The all clear was called a couple of hours later. Everyone headed out of the bomb shelter as classes were canceled. He and the others headed back to the rooms. Nsabita and Gen were more than a little nervous but kept it together. The others acted like nothing was wrong.
“Husband, what was going on earlier?” Lyola asked. “We were unable to contact you.”
“There was a bomb scare,” Asher said. “Everything’s alright now. Did the alarms go off on this level too?”
“No,” Tillie said. “We only heard an announcement to stay indoors.”
“Is this related to your quest?” Lyola asked.
“I don’t know,” Asher said. “We have some things to interrogate out of my students. Lets pick a room.” They chose one of the corner ones.
They set up in the room. In chairs they made a big semi circle in front of the bed. Nsabita threw out all the silencing and spy charms that she had. Joon opened her pocket space. The girls stepped out and stood at the foot of the bed.
“If you have a Mana Bomb on you, throw it back in the pocket space. I don’t want the alarms going off again,” he said. Sapphan frowned but took off her ring and threw it back in the space. Asher let out a sigh as the portal closed. “I want all accessories off, now.”
“But-”
“No, buts. If you want us to protect you, then there needs to be some trust,” he said firmly.
The girls shared a look. They began taking off rings and earrings. Finally they came to the necklaces around their necks. Taking them off their disguise fell immediately. In front of him were 2 beautiful angels. They were twins. Their hair long, straight, and black it went down to their waists. Skin pale, their eyes were red. He noticed 4 longer fangs in their mouths like a succubus. The only big difference Asher noticed was they both had black feathery wings. They were a lot like the Destruction boss he fought.
“Holy fuck, Devlins,” Joon said. “I thought you were extinct.” The girls eyed Joon, their faces mirror images of one another.
“Whats a devlin?” Eliffy asked.
“Them, for sure. Red eyes, black wings,” Joon said. “They were on the same planet as some Angelos. Those androgynous white winged guys. Like 200,000 years ago or something. Devlins were kicked off the planet when the Angelos took power.”
“You are correct,” Merriem said. Her red eyes looked between everyone. “Are you going to turn us in for the bounty?”
“There’s a bounty?” Asher asked. Merriem nodded. “We aren’t hurting for money. And I don’t like the Angelos. Tell us your story and we will figure out what to do with you.”
The girls shared a look. Sapphan spoke. “We are part of a group called Absolute,” she said. “We hate Prime and what it stands for. It is as bad as the System itself. Allowing the strong to control the weak. Slavery is worse now than it has ever been. Xenocide is permitted as long as you bribe the right people.”
“Fucking preach,” Joon said. “I’ve never heard of your group before. But you aren’t the first ones to try.”
“No,” Merriem said. “We devlins are rare. Most of us stay hidden. There are pockets of us everywhere. We were recruited to infiltrate the Academy.”
“And set off a bomb?” Asher asked.
“If the opportunity presented itself, yes,” Merriem said.
“Why?” Asher asked.
“Because this is where the elitism starts,” Sapphon spat. “You see it, don’t you? They hate and plot behind your back as we speak. They tried to have you killed. The Avatar said so. That’s why we came to you.”
Asher did see it, but the more time he spent at the Academy the more he liked some of the people. “Did you not see my first Champion Trial?” Asher asked. “I would rather die than let kids be killed. These are fucking kids.” They both jerked back as if he slapped them.
He was quiet for a moment, trying to justify their actions. It was not working. “Why do you think I brought Eliffy in class today?” Asher asked. “It wasn’t to talk about sex or her people. It was to humanize her to them. There are commonalities between all of us. The high humans might be full of themselves, but there are a few good ones. And heck, there are a lot of humans and beastkin in our class. Did they do something to your people too?”
“No war is fought without casualties,” Merriem said.
“Oh you’re at war now?” Asher asked.
“Of course,” Sapphan said. “My people were murdered, just because the Angelos wanted the planet to themselves. The high humans helped them. Now I cannot show my true face anywhere because of it. Or else I will be hunted down to the ends of the universe. How is that right? How is that fair?”
“Life isn’t fair,” Asher spat. “The System and the League doesn’t give a fuck about us, any of us. But you don’t go killing a bunch of innocent people because its tough. You pull yourself back up and move on. Or else you turn yourself into the same monsters that you condemn. Killing indiscriminately? That’s what they did to your people!” The girls were quiet as he stared at them. Their nostrils flared as they fought their anger, but they didn’t have anything to say to that.
Asher knew it wasn’t that cut and dry. Their people were hunted. He chewed his lip trying to think. There had to be an answer for these girls.
“I know you mean well hun,” Joon whispered in his ear. “You have a lot of good points. But you know how bad it is out there. Some people thrive, and some falter. I’m not saying what they want to do is right, but eventually you come around to the same viewpoint as them.”
“I know,” he said. Resting his head on hers he looked into her eyes as she leaned over his shoulder. He had seen it in his vision from the Future System. His rage at the League. The desire to kill them all. He had slaughtered so many when they took it all from him. “But I don’t like it,” Asher said. “I shouldn’t be ok with killing a bunch of people. So for now, I want to try to stop it. We aren’t in your time anymore babe. Let’s -let’s try to make this one better, eh?”
She looked at him in surprise. It was like a light clicked on in her head. “I hate to say it, but I never thought of it like that,” she said. “Of course you’re right. Fate is what you make it.”
“Don’t go quoting Terminator on me,” he said. “I can only love you so much.”
Joon laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. “Damn I love you. Let’s keep trying. And if it doesn’t work, we will just kill them all.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said. They kissed and he turned back to the twin devlins. “What to do with you 2?” He asked himself aloud. The floor Comm began to ring from the main room. Tiff ran over and answered it.
“Asher, it’s for you,” she said. Ash got up and answered.
“Professor Whitmore?” Raimy asked.
“Yep, whatsup?”
“Primeval Yevus has asked to see you on his floor,” she said. Asher’s gut clenched.
“I’ll be there soon,” he said. She thanked him and sent up an access ring through the elevator. Asher picked it up.
“What did she want?” Tiff asked.
“Yevus wants to see me?” The devlins stared at him from their room, they had heard.
“What does the Primeval want?” Lyola asked, more than a little scared.
“No idea,” he said. “Keep asking them questions,” Asher said, pointing at the twins. “I want their life stories when I get back.”
Tiff nodded and saluted. “Lulu, let’s give them some tentacle porn torture.” The shoggoth jumped off of her and began to grow into her human form.
Asher frowned. “Fuck the Primeval, I want to see this,” he said.
“No, you are busy,” Lyola said with a wide smile on her face. The girls piled into the room. Asher saw the fear in the devlins eyes as they noticed Lulu. Tentacles poured out of her back and the door was slammed shut. It wasn’t long until Asher heard screams from the poor girls.
“Save some questioning for when I get back!” There was no reply. “Fucking son of a bitch Primevals,” Asher said as he used the ring on the elevator to access the top floor. “Fucking son of a bitch quest!” He yelled to no one.
Asher had mostly calmed down by the time he got to the top floor. He stepped into the floor to see Siela waiting for him. She was as surprised to see him as he was to see her. “What’s up?” He asked.
“Ah, Lawful Good,” Yevus said, stepping out of yet another room. It felt like that’s all people did when he got off the elevator. Behind him walked Zaddon Resurrection, the Dean of the Academy and Alconsus Fulbright. The non-Primeval high humans were more than a little shocked to see Asher there as well. “I am glad you could make it.”
“Can I ask what this is about?” Asher asked. Siela moved over to be next to her father.
“Simply about what happened at the Academy today. It was found that 2 of your students were not who they said they were,” Yevus said.
“Who is that?” Asher asked. With his Regal Presence on it was easy to not picture their faces.
“The um, smuggler that your wife led us to,” Alconsus said. “The one that ran the Tereskan Cartel. He admitted to smuggling a couple of human girls in.” Joon wasn’t going to like that. “Sapphan Mestel and Merriem Sirona. Do you know them?”
“I do, one is a blonde and the other has brown hair. Honestly I thought they would take the challenge I set for my class, but they never did,” he said.
“Yes, we heard about that,” Zaddon said. He did not look pleased. Asher didn’t care.
“It was believed that they too had a Mana Bomb, and they may have been the ones that were targeting Siela,” Alconsus said. Asher doubted that, but maybe. He would have to ask them.
“Not sure how I can help,” Asher said. The 3 high human men shared a look.
“We heard that you were found in your classroom during the evacuation,” Alconsus said. Asher was afraid there may have been video of the girls running to his room. “But because you don’t have special access during such an event, you were escorted to one of the bomb shelters.” He looked to Yevus. “Primeval Yevus mentioned that you had a good reason to be out of the bomb shelter, but would not elaborate further because of a contract you have with him.” He left the question unasked.
“We,” Zaddon continued. “Were hoping you would divulge the contents of your quest to us as well. If you do need special access to complete it, we would be able to get that for you.”
Asher thought about it. He could see their point. And maybe he really did need special access when shit hit the fan. Or at least some restrictions lifted. “If I were to relay the actual contents of my quest. I would prefer that nothing changes. No one but those that have to know, should know.”
“That would be more than acceptable,” Alconsus said.
Asher thought about it some more. Yevus had been truthful to him so far. If anyone was being dishonest it was Asher. It would be good to try to push this job onto someone else. Besides, he still had 159 days on the quest and only about 70 days of school left. If he had to stay on Prime after the semester he needed a good reason.
“Alright, how do I release you from our contract Yevus?” Asher asked. Alconsus and Zaddon moved as if struck. Asher didn’t care why.
Yevus pulled out the contract that they had signed. “Simply say Release Contract,” he said. Yevus handed it to him. Asher did so. He felt a little Soul Mana touch him, then the contract disintegrated and disappeared.
“My quest is to save Prime,” Asher said. He read them the full contents. There wasn’t any new information. They reacted the way Asher would expect. Shock in their eyes, almost panic.
“You cannot be serious,” Alconsus said.
“He is,” Yevus said. “He could not lie to me with our contract in place. We have 159 days to save Prime from whatever will destroy it.”
“I apologize profusely, Lawful Good,” Zaddon said with a bow. “I had no idea.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Asher said. “Again, the less that people know the better. I assume no one got the quest?” They shook their heads. “Great, so it’s just me and my wives.” Joon, Tiff, Zora, and Genevieve all received the quest, but no one else had. “So can I count on you to get me some kind of pass? I stayed out of the bomb shelters in case some update happened to my quest, but I haven’t received anything.”
“Yes, of course,” Alconsus said. “I will have your authority increased to access for all sectors. Every resource you may need will be at your disposal.”
“I don’t think I need anything,” Asher said. “The person who gave me the quest said that I am specifically needed to complete it. Maybe my wives too, I’m not sure. I would like some more passes if possible. And of course, Siela’s help.”
“Siela?” Alconsus asked. Turning around he noticed his daughter was still there. “Oh, I had not noticed you were still here. I assume it is not a problem that she heard?”
“No, I think we can trust her,” Asher said. “I would appreciate her help. If she wouldn’t mind being our go between that is. If anything comes up I can let her know. That way we won’t raise any more suspicions.”
“Yes of course,” Alconsus said. Asher was using it as a good opportunity to get to know her. He winked at her with a smile, she blushed. She understood his intentions.
“I don’t think what happened today had anything to do with me,” Asher said.
“No, but we wouldn’t have become aware of them without your help,” Alconsus said. “Again, thank you.”
I better not tell Joon, she will be pissed, he thought. “What about the Bed Viper?” Asher asked.
“We confronted her, but somehow she escaped,” he admitted. Asher nodded, he would have to watch who he slept with.
“Anything else?” Asher asked. They shook their heads and he went back down to his floor. The place was quiet. Annoyed, he walked to the interrogation room. Asher found them still going at it. The room was a lesbian’s paradise as the girls ate one another out. The devlins were in the middle. One eating out Tiff and the other sitting on her face. Lulu was in the corner curled up. Exhausted from whatever ordeal she went through.
“Oh, hey babe,” Tiff said. A wide smile on her face her Lust Aura filled the room. Asher frowned as he fought his erection. He studied the devlins as they shyly moved from Tiffany. Their bodies were mirror images, and being with true twins sounded nice. For now he had a job to do. Asher cast ID on them. With their accessories off there was nothing to keep him from seeing.
Devlin
Level 25
Devlin
Level 25
Slowly a plan was forming, and he wasn’t sure anyone else would like it. “Tell me more about your people,” Asher said as the girls dressed. “And you better have not had anything to do with trying to kill Siela Fulbright.”
—
Asher walked into the shop with Joon in tow. It was the Monster Pet Shop he had been so excited about. Who knew there was such a big secret there.
“Asher Whitmore,” Lastoo said. The wolfkin waved him in happily. “I recently finished your order of Monster Capture Cubes.”
“Again,” Asher said. “They’re Pokecubes.” He wanted the name to stick, maybe it would someday.
“Have you used all of your current ones?”
“I have not,” Asher admitted. “I actually came here for another reason. I heard you sell Lakarvian Larvaes only during the half-moon harvest.”
Lastoo jerked upright as if struck. He eyed Asher and Joon nervously. “I only sell those on Melday.”
“That’s too bad, Deaday is just around the corner,” Asher finished the coded message. Lastoo gave them another look. With a nod he pushed a button and an attendant came out of the back door. Lastoo waved them to the back room. Asher and Joon headed back. Ignoring the small caged monsters they headed through another door. More beastkin were all around them talking. They quieted as the group approached.
They were around a table discussing in whispers. Lastoo brought Asher and Joon over. “How do you know the callsign?”
“They told us,” Asher said. Joon opened her pocket space. The 2 devlins stepped out.
“Merriem, Sapphan, we feared you were lost,” Lastoo said. Grabbing the girls he hugged them, a large smile on his face.
“The Lawful Good saved us,” Merriem said.
“I had hoped you would help,” Lastoo said. His gray wolfkin ears moved from side to side. Asher knew it was a disguise, but it was a good one.
“I don’t agree with your methods,” Asher said. “Nor trying to blow this place up. I have yet decided what I will do. But I am willing to help in a way. If you will stop with the disguises and tell me more about your people.”
“What do you mean?” Lastoo asked.
“I know you’re all devlins. I do not care about any bounty,” Asher said. “I don’t care about the beef you have with the angelos and high humans. If you want my help. I want you to be honest with me.”
Lastoo looked to the other people disguised as beastkin. They huddled together as Merriem and Sapphan talked about what happened.
“You sure about this?” Joon asked. She actually knew the whole plan.
“Nope,” he said. “But we need allies. I thought you would be up for it.”
“I kind of am,” she said. “I never really thought about doing it before.” He noticed a smile on her face. Asher grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. After a long kiss she stared up at him. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For surprising me,” she said. “I still feel like you pull answers out of your ass, but in the end it usually works out.”
“Thanks for trusting me,” he said. They kissed. No one bothering them they started to make out. Asher found a chair and they lost themselves for a little while. Simply enjoying the feel and comfort of one another. Their hands groped but no clothes were taken off. It was simply 2 lovers enjoying the closeness of one another.
Eventually Lastoo coughed and brought them out of it. “Lawful Good,” he said.
Asher reluctantly pulled away from her. “Sorry,” he said. Planting another kiss on Joon she got up as she rolled her eyes. He willed his boner away. “We will continue later,” he promised. She snuck in another kiss on the cheek as he got up. “Have you decided?”
“We have decided to trust you for now,” Lastoo admitted. He reached into his shirt and pulled the necklace off. His true devlin form was revealed. Tall, black wings, red eyes, long black hair, he looked a lot like Merriem and Sapphan. He assumed it was a devlin thing, but as more took theirs off not all had black hair. Some had white, others blue, most had gray. They were old and young. All with red eyes and black feathered wings.
“What do you propose?” Lastoo asked.
“As I understand it,” Asher said. “You all were kicked off your planet. And you’ve been hiding out ever since.” Asher used ID on them. He could now see their true species and level. “All of you are low level. I assume because it’s hard to get access to dungeons since you don’t have a home.”
“Yes,” Lastoo admitted. “We are hidden all over the universe. Some have made lives, but us. We are Absolute. We will never give up.”
“You should,” Asher said. There were angry looks from the other devlins. “Give up for now. Or your people will become extinct.”
“How dare you!” One of the devlins yelled. Asher raised his hand, silencing them.
“I come from a planet that was recently Initialized,” Asher said. “Over 50% of our population has died since the tutorial a year ago. Our planet is 9 times larger than it was before. We have new continents and land untouched. Too many dungeons than we could hope to get everything from.”
“We could use people like you on our planet,” he admitted. “People that have lived on Prime and other places their whole lives. Know what items are worth.” The room was quiet. “I have taken star elves, bofin, leopardkin, and kitsunes to my planet. All of them were slaves. They didn’t know much about the real goings ons of the Systemic League. I could use your help.”
The room was quiet. “But Prime-” Lastoo tried to say.
“Prime will be here when our Initialization is over. I am extending an olive branch to you and your people. Join my guild. Help my people. There are 4 years left before our borders are opened,” Asher said. “4 years where you don’t have to fear being found out. 4 years where you can level and grow in strength. 4 years of peace if you want it. No one on my planet has ever heard of a devlin. Hell we could pretend you’re a different species entirely, and have always lived on our planet. That way you could really join back with society.”
“The angelos and high humans would never allow that,” one devlin said.
“Who gives a shit what they would allow?” Asher asked. “They wanted me dead, and yet here I stand. Here you all stand.” That got a few of them. “Gain levels, that’s all the System cares about. I’m not saying it will be easy. But there will be plenty of opportunities to do whatever you want. Start a farm. Start a business. Sell information to the highest bidder, I don’t care. But if you choose to fight for me. I will do everything I can for your people. If you don’t like it I will help you commission a ship. You can leave after the Initialization is over and go back to whatever life you have. Find some rock somewhere and start over. Or you can stay with us.”
The room was quiet. Eventually Lastoo said, “Let us discuss.”
The all clear was called a couple of hours later. Everyone headed out of the bomb shelter as classes were canceled. He and the others headed back to the rooms. Nsabita and Gen were more than a little nervous but kept it together. The others acted like nothing was wrong.
“Husband, what was going on earlier?” Lyola asked. “We were unable to contact you.”
“There was a bomb scare,” Asher said. “Everything’s alright now. Did the alarms go off on this level too?”
“No,” Tillie said. “We only heard an announcement to stay indoors.”
“Is this related to your quest?” Lyola asked.
“I don’t know,” Asher said. “We have some things to interrogate out of my students. Lets pick a room.” They chose one of the corner ones.
They set up in the room. In chairs they made a big semi circle in front of the bed. Nsabita threw out all the silencing and spy charms that she had. Joon opened her pocket space. The girls stepped out and stood at the foot of the bed.
“If you have a Mana Bomb on you, throw it back in the pocket space. I don’t want the alarms going off again,” he said. Sapphan frowned but took off her ring and threw it back in the space. Asher let out a sigh as the portal closed. “I want all accessories off, now.”
“But-”
“No, buts. If you want us to protect you, then there needs to be some trust,” he said firmly.
The girls shared a look. They began taking off rings and earrings. Finally they came to the necklaces around their necks. Taking them off their disguise fell immediately. In front of him were 2 beautiful angels. They were twins. Their hair long, straight, and black it went down to their waists. Skin pale, their eyes were red. He noticed 4 longer fangs in their mouths like a succubus. The only big difference Asher noticed was they both had black feathery wings. They were a lot like the Destruction boss he fought.
“Holy fuck, Devlins,” Joon said. “I thought you were extinct.” The girls eyed Joon, their faces mirror images of one another.
“Whats a devlin?” Eliffy asked.
“Them, for sure. Red eyes, black wings,” Joon said. “They were on the same planet as some Angelos. Those androgynous white winged guys. Like 200,000 years ago or something. Devlins were kicked off the planet when the Angelos took power.”
“You are correct,” Merriem said. Her red eyes looked between everyone. “Are you going to turn us in for the bounty?”
“There’s a bounty?” Asher asked. Merriem nodded. “We aren’t hurting for money. And I don’t like the Angelos. Tell us your story and we will figure out what to do with you.”
The girls shared a look. Sapphan spoke. “We are part of a group called Absolute,” she said. “We hate Prime and what it stands for. It is as bad as the System itself. Allowing the strong to control the weak. Slavery is worse now than it has ever been. Xenocide is permitted as long as you bribe the right people.”
“Fucking preach,” Joon said. “I’ve never heard of your group before. But you aren’t the first ones to try.”
“No,” Merriem said. “We devlins are rare. Most of us stay hidden. There are pockets of us everywhere. We were recruited to infiltrate the Academy.”
“And set off a bomb?” Asher asked.
“If the opportunity presented itself, yes,” Merriem said.
“Why?” Asher asked.
“Because this is where the elitism starts,” Sapphon spat. “You see it, don’t you? They hate and plot behind your back as we speak. They tried to have you killed. The Avatar said so. That’s why we came to you.”
Asher did see it, but the more time he spent at the Academy the more he liked some of the people. “Did you not see my first Champion Trial?” Asher asked. “I would rather die than let kids be killed. These are fucking kids.” They both jerked back as if he slapped them.
He was quiet for a moment, trying to justify their actions. It was not working. “Why do you think I brought Eliffy in class today?” Asher asked. “It wasn’t to talk about sex or her people. It was to humanize her to them. There are commonalities between all of us. The high humans might be full of themselves, but there are a few good ones. And heck, there are a lot of humans and beastkin in our class. Did they do something to your people too?”
“No war is fought without casualties,” Merriem said.
“Oh you’re at war now?” Asher asked.
“Of course,” Sapphan said. “My people were murdered, just because the Angelos wanted the planet to themselves. The high humans helped them. Now I cannot show my true face anywhere because of it. Or else I will be hunted down to the ends of the universe. How is that right? How is that fair?”
“Life isn’t fair,” Asher spat. “The System and the League doesn’t give a fuck about us, any of us. But you don’t go killing a bunch of innocent people because its tough. You pull yourself back up and move on. Or else you turn yourself into the same monsters that you condemn. Killing indiscriminately? That’s what they did to your people!” The girls were quiet as he stared at them. Their nostrils flared as they fought their anger, but they didn’t have anything to say to that.
Asher knew it wasn’t that cut and dry. Their people were hunted. He chewed his lip trying to think. There had to be an answer for these girls.
“I know you mean well hun,” Joon whispered in his ear. “You have a lot of good points. But you know how bad it is out there. Some people thrive, and some falter. I’m not saying what they want to do is right, but eventually you come around to the same viewpoint as them.”
“I know,” he said. Resting his head on hers he looked into her eyes as she leaned over his shoulder. He had seen it in his vision from the Future System. His rage at the League. The desire to kill them all. He had slaughtered so many when they took it all from him. “But I don’t like it,” Asher said. “I shouldn’t be ok with killing a bunch of people. So for now, I want to try to stop it. We aren’t in your time anymore babe. Let’s -let’s try to make this one better, eh?”
She looked at him in surprise. It was like a light clicked on in her head. “I hate to say it, but I never thought of it like that,” she said. “Of course you’re right. Fate is what you make it.”
“Don’t go quoting Terminator on me,” he said. “I can only love you so much.”
Joon laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. “Damn I love you. Let’s keep trying. And if it doesn’t work, we will just kill them all.”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said. They kissed and he turned back to the twin devlins. “What to do with you 2?” He asked himself aloud. The floor Comm began to ring from the main room. Tiff ran over and answered it.
“Asher, it’s for you,” she said. Ash got up and answered.
“Professor Whitmore?” Raimy asked.
“Yep, whatsup?”
“Primeval Yevus has asked to see you on his floor,” she said. Asher’s gut clenched.
“I’ll be there soon,” he said. She thanked him and sent up an access ring through the elevator. Asher picked it up.
“What did she want?” Tiff asked.
“Yevus wants to see me?” The devlins stared at him from their room, they had heard.
“What does the Primeval want?” Lyola asked, more than a little scared.
“No idea,” he said. “Keep asking them questions,” Asher said, pointing at the twins. “I want their life stories when I get back.”
Tiff nodded and saluted. “Lulu, let’s give them some tentacle porn torture.” The shoggoth jumped off of her and began to grow into her human form.
Asher frowned. “Fuck the Primeval, I want to see this,” he said.
“No, you are busy,” Lyola said with a wide smile on her face. The girls piled into the room. Asher saw the fear in the devlins eyes as they noticed Lulu. Tentacles poured out of her back and the door was slammed shut. It wasn’t long until Asher heard screams from the poor girls.
“Save some questioning for when I get back!” There was no reply. “Fucking son of a bitch Primevals,” Asher said as he used the ring on the elevator to access the top floor. “Fucking son of a bitch quest!” He yelled to no one.
Asher had mostly calmed down by the time he got to the top floor. He stepped into the floor to see Siela waiting for him. She was as surprised to see him as he was to see her. “What’s up?” He asked.
“Ah, Lawful Good,” Yevus said, stepping out of yet another room. It felt like that’s all people did when he got off the elevator. Behind him walked Zaddon Resurrection, the Dean of the Academy and Alconsus Fulbright. The non-Primeval high humans were more than a little shocked to see Asher there as well. “I am glad you could make it.”
“Can I ask what this is about?” Asher asked. Siela moved over to be next to her father.
“Simply about what happened at the Academy today. It was found that 2 of your students were not who they said they were,” Yevus said.
“Who is that?” Asher asked. With his Regal Presence on it was easy to not picture their faces.
“The um, smuggler that your wife led us to,” Alconsus said. “The one that ran the Tereskan Cartel. He admitted to smuggling a couple of human girls in.” Joon wasn’t going to like that. “Sapphan Mestel and Merriem Sirona. Do you know them?”
“I do, one is a blonde and the other has brown hair. Honestly I thought they would take the challenge I set for my class, but they never did,” he said.
“Yes, we heard about that,” Zaddon said. He did not look pleased. Asher didn’t care.
“It was believed that they too had a Mana Bomb, and they may have been the ones that were targeting Siela,” Alconsus said. Asher doubted that, but maybe. He would have to ask them.
“Not sure how I can help,” Asher said. The 3 high human men shared a look.
“We heard that you were found in your classroom during the evacuation,” Alconsus said. Asher was afraid there may have been video of the girls running to his room. “But because you don’t have special access during such an event, you were escorted to one of the bomb shelters.” He looked to Yevus. “Primeval Yevus mentioned that you had a good reason to be out of the bomb shelter, but would not elaborate further because of a contract you have with him.” He left the question unasked.
“We,” Zaddon continued. “Were hoping you would divulge the contents of your quest to us as well. If you do need special access to complete it, we would be able to get that for you.”
Asher thought about it. He could see their point. And maybe he really did need special access when shit hit the fan. Or at least some restrictions lifted. “If I were to relay the actual contents of my quest. I would prefer that nothing changes. No one but those that have to know, should know.”
“That would be more than acceptable,” Alconsus said.
Asher thought about it some more. Yevus had been truthful to him so far. If anyone was being dishonest it was Asher. It would be good to try to push this job onto someone else. Besides, he still had 159 days on the quest and only about 70 days of school left. If he had to stay on Prime after the semester he needed a good reason.
“Alright, how do I release you from our contract Yevus?” Asher asked. Alconsus and Zaddon moved as if struck. Asher didn’t care why.
Yevus pulled out the contract that they had signed. “Simply say Release Contract,” he said. Yevus handed it to him. Asher did so. He felt a little Soul Mana touch him, then the contract disintegrated and disappeared.
“My quest is to save Prime,” Asher said. He read them the full contents. There wasn’t any new information. They reacted the way Asher would expect. Shock in their eyes, almost panic.
“You cannot be serious,” Alconsus said.
“He is,” Yevus said. “He could not lie to me with our contract in place. We have 159 days to save Prime from whatever will destroy it.”
“I apologize profusely, Lawful Good,” Zaddon said with a bow. “I had no idea.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Asher said. “Again, the less that people know the better. I assume no one got the quest?” They shook their heads. “Great, so it’s just me and my wives.” Joon, Tiff, Zora, and Genevieve all received the quest, but no one else had. “So can I count on you to get me some kind of pass? I stayed out of the bomb shelters in case some update happened to my quest, but I haven’t received anything.”
“Yes, of course,” Alconsus said. “I will have your authority increased to access for all sectors. Every resource you may need will be at your disposal.”
“I don’t think I need anything,” Asher said. “The person who gave me the quest said that I am specifically needed to complete it. Maybe my wives too, I’m not sure. I would like some more passes if possible. And of course, Siela’s help.”
“Siela?” Alconsus asked. Turning around he noticed his daughter was still there. “Oh, I had not noticed you were still here. I assume it is not a problem that she heard?”
“No, I think we can trust her,” Asher said. “I would appreciate her help. If she wouldn’t mind being our go between that is. If anything comes up I can let her know. That way we won’t raise any more suspicions.”
“Yes of course,” Alconsus said. Asher was using it as a good opportunity to get to know her. He winked at her with a smile, she blushed. She understood his intentions.
“I don’t think what happened today had anything to do with me,” Asher said.
“No, but we wouldn’t have become aware of them without your help,” Alconsus said. “Again, thank you.”
I better not tell Joon, she will be pissed, he thought. “What about the Bed Viper?” Asher asked.
“We confronted her, but somehow she escaped,” he admitted. Asher nodded, he would have to watch who he slept with.
“Anything else?” Asher asked. They shook their heads and he went back down to his floor. The place was quiet. Annoyed, he walked to the interrogation room. Asher found them still going at it. The room was a lesbian’s paradise as the girls ate one another out. The devlins were in the middle. One eating out Tiff and the other sitting on her face. Lulu was in the corner curled up. Exhausted from whatever ordeal she went through.
“Oh, hey babe,” Tiff said. A wide smile on her face her Lust Aura filled the room. Asher frowned as he fought his erection. He studied the devlins as they shyly moved from Tiffany. Their bodies were mirror images, and being with true twins sounded nice. For now he had a job to do. Asher cast ID on them. With their accessories off there was nothing to keep him from seeing.
Devlin
Level 25
Devlin
Level 25
Slowly a plan was forming, and he wasn’t sure anyone else would like it. “Tell me more about your people,” Asher said as the girls dressed. “And you better have not had anything to do with trying to kill Siela Fulbright.”
—
Asher walked into the shop with Joon in tow. It was the Monster Pet Shop he had been so excited about. Who knew there was such a big secret there.
“Asher Whitmore,” Lastoo said. The wolfkin waved him in happily. “I recently finished your order of Monster Capture Cubes.”
“Again,” Asher said. “They’re Pokecubes.” He wanted the name to stick, maybe it would someday.
“Have you used all of your current ones?”
“I have not,” Asher admitted. “I actually came here for another reason. I heard you sell Lakarvian Larvaes only during the half-moon harvest.”
Lastoo jerked upright as if struck. He eyed Asher and Joon nervously. “I only sell those on Melday.”
“That’s too bad, Deaday is just around the corner,” Asher finished the coded message. Lastoo gave them another look. With a nod he pushed a button and an attendant came out of the back door. Lastoo waved them to the back room. Asher and Joon headed back. Ignoring the small caged monsters they headed through another door. More beastkin were all around them talking. They quieted as the group approached.
They were around a table discussing in whispers. Lastoo brought Asher and Joon over. “How do you know the callsign?”
“They told us,” Asher said. Joon opened her pocket space. The 2 devlins stepped out.
“Merriem, Sapphan, we feared you were lost,” Lastoo said. Grabbing the girls he hugged them, a large smile on his face.
“The Lawful Good saved us,” Merriem said.
“I had hoped you would help,” Lastoo said. His gray wolfkin ears moved from side to side. Asher knew it was a disguise, but it was a good one.
“I don’t agree with your methods,” Asher said. “Nor trying to blow this place up. I have yet decided what I will do. But I am willing to help in a way. If you will stop with the disguises and tell me more about your people.”
“What do you mean?” Lastoo asked.
“I know you’re all devlins. I do not care about any bounty,” Asher said. “I don’t care about the beef you have with the angelos and high humans. If you want my help. I want you to be honest with me.”
Lastoo looked to the other people disguised as beastkin. They huddled together as Merriem and Sapphan talked about what happened.
“You sure about this?” Joon asked. She actually knew the whole plan.
“Nope,” he said. “But we need allies. I thought you would be up for it.”
“I kind of am,” she said. “I never really thought about doing it before.” He noticed a smile on her face. Asher grabbed her hand and pulled her to him. After a long kiss she stared up at him. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“For surprising me,” she said. “I still feel like you pull answers out of your ass, but in the end it usually works out.”
“Thanks for trusting me,” he said. They kissed. No one bothering them they started to make out. Asher found a chair and they lost themselves for a little while. Simply enjoying the feel and comfort of one another. Their hands groped but no clothes were taken off. It was simply 2 lovers enjoying the closeness of one another.
Eventually Lastoo coughed and brought them out of it. “Lawful Good,” he said.
Asher reluctantly pulled away from her. “Sorry,” he said. Planting another kiss on Joon she got up as she rolled her eyes. He willed his boner away. “We will continue later,” he promised. She snuck in another kiss on the cheek as he got up. “Have you decided?”
“We have decided to trust you for now,” Lastoo admitted. He reached into his shirt and pulled the necklace off. His true devlin form was revealed. Tall, black wings, red eyes, long black hair, he looked a lot like Merriem and Sapphan. He assumed it was a devlin thing, but as more took theirs off not all had black hair. Some had white, others blue, most had gray. They were old and young. All with red eyes and black feathered wings.
“What do you propose?” Lastoo asked.
“As I understand it,” Asher said. “You all were kicked off your planet. And you’ve been hiding out ever since.” Asher used ID on them. He could now see their true species and level. “All of you are low level. I assume because it’s hard to get access to dungeons since you don’t have a home.”
“Yes,” Lastoo admitted. “We are hidden all over the universe. Some have made lives, but us. We are Absolute. We will never give up.”
“You should,” Asher said. There were angry looks from the other devlins. “Give up for now. Or your people will become extinct.”
“How dare you!” One of the devlins yelled. Asher raised his hand, silencing them.
“I come from a planet that was recently Initialized,” Asher said. “Over 50% of our population has died since the tutorial a year ago. Our planet is 9 times larger than it was before. We have new continents and land untouched. Too many dungeons than we could hope to get everything from.”
“We could use people like you on our planet,” he admitted. “People that have lived on Prime and other places their whole lives. Know what items are worth.” The room was quiet. “I have taken star elves, bofin, leopardkin, and kitsunes to my planet. All of them were slaves. They didn’t know much about the real goings ons of the Systemic League. I could use your help.”
The room was quiet. “But Prime-” Lastoo tried to say.
“Prime will be here when our Initialization is over. I am extending an olive branch to you and your people. Join my guild. Help my people. There are 4 years left before our borders are opened,” Asher said. “4 years where you don’t have to fear being found out. 4 years where you can level and grow in strength. 4 years of peace if you want it. No one on my planet has ever heard of a devlin. Hell we could pretend you’re a different species entirely, and have always lived on our planet. That way you could really join back with society.”
“The angelos and high humans would never allow that,” one devlin said.
“Who gives a shit what they would allow?” Asher asked. “They wanted me dead, and yet here I stand. Here you all stand.” That got a few of them. “Gain levels, that’s all the System cares about. I’m not saying it will be easy. But there will be plenty of opportunities to do whatever you want. Start a farm. Start a business. Sell information to the highest bidder, I don’t care. But if you choose to fight for me. I will do everything I can for your people. If you don’t like it I will help you commission a ship. You can leave after the Initialization is over and go back to whatever life you have. Find some rock somewhere and start over. Or you can stay with us.”
The room was quiet. Eventually Lastoo said, “Let us discuss.”
