NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: Pyrrha Nikos
There was something wrong with her. Had to be. Because even after she’d witnessed Jaune kill a man with his bare hands… she was still hopelessly turned on. As the masked man who she’d so dearly wronged stalks away through the camp, Pyrrha can’t help but bite her lower lip and rub her inner thighs together. D-Damn it all…
It had been arousing just seeing him put that bitch Raven in her place. A full night and morning of separation from those events had only solidified Pyrrha’s feelings regarding that matter. She didn’t regret how she’d… how she’d masturbated, while Jaune had likely bred the former, disgraced bandit leader right then and there.
Of course, Pyrrha had tried to convince herself that she was merely feeling a perverted sort of schadenfreude. That Raven deserved everything coming her way, after what she’d put not just Pyrrha herself through, but the people of Shion and her platoon as well through. And yet… while that same justification COULD technically be extended to the bald bandit that Jaune had just killed, it became increasingly flimsy, didn’t it?
The facts were what they were. She didn’t even know that man’s name. He hadn’t personally wronged her, for all that he might have done some harm to the people of Shion for all she knew. And yet, watching Jaune deal with him had still been immensely satisfying and intensely arousing.
So yes, there was something wrong with Pyrrha. But in this case… she’d already decided she didn’t want to be right. And so, pushing herself up from where she’d been watching the whole altercation from around a tent corner, Pyrrha follows after Jaune. No one else seems willing to in the moment. They’ve all been shaken, watching the man, wearing one of their former leader’s Grimm masks, callously dealing death to one of their own.
What could the bandits of the Branwen Tribe do in the face of Jaune’s immense strength? What could any of them hope to accomplish? A small smile alights on Pyrrha’s lips, as she follows Jaune into what looks to be the Tribe Chieftain’s tent. Now his tent, because he was the strongest. Pyrrha didn’t believe in the Might makes Right philosophy, to be clear. She believed the strong had a duty and an obligation to protect the weak. Her mother had taught her that.
But she couldn’t deny that it was oh so satisfying to see these bandits get their stupid philosophy thrown back in their face and used against them. Satisfying… and a hell of a turn on at that.
“Pyrrha?”
Jaune sounds slightly surprised that she’s approaching him. From his body language, she gets the impression that he was anticipating another challenge, despite how decisively he just handled that one. He was overestimating the bandits, really. They were craven just like Raven, the lot of them. More than likely, there would be bandits deserting over the next day or two, fleeing the camp and breaking off either for solo thuggery or for new group ventures.
Most wouldn’t stick around for more than a week if that, if he didn’t do something to rally them. But Pyrrha didn’t think Jaune would go that far. She didn’t think he would turn to banditry, which meant… well, it didn’t matter right now, did it? What mattered was this moment, between the two of them.
“I’ve rested up some more, Jaune. I’m feeling all better.”
Moving forward, Pyrrha tries to put a bit of a roll in her hips, a sway to her walk. It’s her first time trying to be seductive in… ever, really, so she’s sure she does a terrible job of it. She’s even more sure of that when Jaune completely misreads her intentions, nodding along amicably.
“Right, I’m sure you want to get back to Shion and your soldiers. I’ll get Summer and have her escort you, I’m sure you understand why I can’t leave right now.”
“I understand, Jaune. But that’s not what I want to do right now.”
He looks at her, confused… and then the light of understanding dawns in his eyes. Pyrrha, meanwhile, seizes the initiative. If she doesn’t do this now, she probably never will, really. Reaching up, she pulls her top down, letting her breasts bounce free of their confines right there on the spot. It was a maneuver she’d practiced, as embarrassing as that sounds even in her head. Still, she thrusts out her tits at him and licks her lips.
“I want… I want to have that talk you promised me now.”
“… Talk?”
“You said… we’d talk later. Well. Now is later.”
While she can’t read his face behind the borrowed mask he’s wearing, Jaune seems locked up, uncertain of what to say or how to proceed. Unwilling to lose her nerve here, Pyrrha presses onward and closes the last foot of distance between them, before dropping to her knees. Only when she reaches for his crotch does he finally reach out and stop her.
“Wait, Pyrrha.”
His voice is commanding. Domineering, even. Like he’s used to giving orders and being obeyed. It certainly works on Pyrrha, that confident, dominating tone of his. Even though she’s afraid she’s going to lose the initiative, Pyrrha waits, looking up at him, her breasts out and there, if he… if he wanted to do anything with them.
“… If we continue on, you’ll learn something about me. And it wouldn’t be right to go any further than this without you making an informed decision.”
It’s just… Jaune with red and black eyes, and white skin, and black veins. Its Jaune if he weren’t human, but a Grimm instead. Pyrrha stiffens up, some horror welling up inside of her.
“H-How? How did this happen? Was it… the mask?! Did the bandit woman do this to you?!”
It didn’t make sense, but at the same time, Pyrrha legitimately couldn’t figure out what had happened. How had Jaune gone from fully human, with blond hair and blue eyes, to THIS?!
But Jaune just shakes his head.
“This was always me, Pyrrha. From the very first moment we met, this was my true nature. I was hidden behind a spell, but all Raven did was break the spell and reveal my true form. She didn’t turn me into this… I was already like this.”
That’s… a lot to wrap her head around, to say the least. Pyrrha doesn’t think Jaune is lying necessarily. But the ramifications of what it means for him to be telling the truth are… well, the phrase ‘above her paygrade’, comes to mind.
“That would make you the first Grimm sighted in two years. Unless… there are more of you? Is that what happened to the Grimm? Did you all become disguised humans, wandering around and-!”
It sounds silly even as Pyrrha is saying it, and Jaune’s shake of his head causes her to fall silent as she blushes in embarrassment. Still, it’s all rather difficult for her to understand.
“No, Pyrrha. There’s only one other like me, and you won’t see her cavorting with humans any time soon. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m actually the reason there have been no Grimm these past two years. I… there was another intelligence controlling the Grimm before I came along. And then I showed up… and I took the reins.”
It’s just bombshell after bombshell with him. If Pyrrha is understanding Jaune right, then basically, he’s not just the savior of Shion, not just her and her platoon’s savior… but also the savior of all of Remnant. And sure, Mistral likely wouldn’t be militarizing and planning to go to war if the Grimm were still around… but Pyrrha had grown up taught to fear and hate the Grimm. These last two years had been good for the Human Kingdoms, no matter the tensions that had arisen. Jaune… Jaune had done good.
Is it any wonder then, that Pyrrha leans forward again, and reaches for his pants once more? This time, Jaune is too surprised to stop her, the Grimmified humanoid blinking down at her in stupefaction.
“… What are you doing?”
It’s like he thought she would run away the moment she saw his true nature. And maybe if this were two years ago, she would have. A Grimm Human would be terrifying, to say the least. But now? Two years out, with almost complete confirmation that Jaune was the reason behind the absence of Grimm all across Remnant? Pyrrha wasn’t afraid of him. If anything, she was more aroused than ever before.
“The way I see it, you’ve sacrificed so much for me and my kind, Jaune. It’s high time someone return the favor.”
Jaune doesn’t seem to know what to say to that. Which is good, because Pyrrha is well aware she’s talking out her ass with that one. In truth, she just wants a piece of him. Grimm nature or no Grimm nature. Though, she thinks she might not be the only one who’s being a little deceitful. When she finally pulls Jaune’s cock out, it’s pale, sure, damn near albino even, and QUITE large… but nothing too unnatural or inhuman. In fact, he probably could have easily passed it off as just some skin condition or birth defect.
It was possible he truly had convinced himself that he needed to tell her the truth. But secretly, as she takes him into her mouth while looking up into those red and black eyes of his with her own green gaze, Pyrrha thinks Jaune wanted an excuse to tell her. He wanted to be able to bring her in on his secret. And for that… she wanted to reward him, in turn.
-x-X-x-
Vernal was as pissed as she was confused. Shion should have been a simple enough job. Sure, Raven had wanted more than their usual, and Shion was supposed to be the first in a series of strikes before they left Mistral altogether… but it was fine. Vernal trusted Raven’s vision, and if not her vision, she trusted the older woman’s strength. Might made Right, after all.
But then everything had been turned on its head in the span of a day. That guy Vernal had found locked up in the biggest house in the village had turned out to be something else entirely. She still didn’t quite understand what the fuck was going on, only that suddenly Raven was out, and they had a new boss.
Raven had been beaten. That alone was fucking ridiculous, but not impossible. Still, this new guy… the way he’d put down Cain with nothing more than his backhand, that shit was fucking incredible. For a long moment, Vernal had been considering challenging him all the same, wanting to see how she measured up. She’d thought maybe she could get a good fight without getting her ass killed, if she didn’t antagonize him quite so much.
But then she’d actually taken the moment to really process his demeanor and realized… he was in no mood for another fight, and if he was forced into one, it would almost certainly be him killing the challenger just as fast as he killed Cain. Vernal might have been a brash firecracker of a girl, but she did NOT have a death wish.
Instead, she’d let him walked off… and approached his friend instead. The seemingly blind woman who had come back out of the woods alongside their new boss and their old boss has a smile on her face as Vernal walks up to her. It’s like she knows she’s there somehow, because she turns to regard Vernal with that same smile, seemingly unconcerned. One would think being blind in a bandit’s camp would be cause for at least a little bit of worry, but she… she was cool as a cucumber.
“Summer, right?”
Her smile takes on an edge, as she cocks her head to the side, seeming to almost look right through Vernal, despite clearly being blind.
“That is I, yes.”
Crossing her arms over her chest mulishly, Vernal works her jaw for a moment.
“… You’re strong, right? Gotta be, to hang around with a guy like that, yeah? You tougher than Raven?”
Summer’s smile grows into a full blown toothy grin.
“I would say so, yes. Though it’s been a long time since Raven and I sparred.”
Vernal quickly files that last bit away. Raven and this Summer woman had history. Good to know. Not what Vernal came up to her for though.
“Train me. I’ll make it worth your while.”
She was tough. Vernal knew she was tough. But when their new boss had blanketed the town of Shion in Killing Intent, Vernal had barely stayed standing. Only Summer had seemed completely and utterly fine. So, if Vernal wanted to get tougher, she had the right teacher right in front of her.
“You’ll make it worth my while, will you? And how will you make it worth my while?”
Pressing her lips together, Vernal considers her options for a moment. She could offer money; she has some stashed away… but her instincts are telling her that Summer doesn’t care about such a thing. Which only really left…
“Service. I’ll be yours for as long as you train me. Your back-up, your muscle. Your extra pair of eye- hands. Extra pair of hands.”
She flushes at her slip-up, as well as at how Summer grins all the wider at it. There’s no way the other woman should be able to see her embarrassment though… right?
“Mm, an interesting offer. My own personal servant, for as long as I train you. But then… doesn’t Might make Right?”
It feels like a trap, but if it is one, Vernal can’t see it. So, she answers cautiously, but honestly.
“… Yeah?”
Bringing a finger up to tap her chin, Summer hums.
“Hmm… but then, if I train you, and you get stronger than me, won’t that give you power over me?”
“… Yes.”
Suddenly, a blanket of something pushes down on Vernal, sending her collapsing to her knees. It’s not the same as whatever the new boss did. This has more of a physical presence to it, rather than an emotional or psychological feel. Vernal can feel her muscles straining and threatening to tear as she tries and fails to get back to her feet.
“But why would I want to empower you, if you’ll only turn around and betray me in the end?”
Vernal doesn’t have a good answer to that and couldn’t have gotten any of her words out even if she wanted to. Gasping, panting, trying to catch her breath, she trembles under what feels like the weight of a rockslide… until suddenly, the sensation is gone, like it was never even there.
“Well, no matter. I accept your offer of service. You will do as I say, when I say it. And in return… we’ll see if we can make a proper warrior out of you yet.”
Stumbling to her feet, Vernal opens her mouth… and then closes it. Staring at her new teacher… there’s no denying that the other woman is blind. Her eyes are completely gone, ripped from her head. Where they had once been has completely healed over. But then… why does she think she sees a hint of silver, just for a second?