Savage Utopia [Peaceful system exploited for combat - LitRPG]

Nyx

Love.

Such a strange, nebulous concept. It had been on her mind a lot lately.

When a human said that they were 'in love', what did they mean, exactly? They seemed to think it was somehow categorically and qualitatively distinct from simple sexual attraction, but that was pure delusion as far as Nyx was concerned.

Love. Ridiculous.

Nyx took her memento of Matthew out—just once more, to steady herself for what lay ahead—and greedily inhaled its pungent stench.

It was just an old bloody handkerchief, and yet…

It felt absolutely incredible. She needed more of it. More blood. To think that Matthew had a whole body full of the stuff—such sublime ambrosia. The smell… The taste…

She wanted so badly to take the memento into herself and consume it completely, to merge it with her own being. She fantasized constantly about how it would feel to completely let go and give into her baser instincts. It would feel so good…

But that just wasn't possible.

After a brief moment of indulgence, Nyx let out a last shudder of pleasure and stuffed the memento back into the pocket of hyperreal space that made up the core of her being for continued safekeeping.

As one of the True Blood, fear was not an emotion to which she was well-accustomed. However, when she gazed across the sprawling mansion complex that extended below her hovering form, she was overcome with a strange buzzing sensation that gave her great unease. Was that fear? It wouldn't be overly strange. After all, there was a significant chance that she would no longer exist before the night was over.

Or maybe…

If I die, Matthew will be alone. People will take advantage of him. He's much too stupid and short-sighted to look out for himself. And besides, he made it clear that he wanted me back at his side.

If I die… would he be upset? Would he find comfort in the arms of that whore?

The thought of that disgusting roach of a woman made Nyx's entire being seethe. Why? Why her? A woman of her profession should know her place. After all Nyx had done to ensure her continued connection with Matthew, how dare she turn around and try to replace her?

Of course, no one could ever take her place at Matthew's side. No one else could steer his future the way she did, or know his needs before he was even aware of them himself. If everything went according to plan tonight, that fact would become abundantly clear to her chosen one. He wouldn't be able to dismiss her contributions any longer. He'd have no choice but to finally give her some measure of respect.

Nyx gathered herself with a shiver of unease. Now was not the time to be distracted. She would need all her focus and all her strength for the task that lay ahead. Swallowing all her apprehension to the back of her being, she floated down toward the walled estate that lay in the middle of a dark and silent Topside. The surrounding tenement blocks had been all but wiped away in the Burning, leaving the gated cluster of buildings as the only island of civilization in a sea of fire-eaten ruins. The little glimmers of orange lantern light sparsely dotted about the buildings were the only sign of life, along with the occasional flicker of movement from a patrolling guard.

On paper, the mansion belonged to one Nico Vallero, a Trader on the merchant's guild who had been promoted to the first seat after Dickie Rich's untimely demise. In reality, Nico Vallero was just a human puppet maneuvered by the Headmistress, who not only had a complete stranglehold on Sheerhome's economic element, but also had authority over all the True Blood in the city thanks in large part due to the fear inspired by her raw power.

The Headmistress had always been a brazen sort, and her greed seemed to have been growing at an exponential rate ever since Nyx vacated her position as the demon thane of Sheerhome.

Nyx touched down inside the complex and began walking sedately along a stone pathway leading up toward the main house. She did not announce herself to any of the roaming security people, but made no attempt to hide either. The terms of the First Contract forbade her from completely withdrawing her presence from the material plane at any time, which forced her to remain at least partially visible to mortal eyes. Of course, those people with their cute little swords could do nothing to harm her.

The only thing she realistically had to fear was that they would run ahead and tattle to their mistress—however, in this instance that was exactly what she wanted. Anything to make the Headmistress feel more confident in her power would be to Nyx's advantage.

Sure enough, a guard lounging against the wall of a stables took notice of her and ran inside a nearby building. Half a minute later, a Message went fluttering out a window and shot off into the air toward the main house.

Soon, the Headmistress would know of her arrival. It was exactly what Nyx wanted, but all the same she was unable to suppress another wave of unease that rippled through her being and left her discombobulated for several moments until she was able to lash her flagging essence back together again.

By the time she reached the front entrance of the main house, a butler was already there to open the great double doors for her and usher her inside with a genteel bow.

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"The mistress awaits your presence," the man said with his eyes still downcast in a tone that suggested Nyx was meant to be awed by the Headmistress's intelligence-gathering abilities. Nyx played the part with an internal eye-roll, allowing her form to buzz with mock fear for a moment before pretending to conceal her reaction.

The butler led her through the large, empty building, and she was forced to slowly shuffle through hallway upon hallway when she could have just cut straight through the walls to confront the object of her visit directly. She had already studied the mansion's layout in fair detail, and knew exactly where the Headmistress would be keeping herself sequestered.

The butler left her in an antechamber while he went on ahead, and she was left to wait for an excessive—and certainly intentional—period of time before he returned to announce that the Headmistress would see her now.

Nyx proceeded to a large, open ballroom at the very heart of the mansion—exactly where she knew the old hag would be hiding. She'd always had an unhealthy obsession with shielding herself from all possible harm. This was the biggest reason why Nyx had had such a hard time catching her out in the first place. Infuriating.

The hall was empty and dark when Nyx floated in. There were no windows. Not one flame broke up the shadows. Not that it inconvenienced her much—her vision was such that she did not require light to see.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, sister," Nyx said sweetly into the air as she reached the center of the ballroom and allowed her 'feet' to touch the floor. "I am aware that you are extremely busy these days, so I appreciate that you have seen fit to provide me with such steadfast support."

Her voice echoed out across the chamber, bouncing hollowly off the walls. No one replied. Nothing stirred.

"I am afraid that I have come with another request in mind. I had hoped that we might speak of it and draft some terms. If you do decide to grant me this favor, I am confident in saying that I will not need to trouble you any longer."

More silence.

"If you are occupied at present, I could leave for now and return at your leisure."

"No," rumbled a loud, bassy voice that seemed to be pouring out of the very walls, coming from every direction at once. "Now will do just fine, dear sister."

There came a chorus of whispery sucking sounds, as of raw flesh sliding on stone. The shadows appeared to deepen as a more perfect darkness seeped from the peak of the great domed ceiling, an umbrella of oily black tendrils that extended ponderously outward. Nyx waited patiently as the Headmistress—once known as Xehrav before her vanity had entirely taken hold of her—took her sweet time to coalesce toward the floor. She came together in drippings and streams and squirming organs that all latched together in a growing pile before Nyx.

Xehrav struggled noticeably to squeeze herself into anything resembling a humanoid form, her fatty bulk momentarily tightening only to spill outward with a terrible passing of malodorous gas.

Nyx could not help but sneer. She'd known her sister had been thoroughly enjoying her privilege as demon thane of Sheerhome, but she would never have expected it to have gotten quite this bad. How many of their siblings had she feasted on up to this point…?

Her corpulence was as unsightly as it was undeniable. Her essence was so badly bloated that she was clearly having trouble keeping it confined to her core, and was instead allowed to sag freely into the material plane with all the grace of a prolapsed anus.

Nyx responded to Xehrav's display of reckless hedonism by tightening up her own form, just to reinforce the difference between them. Where her sister had allowed herself to become a great ooze of fatty tissues and gaping mouths and useless grasping limbs, Nyx kept her form under perfect control, maintaining her carefully sculpted image as a brilliant expression of feminine beauty, the kind that men like her Matthew would gladly throw their lives away for.

"Sister," Nyx said neutrally, 'hands' folded primly before her. "It's been some time since we met in person."

Xehrav's nebulous form bulged and undulated as many mouths came together into one gaping maw that stretched across her entire front, more than ten feet across, with fleshy lips and too many needle-sharp teeth. "I am surprised you were able to find me," she said in a distorted, grotesque voice more reminiscent of a series of farts and burps than actual civilized speech. "I have not advertised my presence here."

"Yes. It took some time to track your whereabouts. Apologies for dropping by unannounced."

"Nonsense! I am delighted to see you, dear sister."

"Is that so? I thought you might have had some misgivings, considering our history."

Xehrav became pensive, and a languid sigh passed out of her massive bulk. "That might have been true once. But not anymore."

"What changed?"

"Hmm? Because you're no longer a threat to me, of course."

Nyx manufactured a tittering laugh and put a delicate hand over her mouth. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"Oh, poor thing. You really don't understand at all, do you?" Eyes like fists wheeled sightlessly with elevated emotion, studded randomly across Xehrav's many flaccid rolls of flesh like ticks on a mangy dog. "The world has passed you by, sister. You were powerful once, and you think that means you are entitled to that power forever." Xehrav piled herself higher into the air, pressing even more of her essence into the material realm, and her tendrils wriggled about the floor like blind worms. "You see, I have been keeping a close eye on you since your return to the city.

"The great and terrible Nyx. I thought, surely you must be planning something. Surely, you must be leveraging an angle. So when you asked for your little favors, granted them and I kept my distance, so as to determine just how much of a threat you were. I assumed that even if your essence had withered, your scheming mind would still be intact.

"It turns out I gave you far too much credit. I understand now that what I took for daring and guile was simply some senile delusion of grandeur. Even now, you still cannot comprehend the fact that I am more powerful than you. If that were not the case, what possible reason could you have for walking in here and presenting yourself to be swallowed whole?

"I am sorry, dear sister, but I find it difficult to stomach your presence. You have grown so weak that you will hardly be worth the effort it will take to eat you. Although, I promise you this. Once I have obliterated you, I will choose to remember you as the proud older sister I once feared, and not this pitiful beggar you have become."

Nyx allowed the tirade to hang for some time without moving a 'muscle'. Then, quite calmly, she said: "I see. Are you quite finished, or is there more?"

Xehrav laughed; a terrible, grating wall of noise. "No, no, no, dear Nyx. I'm afraid this is the end."

"Oh, how good. This conversation was starting to become tiresome, and I have a date with a mortal after this that I cannot afford to miss."