14.2

“Ugghh…”

John groaned as he stirred to his conscious on what felt to be a cushioned chair around him.

His head throbbed, with his vision barely returned him, he instinctively moved his arms to rub his eyes…

Clack!

A distinct metal sounded in his ears as his arms could no longer move towards his face.

Am I chained…?

He tried moving his other hand, but the same metallic clanging echoed in his ears along with his movement restrained.

Everything is blurry. What’s going on?

John waited for his sight to return, but after a long minute of hard blinking from him, his vision still did not recover. He could see the vague colors around him, but as for the outline and the volume of things, it was as if he was looking through a thick membrane.

Holy fuck...that crazy bitch overdosed me with the sedative and now I am fucking blind!!! Just how much did she want me to stay!?

Even with his disabled vision, John understood he was imprisoned by Prishine.

At least, his enchainment was only partial, the succubus had not gone all the way treating him as though he was lifestock by shackling his legs just like his wrists, his waist would be bound to some kind of table, and his clothes would have been completely stripped from him.

Even then, placing cuffs around my wrists is not acceptable!!! What the fuck, Prishine!?

He was still in his full attire when he was last conscious—aside from his arming sword, which was now no longer by his waist. He was certain that even with him being drugged by Prishine and have lost his vision partially in the process, him still alive and clothed meant he still had many uses to her.

And for that reason he was not too concerned with where his mythril sword had gone. It was likely that it was left in this warm, womanly scent filled room.

No matter…

All he had to do was to cast [Heal] and figure a way out of this predicament that he gotten himself into.

That being said, his stomach was still felt full as it did prior to loosing conscious. It was likely not much time had passed since Prishine drugged him based on the food that his stomach had yet to fully digest.

That was what John hoped.

Hence, it also made sense that this was Prishine’s room.

It felt like it, it certainly smelled like it with the lingering musk that so often accompanied her, and that he was chained in this place where no one dared to check up on him as he stirred to his consciousness, only solidified it.

Good, good, I am still in Moxnet’s fortress. [Hea….

As he was about to successfully cast [Heal] silently, his ear caught something that from the walls behind him.

“Lady Prishine…I beg you not to reward Sarvod after his attempts to leave your side.”

“Erin is right, that Sarvod male is not worth your attention. Even if you could domesticate him, he would only be a useful tool at best. His connections with the hero would draw suspicion towards us…

“...all we ask is to exterminate him before sending him to the Immortal Empress. We have not receive contact from her for over a month. I am afraid something might have happened in Registoria. The issue with John Sarvod should be best dealt with immediately.”

Exterminate me!? Reward me!? Deal with me!? What are they talking about!? Immortal Empress? What does she have to do with me!? One month!? What one month!?

In his riled up state, John’s body moved on its own and attempted to make a run, to escape whatever insanities that Erin, Saeza, Theza and Prishine were discussing.

Clink-clank!!!

Unfortunately for him, the shackles that were clasped to his wrist were still on. All he achieved was causing a loud ruckus before falling to the ground on his behind.

Fuck!!! that hurt!!! Should not have done that, should not have done that!!!

“...”

The voices that were behind the wall suddenly abated at the noise he made. As soon as John readjust himself into a more comfortable position, he could feel Prishine’s underlings made themselves scarce with their footsteps scattering away from behind him. Leaving John to slowly climb his way back to the cushioned chair he fell from.

Click-clack.

To his left, the door of the room became undone, and from it, a blurry figure what was dressed in red came rushing in his way.

It was the damned succubus. He needed not his eyes to know why she was here.

“John, what happened? Who chained you here?”

Prishine’s concerned voice almost made John laugh.

One second ago, you were talking about me as if I am a tool and now you pretend to know nothing. Very well played, you drug me, and now you pretend I was chained here. I have not had the chance to use [Heal] yet, so I’ll play along with your stupid game in my blind sightedness.

Using his damaged vision, John turned his head towards the succubus' direction before he said in a shaky tone, “I-is that y-you Prishine? W-what happened to me, I was eating a-and...now I can’t see!!!”

John forced himself to stand again, but thanks to the shackles that were on his wrists, he slipped and fell in dramatic fashion, exactly as he intended to portray himself as a blind, panicked fool.

“I can’t see Prishine!!! My magic isn’t working!!! What happened!?” his voice increasing in panic and urgency as he fidgeted in ‘fear’.

Catching him before his body slammed to the ground, Prishine spoke in a woeful tone, “I-it’s all my fault, I didn’t expect my underlings to become jealous of you that they tried poisoning… E-even after I placed you here where no one could reach you...someone still placed these chains on you in fear that you would hurt me,” Prishine placed a hand on his cheeks as she took advantage of his restricted movements to caress him.

By someone you mean you… What terrible acting from a supposed ‘seductress’, at least put some effort into it like I am right now.

John continued folding his brows in the most endearing way possible.

“Please, can you do something about my vision? I-I can’t imagine living without being able to see, y-you must k-know what they used on me right? S-so…”

Prishine turned her head away from him as though she was guilty, but even in John’s blurred vision, he could clearly made out the shrewd smile that popped up on her face.

“I-I’ve identified it, it’s a type of drug they’ve used in the underworld…”

It is a drug and not some poison to kill me, John thought to himself as he shook his body in an attempt to portray the image of a scared animal. You piece of shit! Can you keep your story straight?! Consistency you fucking whore, how dumb do you think I am. You said it was poison, and now you admit it is a drug!

“I-is there a-a cure?” John asked in the gentlest tone possible.

“Y-yes…but you might be averse to it…”

“Tell me! I-I need to know. I don’t want to live a life without being able to see!!!”

“John...it’s not accomplished that easily.”

With how secretive Prishine was, John amplified his act and took on the role of the panicked blind man, pushing his limits of his overly dramatic acting.

“Please, Prishine!!! I’ll do anything!!!” he begged as loud as he could, hammering the very words into her ears.

Truthfully speaking, he was just playing into what Prishine wanted and John understood it clearly.

Thanks to his partial blindness, he was able to exaggerate his reactions without breaking character, all for the succubus to reveal her true colors.

“I can’t live as a blind man! How can I live!!! I NEED TO SEE!!!” John howled, he could even feel his eyes tearing up just so slightly.

“The cure for the drug—poison, is for you to…”

“For me, to what?”

“The first option is to stain your hands with the blood of a succubus...since it is a drug developed in the underworld by the previous generations of succubi, it was only natural to undo its effects one needed to either end the life of a succubus such as I…”

Prishine’s voice became small as she explained.

John could feel that the more he played the role of a panicked man, the more confident the succubus became in having him dancing on her palm.

To the point that Prishine have not bothered to hide the fact the drug was developed by her own kind.

“And?” sensing that he was getting close to figuring out what the succubus had be plotting, John spat his words, “Is there an alternative way to do this without killing you? Killing someone who helped me is the last thing I want to do...”

In all honesty, he was ever given the chance—without repercussions—John would gladly exterminate the succubus.

The reason prevented him from doing so was solely due to what her underlings might do to him, or the academy. But now that he was chained to her very room for her own selfish reasons, John was becoming more inclined to do so.

Regardless, he refrained from entertaining such thoughts, for the act of murder brought back the memories of the dark aura, of the three men who he murdered to save the Elven Princess.

He would kill. But…

His heart shriveled when he was reminded by the cold look of the Elven Princess who had lost all her love towards him.

Prishine after all was just someone who had an unhealthy obsession with ‘obtaining’ him, to John, she was just a necessary evil to be dealt with,

What is to say if the academy discovered of him murdering a fellow student? Prishine was known to many, and if they learned of her death, would the empire convict him? What sort of future would await John if he had done so?

If she had gone any further with her schemes and forced him to—

“The o-only other way to cure your v-vision is to copulate with me.”

Prishine’s voice rang in his ears as John froze from where he kneeled.

“W-what…” his voice stuttered. This time, there was no acting involved, “Y-you must be joking right?”

“…”

Prishine remained silent as John could feel the casserole he had from earlier made its way back up, his fingers twitched, skin crawled as the realization settled in him.

This was her plan all along!?

“I’ll be keeping watch over you, John.”

“I will be capturing that ice cold heart of yours someday.”

The very words she left for him at their first meeting reverberated in his mind as John’s breath became shallow.

Prishine had no doubt tried to use her wiles on him each and every time they met.

Hell, John already knew she was a sultry whore on their very first meeting from the very way she spoke and behaved. She was a succubus for crying out loud!

To think that she wanted him to be part of her ‘feeding’ program and be drained dry of his male fluids just to ‘regain’ his vision…

No, no, not like this… I don’t want to take her.

Though he may have his haughty charms around the girls in his life, John was never one who acted on his carnal impulses.

If he had no trust nor love for the other party, he could never imagine himself doing such acts, and even if those requirements were fulfilled, what is there to say that said person won’t change their feelings for him the very next day.

Just like the Elven Princess...just like A’vetheas…

He, might be abandoned once more.

Truly, there was no one in this world he could trust, and even if there was, they were either dead or never to be seen in his life ever again.

His parents never loved him. Kahnira, whom his younger self have loved and forgotten in the past, died.

Ephinelyth and Angeline, he broke their hearts.

The last thing he needed was to commit yet another grave mistake that would haunt him for as long his existed. He barely figured out anything himself, about who he was or why he was the way he was.

He did not want to drag another into his mess, to drag others who held the best intentions for him down, John did not want anyone to end up like the Harvests.

It was the last thing he wished for the two girls whom he pushed away.

No more, he vowed.

Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump

At his heart’s loud pounding, John returned to the reality where Prishine was still waiting for his response.

Summoning the tiny ounce of courage he had in him, John gathered his wits and put on one last act for the deranged succubus before he attempted his escape. This time, no one would stand in his way.

“H-how would I do that?” his voice stuttered, donning the personality of a blind fool once more.

From his blurred vision, he could almost identify Prishine’s red lip smile.

Thankfully, he had yet to use [Heal] on his eyes, because if John could clearly see the smug expression on the succubus, he would have difficulties hiding his hostility.

Just a little more talking. I’ll cast [Heal] when she lowers her guard.

“It’s simple, we both take off our clothes and place our bodies together~ Or the highly intelligent John Sarvod is ignorant to how men and woman’s bodies worked?”

She’s not even trying to hide her excitement.

John’s nose twitched as Prishine said those words to him.

Somewhere in front of him, he could smell an unpleasant stench that grew as the succubus spoke.

No doubt, belonging to her sexual organs.

Prishine wriggled her body, her arms then slid to her clothing, removing her attire piece by piece in front of John, who she presumed to have completely lost his vision.

“You might not see it, but I have already removed all obstructions that would prevent you from having access to my body.”

John's arms moved to protect himself as her figure got close to him, but unfortunately for him, the shackles on his wrists were still to be removed.

I need to get these things off, or I can never make out of this place alive!!!

Then he felt two hands on his thighs, messaging his muscles as it slowly closed onto his crotch.

“Wait!!! Wait!!!” John said before Prishine’s hands reached his genitals. “This is not how I want to do it!” John shouted in protest as he backed away from the succubus and scurried his way back to the chair.

“What do you mean, John? This is the method that all men prefer~ To be serviced by a beautiful woman, allow my skills to lead you~”

Men? You mean low class scumbags who fall for any whore who comes up to them? Any self-respecting man would not do these things with someone they barely know. Skills? Your skills are just that of a fucking whore!!!

Keeping his criticisms to himself, John spoke once more, but this time in a slightly coy manner. “I-I m-mean… T-this is my first time after all. I don’t want to be the receiving end on things…”

“Oh? Is that so? Is that so!!!???” Prishine squeaked in excitement at this new discovery of John. “In that case, this experienced lady should oblige you for the luxury of being your first woman~”

Fuck, fuck, fuck…

John swallowed his spit.

With all his acting around this succubus to be said, what he told her was not all false, he indeed had no experience in taking a girl.

If she were the first woman he would take, it would torment him to no end. Besides, someone like Prishine could never arouse him no matter what.

“I…” he hesitated for a moment, but eventually the words parted his lips, “I have been shackled ever since I woke up, I lost my vision… Can I at the very least have freedom to my body before I do it with you?”

Though his voice was earnest when he spoke to her, inside of him, he was burning with furious rage.

Wait till I find out where you kept my sword, you useless sack of shit. I am getting out of here! I, John Sarvod, will never in the gruesome eternity have my body tainted by your filth, you goddamn harlot!

Prishine paused for a moment, but quickly moved about the room to search for the key to his shackles. The split second she turned her back against him, John used [Heal] on his eyes.

The blue aura glowed in his vision and dissipated as quickly as they came.

Viola!

He cheered when the blurry world around him returned to the usual detailed imagery that he was used to.

Now, where is my sword… Yes!!!

At a few arms’ length to his right, his mythril sword that Angeline had helped picked laid gracefully atop a table. John breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his weapon was still completely intact in its scabbard.

“Found it~” Prishine in her naked body declared with an arm raised, unaware of John whose vision returned to him.

In her excited state of having found the key to unlock John’s shackles, Prishine’s naked body bounced as she came prancing back to him. Her bosoms jiggled as she swayed her hips.

Admittedly, John’s male instincts compelled him to question his decision to escape from Prishine.

Why he, as a healthy male refuse such an opportunity? All he had to do was to give in and all of the succubus’ shapely body would be for him to exert his carnal desires on.

But those thoughts were quickly vanquished as soon as they popped up in his mind.

Ha, even when she’s nude, Prishine’s got nothing on Angeline or Ephinelyth, even without taking their clothes off! By just being around with girls like them, I don’t just get excited down there, but also in my mind and heart.

A bittersweet smile appeared on his face as he was once again reminded of his relationship with the two girls. John sat with a lowered head as Prishine attempted to undo his shackles paying no heed to her nude body.

I was the one who destroyed my relationship with them… There is no one else to blame but me.

Clack! Clack!

“It’s unlocked, John~” Prishine announced with great joy in her voice, but all John could hear and see were the muffled pain in the two girls’ expression in his mind.

“Oh, right…” he said unenthusiastically, “Um…let me think how I want to do it…” John placed a hand under his chin as to think, but all that laid in his mind was his arming sword that was laid on the table.

The sword that Angeline picked for him.

Then an idea popped into his head.

“Hey Prishine, where is your bed from where I am at?”

“It’s right in front of you~”

“How far is it?”

“It’s roughly fifteen steps. Do you perhaps want me to…”

“Yes.” John replied without hesitation, “Get to the bed and turn your back to me.”

“Oh my, a dominant man, I looooovvvveee it~”

With his assertive instructions and the excitement that she would be taken by him soon, Prishine walked over to the bed and bent her body to a right angle, showcasing her exposed bottom to his view.

“I am waiting~” Prishine’s coy voice rang out as she shook her buttocks in the air, leaving nothing short of her exposed body to hide.

Tap, tap, tap.

Clack.

…

Tap, tap, tap.

Click-clack,

...

“Anytime now, John~” Prishine called out to him once more, but silence was all that she was met with. “John?” she turned her head curiously behind.

All that was in her view was an empty cushioned seat.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK!!!!

John got out of the room as soon as he could. Without looking where he was, he bolted to the corridor to the right. All he knew was he had to leave the academy fortress as soon as he could.

GOD FUCKING HELL, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!!!

Like an athlete, he ran with a brilliant vigor in his steps, with his mythril sword now by his side, John could safely escape this place without any worries. Adrenaline that filled him for having averted that ridiculous skank was enough for him to run two miles straight.

But there was on slight problem…

The further Prishine’s room disappeared from his sight, the more glaring the issue became.

What were the corridors of the academy fortress that he recognized were nowhere in sight.

The brilliantly lit white interior walls were no replaced by dark, coarse bricks with flame torches on it. The marble flooring that the academy fortress had was now of the exact material that was used on the walls, but only more polished than their counterparts.

All of it spoke to John that this place was no longer the academy fortress that he last collapsed in.

Rather, it was a whole new place that Prishine and her followers had migrated to while he was out cold.

“Oh fuck… She never intended for me to leave—”

Dun…

As if on cue, the torches along the walls all dimmed at once, then dissipated, leaving John all alone in the dark hallways.

“All personnel!!! There is an escapee, initiate full lockdown!!! Initiate widescale maximum lockdown!”

From a distance beyond him, John heard Erin’s irritated voice gave a stern command causing the whole building to be filled with rapid footsteps.

“For lady Prishine!!!”

“This succubus works fast…” John said to himself as his eyes adjusted to the dark.

I should have killed Prishine before making my escape.

He could have dealt with the disgusting whore when he had the chance.

But none of that matters now, he broke into another run when his eyes could see, there was simply no time for him to idle, it was to move or to be caught.

Raising his cowl above his head, John blended into the shadows, slipped into one corridor after the other, taking twists and turns in response to each growing footsteps that his sensitive ears caught, hoping that, wherever the corridors will lead him to, will bring him far away from the succubus.

Ten meters to the front, five to the right, then he ascended a short flight of stairs, slunk past a pair of old wooden doors…

The compound was vast, way larger than he ever imagined.

The further he moved away from Prishine’s underlings—which he managed to avoid due to the sheer size of the place—the less paths opened up for his escape.

First there were five passages, then four, then three, then… Eventually, John found himself running along a straight path with no other path to go but straight.

Then, eventually, he reached it, the very end of the passage. Where no additional paths were available to him, what stood in front of him was now a wall that signified the end of his escape route.

“Tsk!”

Slowly coming to a pause, John clicked his tongue.

“Wrong route. I-I could swear there was a draft here.”

Cursing himself for going down the wrong passage, he turned tail and retraced his steps for an alternative path.

Patting his own legs, he made a run to the last intersection.

Hah...hah...hah…

His soft panting echoed in his ear in this enclosed path. He was confident that if he arrived at that intersection earlier, escape would be near.

After all, all one needed was to follow the cold draft that led one to the outside. Especially in older structures such as this building that Prishine had brought him to from the academy fortress, he was confident that the layout would not be any much different from any old brick and mortar buildings.

He spent all his teenage years living inside the palace of the elves, John was already used to finding his way out of dark, hidden places—solely due to the Elven Princess’ unhealthy habit of choosing to play hide and seek with him in the vast underground chambers that A’vetheas offered.

If there was one thing that he was certain at this moment, it was his skills to find a route that led him outside.

“…”

John stopped when he felt he traveled backwards enough, but a troubled frown formed as he placed his hand to ascertain his location.

“No...this is wrong. I swear was should be an intersection here. How did it…” his eyes widened, “...disappear?”

This is bad, this is seriously bad!

He screamed internally as he fumbled his hands on the wall to his right, desperate to find the intersection that he passed by earlier.

The more he moved about to find his way around, the more of the same rough walls scraped his fingertips.

S-someone must be using structural magic, they must have detected I went down these secluded passages and closed them off!

“What should I do, what do I do...” he fret, breath became shallow as he kept his hands on the walls as he ran along them.

All that was before him was a straight, forward path that lead to a dim light at the very end of the passage. All the twists and turns he took, and all it took, was someone with magic to redirect the building’s passages and connected it to where he started.

He felt his heart sank as the surrounding passage shrunk in length, bringing him back to where he first started.

“Did you find him?”

“No.”

“There’s no one in Foxtrot either!!!”

Voices of Prishine’s underlings became louder as John felt the floor underneath moved towards where the dim lights were.

“Sierra 2’s rearrangement is complete. Go investigate!”

“At once!!!” someone answered. The next moment, John witnessed a figure moving towards him from where the dim light was.

His feet shifted backwards as he watched the figure cautiously entered the passage that he was in, taking soft gentle steps as John slid away from the figure. His fingers found themselves to his mythril sword in case his presence was discovered.

As he retreated slowly, with the hilt of his sword firmly in his hand, a small thought appeared to him.

Do I really want to kill him?

John gulped as he watched the male looking figure inched closer to him.

If I killed him, he would be silenced, but for how long before the others come check up on him? And even if no one came, there is only a dead end behind me.

He was unsure of how much personnel Prishine had in the building’s premises, nor the layout. Even if John ran with super speed from where he now stood, there was no guarantee he could outrun and outpower everyone.

He was average size at best. At worse, small by Dezarith’s standards.

He only had [Heal] under his belt, he was only one man, even with his wit and magic, his stamina was limited.

He certainly did not want to go back. He had absolutely no desire to have sex with that whore. At this rate, he rather castrate his testicles than to commit such sacred acts with someone he had no love for.

T-then...i-it leaves me with one option…

With a trembling heart, John looked at his hand.

Taboo magic, black magic, forbidden magic, demon magic...whatever name it had, a power of an unknown origin, that was his ultimate resort.

“From this day onwards, John Sarvod will be exiled from A’vetheas and to never return.”

“How naive, young demon.”

The voices of his past surfaced in his mind, his hands trembled before he knew it, his pace backwards increased...

Clang!

John tripped, his weapon slid from the sheath, bouncing off the ground as he struggled to keep his body from falling.

“Is there somebody!?” the male figure shouted in his direction, shaking John back to reality. “Are you there, John Sarvod?” the man called to John, but there was no response. “If you come out and return to Lady Prishine now, she will assure your safety and escort you back to the academy fortress when morning comes.”

He hasn’t seen me, e-else he would have called to the others... I n-need to get myself together, n-now is not the time to relive my traumas.

With that thought as his driving force, John grabbed his fallen sword, got to his feet and slunk backwards away from the man as far as he could.

“John Sarvod?”

The man said his name once more, prompting John to hold his breath and freeze in his tracks.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Taking great care to let out a fraction of his breath and shift his feet backwards, John’s body relaxed as he watched the figure turned his back away from him and returned to where the dim light was.

That was close…he almost caught me lurking—

“John Sarvod in Sierra 2!!!! John Sarvod found in Sierra 2!!!”

Pointing to where John was the man’s voice rang as loud as a war siren, alerting everyone within the vicinity of John’s presence.

Behind him, rapid footsteps echoed as they gained on him.