The Symbiote Revealed
Several days had passed since Senior Stella fell asleep and then awakened. That was when Stella was sold off to the gentlemen.
Smiling brightly as she said her goodbyes, Stella told them she would live as their exclusive woman in the shared mansion the gentlemen maintained in Eden’s residential district. Even inside Angels’ Haven the details of Stella’s sale were kept secret, so everyone was simply told that she had quit her job to rest.
A few days later, as part of the preparations for our full-scale infiltration of the underground city, I was learning the Drivique family’s martial arts from Sister Lyana.
“The Drivique family’s martial arts emphasize breaking and destroying human joints, choking the neck to subdue and kill. You must acquire extensive knowledge of the joints as well as learn which stances and angles produce the most efficient attacks.”
“Yes!”
Sister Lyana declared that experiencing it firsthand was fastest and immediately applied a technique.
“Ah—wait. Just a moment!”
“Endure it. Are you really going to make such a fuss over pain of this degree?”
“Ow!”
With my wrist seized and my arm twisted between her legs, the agony tore a scream from my throat. Once the joint was locked I couldn’t generate any power at all; I was utterly helpless. When she rose while still gripping my arm, Sister Lyana clicked her tongue.
“Hmm. At this pace we’ll never make the deadline.”
“Couldn’t you just teach me a few of the most powerful techniques?”
“I dislike teaching the Drivique style in a rushed, half-baked manner, so it can’t be helped. I heard you received an implant. Open your connection port.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes.”
Maria, please open the connection port.
What exactly are you trying to—fine.
The moment Maria opened the port, Sister Lyana drew a long cable from the back of her own neck and plugged it into mine.
“Beginning transfer.”
“Huh?”
Uh, wait…
Simultaneous with Maria’s words, my consciousness was violently sucked away. What is this? Maria, what’s happening?
In the blink of an eye I arrived inside an enormous training hall. As I looked around in bewilderment, Maria stood right beside me.
Huh? Maria?
“Huh? Maria? Why are you here too?”
“Goodness, I never expected this method.”
“Hmm? Why are there two Elishas?”
The Sister Lyana who appeared before us stared at the pair of us with open curiosity.
Oh no, what do I do?
“Ah, um… split personality, perhaps?”
“Be quiet. Don’t say anything unnecessary.”
“Eep!”
Maria jabbed my side and I clutched the stinging spot. Ugh, Maria, that’s too mean.
“An explanation would be appreciated.”
“First I need to know whether you’re trustworthy. Can you keep everything you hear here an absolute secret to the very end?”
“Mari—ouch! What are you doing? Are you really going to tell her?”
I tried to speak Maria’s name and received another jab in the same spot. Ow, stabbing the exact same place is just cruel.
Lyana is a vassal of the illustrious Drivique family of Kenseth. If she vouches for my bloodline, it will reduce their interference once we found our nation. For that, the truth must be revealed.
So you’re going to admit we’re symbionts.
I was planning to, but I didn’t expect to be exposed like this. The plan has gone awry.
It seemed Maria had already been accounting for possible interference from Kenseth after establishing her country.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if it must be kept secret then I’d rather not hear it.”
“It’s important. I, too, carry Drivique blood. Will you truly pretend not to notice, Father?”
At Maria’s words, Sister Lyana’s expression froze. After staring at her with a perfectly blank face, she finally spoke.
“Though I wish to deny this body, it does indeed carry the blood of the Drivique family. Very well. I will keep the secret.”
“Wise choice.”
Maria pulled me into her arms and declared, “This child is Elisha. I am Maria. We share a symbiotic relationship.”
“Symbiotic…?”
Maria tickled the nape of my neck, smiling as she continued.
“You know of Abaddons, yes?”
“Abaddon… surely not?”
To Lyana, whose eyes had widened dramatically at the word, Maria said, “This child is the Abaddon. She lives inside my body.”
“Maria?”
“Shh. Good girl. Stay quiet.”
I tilted my head, puzzled that Maria had introduced only me as the Abaddon, when she whispered in my ear. The gentle “good girl” paired with the hand stroking my hair sent warm pleasure through me and my expression melted.
“See? The Abaddon is perfectly under my control.”
“Then why are you using an Abaddon’s name?”
“Because she became an angel in my stead.”
“An Abaddon received angel training instead of you? Remarkable. And you have been disguising it even to Isabel.”
At Maria’s words I grew worried about what would happen later.
Maria, how are you planning to explain this to Isabel afterward?
It doesn’t matter. Once everything is finished I’ll turn Isabel into a host as well.
But why introduce only me as the Abaddon?
From now on, Elisha is the Abaddon and I am the human. It will be far easier for humans to accept if they witness a human me perfectly controlling an Abaddon Elisha. Understood?
Yes. I’m an Abaddon angel.
Elisha really is such a good girl. Hehe.
While I floated in a haze of pleasure from the praise, the conversation between Maria and Lyana continued.
“I will destroy Eden and create a nation where humans and Abaddons coexist. Abaddons are useful in many ways. You saw it yourself, Lyana—how Elisha became an angel in my place, how diligently she learns combat techniques and strives to improve.”
“So the one learning from me was an Abaddon. Far less threatening than I imagined.”
“Honestly I dislike fighting. Anything I hate or cannot do, the Abaddon handles for me. While I sleep she protects my body and takes care of other tasks. Extremely useful, isn’t she?”
“But an Abaddon Queen destroys the host’s reproductive organs. That part is rather problematic.”
Maria smiled at the remark and gently stroked my belly.
“Actually this child is the Queen. And I have learned about Queens. Even after symbioting with a Queen Abaddon, one can still give birth to human children—using eggs that carry my own genes.”
“I see. In that case they are indeed creatures worth forming a symbiosis with.”
“I’m glad you understand. Once the nation is founded, may I use the name Maria Drivique?”
“As far as I recall it should be possible. Still, I recommend obtaining the family head’s permission first.”
“That’s nothing at all. Thank you.”
Afterward they discussed various smaller details of their plans. I couldn’t follow the more complicated parts, but it seemed they had reached an agreement that Lyana would assist once the nation was established.
“Then let us set this aside and move on to martial training. Maria, will you observe?”
“Yes. Elisha, learn diligently.”
“I will, Maria.”
While Sister Lyana instructed me inside the virtual-space dojo, Maria sat to one side and watched. Because it was virtual, her merciless teaching battered my entire body. Even as I screamed in pain I steadily absorbed the joint techniques.
“That will do for today. It seems I misunderstood Abaddons. To think one could be this obedient.”
“Abaddons are not dangerous. If humans reach out first and approach them, they do not become hostile.”
Lyana nodded at Maria’s words as she stroked my head.
“From what I have seen today, that appears to be true.”
“Everything we discussed here is a secret.”
“Understood.”
The virtual space soon terminated and we returned to reality. After unplugging the cable from the back of Maria’s neck, Sister Lyana spoke. The time dilation inside the virtual space was different; only half the expected time had passed.
“Maria, I wish you luck.”
“Thank you, Ms. Lyana.”
Lyana, who now called her Maria rather than Elisha, left the room. Being addressed by that name made me keenly aware that this body truly belonged to Maria.
So now I’m the one being called Maria?
Not yet. But once the nation is founded I will become Maria Drivique. Why? Does it trouble you that even your name becomes mine?
No. I think it suits you better for you to be called Maria.
Hehe. Thank you.
Though she pretended otherwise, it seemed the stress of acting as Elisha all this time had weighed on Maria. Given her strong pride in her own identity, that was perfectly understandable.
While Maria carried out daily life, I spent the hours I was not needed inside the game. Because I had only joined the guild last time and stayed away for a while, my reconnection was met with an enthusiastic welcome from Venus.
After receiving explanations of the basic systems and being issued equipment, I spent the next several days hunting and leveling up in a four-man party with Venus, the bald uncle Alex, and a man named Heather who used a default male avatar.
Fireball
Despite his appearance, the bald Alex was a flame mage; he rampaged across the battlefield, incinerating goblins with fireballs, while Venus crushed skulls with a massive hammer. Heather hurled flasks that exploded against the goblins in bursts of flame, ice, or lightning, incapacitating them. As a martial artist I practiced the combat techniques I had learned from Sister Lyana.
“Kieek!”
“After the armbar comes the choke…”
“Kkik!”
The goblins were large enough to resemble humans, making them good practice dummies, but they died far too quickly. Ah, I snapped another neck while applying the choke.
Watching the dead goblin vanish in a swirl of light, I looked around for the next target only to discover the entire group had already been wiped out. My party members were staring at me.
“Miss Elisha… are you some kind of soldier? Those techniques are all so…”
“Breaking limbs and snapping necks—why do I suddenly feel sorry for the goblins?”
“You’re the one smashing heads with a hammer. Isn’t that a bit rich coming from you?”
“I’ve been learning some new techniques lately. The game is perfect for practice.”
The real problem was that I still couldn’t control my strength properly; the slightest mistake resulted in broken bones. At this rate I would have to seal the choke techniques entirely when facing actual people.
“Let’s head back. We’re nearly out of potions, and orcs start appearing if we go any deeper.”
“All right.”
“Orcs give good experience, but they’re awkward when you have female party members.”
“Why?”
Asked out of genuine curiosity, Alex answered with an exceedingly kind smile.
“The orcs in this game are modeled after real ones. The moment they see a female they try to capture and rape her. Female players should avoid them.”
“Well, there are women who deliberately let themselves get caught and enjoy it until they die…”
“That extreme sexual freedom is one of the game’s selling points.”
The party used return scrolls to travel back to the guild building. After selling their loot in the second-floor return lounge, everyone scattered to rest. The automatically looted bag was stuffed with goblin, black-wolf, and death-face-spider materials.
As I descended the stairs toward the general store I encountered the guild master, Venus, on the first floor.
“Ah, Elisha. Back from hunting?”
“Yes. What are you working on?”
“Managing the prostitutes’ schedules, of course. No matter how enjoyable the work, it mustn’t interfere with their real lives.”
“I’ve been wondering for a while—why do people enjoy working as prostitutes inside the game?”
“Because sex feels good. They can’t sell their bodies in reality, so they come here where customers seek them out and fuck them.”
“So that’s why they wear masks. To hide their real faces.”
I had often seen the prostitutes working in this establishment; every one of them wore a mask that concealed her face. Some customers did the same, clearly trying to minimize any bleed-over into reality.
“Elisha, you know you still have to meet your prostitute quota today, right?”
“Ah, I completely forgot.”
Venus glanced around, then leaned in with a sly smile and whispered.
“Want to try a virgin auction?”
“A virgin auction?”
“It’s rare, but some virgin players sell their first time at a very high price.”
“People actually buy that?”
It wasn’t even real—just a game avatar’s virginity—yet they would pay a fortune? I found it hard to understand.
Seeing my puzzled expression, Venus sighed.
“There are men who go crazy over the idea of virginity. Besides, you’re a beauty, Elisha. If we announce an auction it’ll cause an absolute frenzy.”
“Would that be… good?”
“You’d earn an enormous amount of money. The exchange rate to real currency is low, but it still converts. So, interested?”
I didn’t particularly need money, yet the mere thought of my virginity being sold in front of a crowd sent a thrill through me. Ah, imagining myself sold like merchandise… the pleasure was intense.
“I’ll do it. I’ll wear a mask, right?”
“Of course. I’ll prepare the finest auction for you.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Venus began gesturing rapidly in the air, working busily. Curious why the guild master devoted himself so passionately to running a brothel inside the game, I asked.
“Guild Master, why do you put so much effort into operating the brothel here?”
“Well, I enjoy sex, but as I said earlier—it converts game currency into real money. In reality I’m paralyzed from the waist down, so I can’t hold a proper job. This is both pleasure and livelihood. Half of every prostitute’s earnings goes to the house, so the income is substantial.”
“I see.”
“Truthfully, when you first said you were joining the guild I had high hopes. An overwhelmingly curvaceous prostitute that anyone can see at a glance. If you worked seriously you’d earn a fortune.”
Venus winked as his eyes traced the tight martial-artist outfit clinging to my body.
Hmm. Maria’s figure really is extraordinary.
“So how about it? Want to work as a prostitute in earnest? I’ll only take forty percent commission and assign you only the highest-paying clients.”
“I need to focus on training, so making time is difficult.”
“Then how about one customer a day? Just the one who offers the highest bid.”
Even while continuing to manipulate the air with quick gestures, Venus listed every advantage: the guild’s rising reputation, the large sums of money, the pleasurable sex.
Is sex truly that good?
“Is sex really that enjoyable?”
“Do it properly just once and you won’t be able to live without men.”
That much? I was so accustomed to the pleasure Maria granted me that I genuinely couldn’t tell.
After inviting guests to the virgin auction, Venus dragged me away, saying we needed to prepare at once. In the changing room he stripped every piece of clothing from my body and stared in open astonishment.
“Is this your actual real-world body? My god, what kind of person are you? Is a figure like this even possible?”
“It’s real.”
He kept running his hands over Maria’s body, murmuring in awe.
“Even with your face hidden this will be a massive success. Here, equip this.”
The item he handed me was a mask that covered the eyes and nose—the same kind the other prostitutes wore. A sheer mesh garment was then draped over my body. It concealed nothing at all; clearly it had been designed for exactly this purpose.
“Once all the contacted guests arrive, the auction will begin. When you’re called, come out and follow instructions.”
“Yes.”
I sat down on a nearby chair.