65 - Foul Female (2.1k words)

Mitchell's POVThe news about mermen building the canal has reached the Flame City. Many wanted to see a real mermaid before their deaths, except for me, I mean "the me" without the soul stone.I was told that the mermaids were the most beautiful females in existence, with a body of the finest silk and an appearance no human female could ever rival.So what?I had no desires, no interests, not even any worries. Every day was a blur. The same things happened over and over. It was boring; it was dull; it was empty.Every day, I would challenge the strongest opponents available to me. I would win every single match, yet I couldn't enjoy a single victory. Without the soulstone, all things would feel like now... so dull.Dull...Dull?Why am I feeling dull?I tried to feel the octahedral black crystal hanging around my neck...only to find out...My soul stone is gone!I remember leaving my throne in a haste when one of the beastmen brought back a strange soulstone.My father have taken care of me since birth and have been feeding me with clear crystals to strengthen my body, and as repayment, I've been helping him with looking for soul crystals.Some males, who became a rootless after their female died, would also join the Flame City in order to find their female's soulstone and bring them back to life like my father.Every single crystal we've mined so far belonged to a male. We have never found a female's soulstone before, but now, there was one.According to one of my scouts, it was exchanged for a single clear crystal by Bartroll, a rootless wolf beastman. Before we could locate and interrogate this Bartroll, we were ambushed by an unknown assailant the instant we entered the forest.I looked around and only saw darkness. It was damp, humid, and cold. The stench was horrid. It was hard to breathe. I quickly realized I was inside a sack, poisoned. My whole body ached as if it had been ripped apart and sewed back together. The venom wasn't potent enough to kill me, but it was making it harder to use my full strength.I tried to use my stinger to rip open the bag, but a few sounds coming from outside stopped me ─ groans and screams of agony."Ahhh!" A male's scream was followed by a sickening crack, "Y-you are crazy─""Crazy, you say? Maybe, I am, but I'm the female you have to please today," I heard a female's voice. It was a cold and heartless voice that made me freeze, "So, please me.""Aahhhh! Stop it, please!"The male's screams were endless. Every time I thought they were over, he screamed again. It was like the sound was coming from the very depths of the Flame City, but worse.Crack.Suddenly it was silent, and I felt a strong gaze on me. It was the female. I couldn't explain how I knew it, but I was certain."Are you awake, sweetheart?" she asked.I knew I shouldn't be responding in my current state, especially when I didn't even know if she was referring to me but, for some reason, I was compelled to answer purely for the sake of amusement. "I'm awake, yes," I replied.Beside the silence, only the stench of blood was left in the air. I ignored the pain and ripped the bag open with my stinger, and what welcomed me was...A headless body, cut into pieces, and a female standing above it, twisting a bloody machete in her hand. I could sense her bloodlust, her hostility, and her madness. It was so thick I could almost touch it."What are you staring at, you shitbag?" she turned her head in my direction for a while before stomping on the severed head, talking to the dead, "I told you I wanted a mateless male with at least three stripes, and you bring back a rootless scorpion? A.rootless.scorpion! You really want me dead, huh?"From her strange choice of words, I deducted the male she was taking out her anger on, was the one who have assaulted me, and brought me here for her. It was a well known fact that mating with scorpions was a very painful process for females.She was a complete and utter foul of a female, the type I hated the most. I couldn't believe I was attacked under her orders and not one of the four King.I didn't want to waste any more time in the presence of such a disgusting being. My mind was racing, searching for a way to escape.There were a few more groans coming from the corner of the cave, which drew my attention. There were three males, from which two seemed to be knocked out. Instead of animal skirts, they all wore a similar style of pants like the female.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·Curtis's POVSweetheart.The moment I called her that, my heart trembled. I thought of a lot of nicknames, but nothing felt right, not even honey or darling. I didn't want to call her anything ordinary. I wanted it to be special, to have a meaning. I wanted her to smile whenever she hears me say it.Her heart was dark, twisted, and tainted, yet sweet. Her mind was broken, and lost, yet sweet. She was a monster, but a sweet one.So, when the word 'sweetheart' left my mouth, it felt right, it felt perfect, it was her.She never reacted to it, not even a twitch, as if she didn't hear it. I had to force myself not to think of it too much, and resumed calling her Yaya if I wanted a response from her.Things started to change when I returned from my hibernation."Thank you for the gift, Sweetheart. I promise I'll enjoy it thoroughfully."She thanked me while pressing a thick colossal bone against my neck, asking whether she should prepare for a scorpion invasion against nearby villages.Muir assured her that there was nothing to worry about, explaining himself.During my stay in the Flame City, Muir ordered me to hide my identity by covering my face with a skull mask and dyeing my hair with purple balls. I wouldn't usually listen to him, but if I wanted to protect my Sweetheart, I had to do it.Vick was right. If she cannot go to the Flame City, she would lure the Flame City to her. There were already signs of her influence, and if we didn't do something, nobody would be able to stop her. The surprise gift would no longer be a surprise gift if the scorpion approached her on his own, I thought and knocked him out with a knife coated in my venom.Before that, Muir entered the quicksand and spread rumors that the Scorpion King was off for a business trip.When Skaris informed us they've tracked down Carl, the camp have been moved into a deep cave. The rootless tiger have been hiding there after he forced himself on a female from the tiger tribe.Yaya didn't want us to end up with PTSD, and before we realized it, she showed a quarter of a pill down our throaths with her lips. We dropped off without a fight. Those were sleeping pills she used to take when she had a difficult time falling asleep.Vick was right again. If we couldn't convince her to move on from her past, she would find a way to keep her past safe from us."Are you awake, sweetheart?" she asked.The moment she said that, it felt like my heart had been set on fire."I'm awake, yes."The voice that replied was not me, it was not Skaris, it was not Muir either.Without thinking, I lunged at her, and pulled her into a hug, "Sweetheart, are you alright? Are you hurt?""Yes, I'm alright," she replied with a flat voice.She responded.She finally responded to my endearment, like she responded to Vick's.I didn't think of the fact that it would happen so suddenly, and that it would be because of this.My heart started beating loudly in my ears. I could only hold her tightly, not wanting to let her go, but the scent of blood and death that was coming from her was suffocating me."You smell terrible, Sweetheart. Let's go wash you," I said and glanced down. Her feet were still grinding against something bloody, sticky and disgusting."Who are you, female? Why have you ordered that male to capture me and bring me here?" the scorpion asked with a flat voice as well, stepping outside the sack.He stood tall, with a proud look on his face. His eye sockets were pitch black, and his pupils were bright gold. He was looking at her as if he was a king, and she was an insect."Why? Why? Because I needed a male for mating. Isn't it obvious?" she answered."Do you think I would mate with a foul female such as yourself?" the scorpion snorted, showing his sharp pointy teeth as he talked, "I have standards. You are far from even reaching the tip of them."She started laughing. Her laugh was loud, maniacal and bone-chilling, "Your opinion is worth less than the dirt I'm stepping on, but, fortunately, I have other ways to please myself. I heard mating with the scorpions hurts but I'm excited to find out how much."The scorpion didn't seem scared. His lips spread wide as he joined her with the maniacal laughter while staring at her with a menacing gaze. "I was born a rootless beast. Even if we were to mate, I won't have cubs with you. Even more, I won't fall in love with you. You can't control me like your males. Your threats won't work on me, female.""Figured as much. So there's really no chance of getting your spousal imprint, huh?" she asked, sounding disappointed as she started walking in his direction, taking me along.His stance was relaxed, his hands were folded in front of his chest, his shoulders were raised, his muscles were bulging as he tried to intimidate us, "Step back, female. I can shift into my beast form whenever I want, so don't think you can just lay your fingers on me. My stinger's venom is deadly. You'll drop dead the moment I sting you."She stopped in her steps, pulling out a soulstone from her pocket, swinging the crystal back and forth in her hand, "Don't you miss this? Isn't this your beloved soulstone? Do you want to feel its warmth again?""Give it back, female," the scorpion hissed, raising his stinger threateningly, "I won't ask again.""Of course, I will give it back, as long as you behave, and obey.""Do you think I can't find another soulstone, female?" he sneered."I wonder who it belongs to?" she hummed and threw the soulstone up and down, "Will he be a good lover? Will he succumb or will he defy me? Oh, I'm curious. Very curious.""You little..." the scorpion's stinger darted at her with the speed of light, "If you were so curious, why did you take it away?!""I was more curious about you than a random dead guy," she said nonchalantly as his stinger stopped in midair."W-what?" the scorpion looked taken aback by her answer, then his lips curled up, "Is that your idea of seducing a male, female? It's not working. At all. What you did is called stealing. You better return it before I turn mad," he warned, his confidence raising when I didn't show any reaction to their banter.She whistled in response, looking unbothered.A few moments later, Bart appeared as if on command."Come here," she ordered, and the wolf beastman quickly stumbled towards her. When he reached her, she hung the necklace with a soul stone around his neck, "Clean this mess, and fetch me some water."Bart's pitch black eye sclera (area around the pupil) turned to their normal white color as he clutched his chest in surprise."Is it less painful?" she asked.Bart nodded, taken aback."Then get to work," she ordered.Bart nodded again and rushed outside the cave. He returned shortly with a bucket of water. He placed it in front of her and began cleaning the bloody ground with a makeshift broom.╔═══ Author's note ═══╗YY doesn't really bother with good first impressions, does she? 😁╚════════════════╝