Book 9, Chapter 7
Two-Man War(3)
His eyes still flickering purple, Richard glared at Apeiron, “You… I’ll return all the humiliation!”
The Empress just sneered as she watched his breathing grow heavier, not trying to escape even as his grip relaxed. That sneer turned into a smile as he placed her down on her back, positioning himself and thrusting in.
With two epic beings going all-out, basically everything on them had been destroyed. Richard’s divine swords were the only survivors of the battle, leaving both of them completely naked from head to toe. Apeiron’s near-perfect body had been marred by this battle, but he still felt incredibly attracted to the laws of chaos radiating from her. Thrust after thrust, he picked up speed until she was bouncing around him.
The two seemed to focus entirely on each other, ignoring Julian who had rushed over to the door. The royal butler had wanted to force his way through, but hearing the strange squelches and hoarse cries within he froze mid-flight. Cocking his ears for a while, his expression turned into a mix of joy and worry before he slowly took his leave.
Outside of the portal area and Apeiron’s solitary residence, all the buildings on the royal island had collapsed. Everyone had evacuated already; even legends couldn’t interfere in a battle of this level. Had the two not been aware of their own might, the collateral damage would likely have destroyed even the island itself.
Julian took slow, measured steps towards a large rock near the portal, opening up an exquisite silver wine flask and downing a mouthful. He then started to hum a little tune, a peaceful expression plastered across his face.
The portal suddenly flashed as Thor rushed through, a number of barriers covering him as he prepared an ancient staff for attack. However, he was clearly hesitant in his steps, almost like a mouse trying to steal food. The Chairman noticed Julian moments after he exited, leaping away in fright before he could even see who it was. It was only once he confirmed Julian’s identity that he calmed down and patted his chest, looking at the distant residence, “Is the battle over?”
Julian smiled, “Of course not, that was only the first half.”
“There’s a second?!”
“Heh, yes. It is going to be even more intense.”
“Then the island…” the mage panicked visibly.
“No problem, Faust will just create another. Go back, Her Majesty doesn’t want any spectators. No one is to step onto this island without explicit permission, on threat of their lives!” Julian said with a smile. However, Thor winced and nodded in reply before flying away. The wider Julian’s smile was, the greater his bloodlust.
……
Back in the hall, Richard and Apeiron were now lying side by side, staring at the broken ceiling. The place looked completely barren now, all but the structure destroyed by the shockwaves of their battle.
The two remained motionless. Richard didn’t want to move, and Apeiron couldn’t. It took a long period of silence before the Empress spoke up, “Why aren’t you killing me?”
“Ugh, how can I now?” he smiled bitterly.
“Did I not cause Sharon’s situation?”
“Sigh. But not intentionally. I saw that confusion when I told you about the stonelord, you aren’t even a main actor here.”
She turned her head ever so slightly, “Then what are you going to do now?”
“I’m going to go look for this stonelord, see if there are any clues that can point me towards where she is. No matter what’s happened to her… I need to confirm things myself.”
“… I’ll come with.”
“Huh?” Richard frowned, looking at her, “Why? Actually, doesn’t matter. I’m not going to sit around and guard myself from a sneak attack all day.”
“Of course I have my reason. Don’t you get it yet? Sharon… I… Don’t you understand?!” Apeiron started muttering incoherently, a soft blush crawling up her face.
“Understand what? Do you really want to fight her that… Wait, no. You don’t mean?”
“Yes,” Apeiron forced a nod, her aura slowly recovering. She gathered her purple hair and struggled to sit up, “Why? Isn’t it normal? Who cares about background, gender, race? Just the smell of her laws… Brr, it makes me shiver.”
“But…”
“You shouldn’t be one to talk, Mr. I’ll Fuck The Woman I Beat Up. Seriously, isn’t there a better excuse for sex?”
Richard’s face flushed red, his confidence wavering, “Err.. I was thinking…”
"Rape and kill? Extra humiliation, at the cost of your principles?"
The jab left him at a loss for words. Richard had wished to confirm things further when they first met, but a strange expression had flashed across Apeiron’s face when he mentioned the stonelord. Instead of clarifying things, she had chosen to escalate to a battle directly. He had taken that as an admission of guilt himself, starting a fight to the death.
While the entire fight only lasted a few minutes, those had been the most intense minutes of his life. Relaxing after that had led to him giving into his desires, and just like a soldier after a great war he had devolved to the state of lust. That being said, Apeiron was right. Her laws were attractive to him as well; that was the entire reason for his goodwill when she first returned.
Seeing him speechless, the Empress abandoned this line of questioning and sighed, “The stonelord was supposed to be the key to a celestial’s evolution. I managed to come across the whereabouts of one, but I didn’t wish to just give it to her directly. Those other beings were a safeguard against Praton….”
Richard listened intently, slowly starting to make sense of the matter. Apeiron had braved great danger to investigate the border of order and chaos right after Sharon vanished, but heavy injuries had left her with no choice but to retreat. By the time she recovered and returned to Norland, she had actually steeled her heart and wished for death. It just so happened that Richard gave in to his own primal desires instead of killing her, leading to the current situation.
As they talked, Apeiron found her hope reignited by the knowledge that he could control both order and chaos, as well as their mixture. That would give Richard the unique ability to investigate the scenario.
He eventually sighed, “So, how did you come across the stonelord’s whereabouts?”
“What do you… Wait, the Scholars?”
“Good chance it’s them, they’ve been after Master and me for a while now.”
Apeiron’s expression sank, but she quickly regained her bloodthirst, “Then they must be tired of living. I hear they have many ways to harvest souls and reincarnate, I’ll get to kill them multiple times! Why aren’t you healing me? Do you want to go another round with me like this?”
Richard shook his head, snapping out of thought as he placed his palm on Apeiron’s upper torso. Jade green light fell from the void, encircling both of them within. Their injuries healed in a matter of moments, leaving only exhaustion to deal with.