overtook him and roared as she landed in front of him. He stumbled and fell, crying again as he tried to catch himself with his broken wrist.
When Bonny and Freja arrived, the lion kin was crouching in the road, cradling his wrist and wailing in pain. Tears traced lines through the dust on his face.
She dropped off the centaur and stalked over to him.
“Pathetic!”
Bonny spat the word out, then spit on him. When he tried to stand, she shoved him back with her foot.
“You thought you were one of the seven? Why the fuck would Pride choose you? You aren’t worth the guilt of killing you.”
He mumbled something indecipherable.
“I don’t like killing, but I won’t hesitate if you force me. Lay face down on the road. I have questions.”
He nodded and rolled over carefully, flinching when his head touched the road. He kept his hands together and stretched them out above his head, the good one supporting the broken one.
She stepped on his head and pushed his face further into the dirt, then cast two spells. “[Analgesia!][Mending!]”
The first numbed the pain in his wrist and the second healed his jaw, though it didn’t restore his missing teeth or straighten out the fractures.
“You are the most pathetic, disgusting person I’ve ever met.”
Not the most diplomatic way to start a conversation, but Bonny didn’t care. He seemed weak. Far too weak for the almost fatal strike he had delivered. For the damage he had done to Willowbelle. For the deaths of the guards.
He didn’t answer. He squeezed his eyes shut and continued to sob.
“Pride. What’s wrong with him?”
The little demon was still in place, swollen around Bonny’s cock head. She had grabbed onto the fur on Bonny’s abdomen, holding the bunny’s erect cock straight up and preventing it from bobbing around during the ride.
“He never leveled up. He wouldn’t kill monsters, only people.” The demoness shivered, sending little thrills down Bonny’s cock.
“How does his skill work then? It’s too strong for someone with no stats.”
“I can enhance skills.”
“I assume it has something to do with the bonds between him and the girls he enslaved?”
Pride nodded.
The lion kin had opened his eyes at Pride’s voice. He twisted his head to look up, eyes fixed on Bonny’s cock and the demon impaled on it.
“Yes, I’m using your demon as a cock sleeve.” Bonny glanced down at the deformed demoness. “Well, more of a mitten. Or... a hat?”
“A goddess brought me, not …” He responded in a low growl.
Bonny kicked him in the side of the head.
“You’re an idiot. There were seven of us. I’m Lust, obviously. Wrath was my abusive ex. He’s dead now. You’re Pride. There are four more people from Earth out there causing trouble: Envy, Gluttony, Greed, and Sloth.”
“[Narut…]”
Bonny kicked him in the mouth, loosening more teeth.
“If you try to run, I’m going to break your fucking ankles.”
He covered his face with his arms and started sobbing again.
She sighed and bent to pull his sword from his belt. She unsheathed it and looked at the blade.
“Pride, is this yours?”
“No. I gave him one at first, but took it back when he wouldn’t listen to me. He had this one made at a city. Before he killed them.”
Her voice sent pleasurable vibrations down Bonny’s cock, in spite of the disturbing things she relayed.
“Hum.”
“What?”
“I want you to hum. Sing. Our deal isn’t complete until I come. Get busy. I’m angry at you and him, and you’re going to pleasure me.”
Pride started singing. It wasn’t a song from Earth and the words weren’t understandable, but the demoness rocked her body in time with the tune, the vibrations and motions combining into pleasure that radiated down Bonny’s cock and immediately improved her mood.
Bonny started shaving the lion kin’s mane with the sword while Pride sang. The sword was sharp, but not razor edged, and she had to hack at the thick fur to remove it. After a minute, she pushed him to roll over with her foot and continued cutting.
He lay on his back and stared up at her, eyes fixed on the singing demon bobbing on her cock. He had stopped crying. “Who are you?”
“I’m Bonny from LA. What about you?”
“Kodaka Haruto. I lived in Tokyo.”
“What happened? How did you die?” She paused her cutting. Most of his mane was gone, with small clumps of hair sticking out irregularly. A few small cuts around his neck were bleeding, but he was still numb from her skill and didn’t seem to notice.
“A delivery truck hit me. It’s an isekai trope. That’s why … I’m the hero.”
“What’s an isekai?” She fumbled the pronunciation. “How many people have you killed?”
“Isekai is a type of story. People get reincarnated into other worlds as heroes. They fight demons an…”
She kicked him in the head. “I don’t really care. How many people have you killed?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“[Analysis - System!]” She tried to focus on his stats. She had done this once before, just before operating on Brooke, but it felt intrusive, as if she were seeing things she shouldn’t.
=====
Status:
Name: Haruto
Race/Species: Outworlder / Lion-kin
Age: 19
Health: Injured - Broken wrist and jaw.
Soul: Worn
Titles: Former Demonic Champion, Hazard-class Threat
Achievements: 100 people killed, 500 people killed, 1000 people killed, 2000 people killed
Class: Lesser Swordsman/Demonic
Skills: Demonic Charm, Dodge, Flash Cut, Naruto Run, Quick Step, Swordsmanship, Walking.
Physical Power: Average, Control: Above avg, Stamina: Below avg
Magic Power: Low, Control: Low, Mana: Low
=====
“HOLY FUCKING SHIT! You’ve killed more than Two THOUSAND people?”
He flinched at her shout, then flinched again as she stabbed the sword though one of his shoulders. He didn’t scream though, since he still couldn't feel pain.
“You deserve to die and I don’t like killing people.” She turned to Zeal, who was still in dragon form. Bonny opened her mouth, paused, then shook her head and sighed. “No. I would still feel just as guilty.”
“I-I …” He stammered.
“No! Shut the fuck up unless I ask you a question.”
She immediately asked a question, “Your status clearly identifies you as demonic AND a hazard class threat. How the fuck did you think divinity had anything to do with you being here?”
“She said I was tainted and I would get …”
“Pride.” Bonny pulled her erect cock horizontal so she could look the stuffed cock puppet in the eyes. “Are you lying to me?”
Pride shook her head, eyes wide.
“Fine.” Bonny let go and her cock sprang back up, slapping Pride’s face into her abs. “Keep singing! If you don’t keep me distracted, I’m going to kill him in the most gruesome way I can think of.”
The demoness grabbed on to Bonny’s fur, holding the bunny’s cock straight up. She started singing.
Bonny addressed Haruto again, “You said something about tropes. What do you know about this world?”
He stammered for a moment before answering. “You get classes and skills. Sometimes special skills. Killing things gives you experience to get stronger.”
“You killed thousands of innocent people. Did you ever level up? Did your stats ever increase?”
He nodded. “I had twenty four enhancement points to increase my skills.”
She kicked him in the wounded shoulder. The sword was still there, pinning him to the ground. He groaned as something tore and blood oozed out of the wound.
“Since you didn’t get the fucking memo, the gods set up the system. Or helped at least, I’m not quite clear. Not everything in this world gives experience or increases skills. Just monsters and things that disrupt civilization. That’s you. You’re the threat, the monster. It says so on your status. How the fuck did you miss that?”
“I …”
Another kick. “Shut the fuck up. I don’t care.”
He moaned.
“Courage.” Bonny called. “What’s a Hazard-class threat?”
The goddess appeared on Bonny’s left shoulder. She stared disdainfully down at the subdued lion kin. “There are several threat levels, based on how dangerous they are to civilization.”
“What are they? How bad is Hazard?”
“Low, Medium, and High can be handled by a small group if they are skilled. The demonic bear you faced earlier was a medium level threat. The ostreap that Zeal defeated yesterday was a Hazard-level threat and could have destroyed the city.”
“Ostreap? The giraffe thing with the long neck and lightning?”
“Yes.”
“Do medium, high, and hazard correspond with Haruto’s achievements?”
“Yes.”
“Do they go higher?”
Courage nodded. “Disaster, Calamity, Catastrophe, and Devastation class.”
“Devastation? Like the demonic event three hundred years ago?”
“The demons were a threat to all of humanity. Extreme measures were required to defeat them.”
“Are they that strong again? Are we champions the threat now?”
“No. Not at those levels. We are working with you and some of the other champions to mitigate the threat. The demons do not have the power they once had. If all of you worked together, it might be a Catastrophe class, which is considered strong enough to destroy all life on the continent."
“Oh.” Bonny thought about that. How strong would a monster have to be to destroy a continent. “Fuck!”
“As long as you fight for civilization, for people, you are no threat to us or the system.”
Bonny smiled at Courage. “Thank you. But back to Haruto. A Hazard? Two thousand people? He didn’t seem that strong. If I kill him, would I get a lot of system experience or whatever?”
“Yes.”
“What if we capture and turn him in. Do I get experience for capturing him?”
“Yes.” Courage winked at Bonny. “Capturing is often more difficult than killing. It requires more skill and courage. As long as he cannot do harm, you will receive credit for his defeat.”
“Great! Thank you.” Bonny called on someone else. “Wrath!”
The demoness appeared on Bonny’s right shoulder, still bound by Bonny’s hair. Justice stood beside her holding the braided leash. “What do you need, Bonny.”
“First, thank you for saving my life. If Haruto,” She paused and kicked him in the side again. “Had killed me, he may have gone on to slaughter the whole city. I know you’re technically at war with the gods, but I would prefer it if you could learn to coexist with them.”
The demoness blushed and bowed her head slightly. “You’re welcome. I like you more than Matt and I will work with you.”
“I’m glad. What you did to him was terrible.” She took a deep breath, then asked the question. The only solution that might allow her to avoid killing him. “How do I make demonsteel?”