Inside and Outside the Ark
"I... I want to feel it like Pomen does too!"
Noah's innocent bombshell declaration made my brain grind to a halt.
But the soft, squishy sensation from her thighs gently cradling my head reminded me that this absurd situation was all too real.
Pomen, you damn ECHO... What the hell have you been telling the others?
A deep sigh escaped me.
What on earth did she think I was?
Well, in the game Echoes of Humanity - ECHO, the protagonist Commander's role was basically the ECHOs' plaything and love interest.
He was the sole savior and a harem master of sorts. It was only natural, since the game was designed to cater to thirsty players like me.
But this wasn't a game; the intensity here was on a whole other level.
"Noah, that's not a—"
I swallowed a hollow laugh and turned my head.
"......"
What entered my view was an overwhelming fullness that refused to be hidden even by her combat suit.
Pomen's were big, but Noah's... they were in another dimension entirely.
To me, worn out from the fatigue and chaos of my first expedition, it was like the comforting embrace of a mother's softness—something I could throw a tantrum to and expect everything from.
M-Mommy...?
Without realizing it, my subconscious whispered the word.
Yeah, Pomen and I were already tangled up like that anyway.
What difference would getting a little closer to Noah make?
Men were incarnations of lust, after all.
Even after having my life force sucked dry by that Hachishakusama, the moment I got back to the Ark, I'd been thinking about Pomen's body.
And just like that, I let go of the last thread of reason inside my head.
"Commander?"
"I'm listening, Noah. So, you want to earn my trust, right?"
"Y-Yes! I really do!"
Her earnest plea made me shift my position between her thighs.
"Then... could you lean forward just a bit more?"
"Like... this?"
"Yeah. A little more."
Following my command, Noah slowly bent her upper body forward.
With every inch, the massive mounds barely contained by her combat suit drew closer to my face.
Finally, when the tip of my nose brushed her breast.
I didn't hesitate—I gently pushed aside the edge of her combat suit and latched onto the plump, erect nipple with my mouth.
"C-Commander?"
Noah's flustered voice came from above, but my reason had flown the coop long ago.
"Quiet, Noah. Just... let me stay like this for now."
Like a newborn seeking its mother's milk, I suckled desperately, greedily on Noah's breast.
"Ah, ahn... C-Commander. Not there...!"
I could feel her body shudder from the wet stimulation of my tongue.
Her brief confusion at this new pleasure didn't last.
Soon, her eyes shifted from bewilderment to a deep, maternal affection, as if she'd understood everything.
"Ah... Commander. You've been through so much."
She pulled my head deeper into her chest with even softer, firmer hands.
There was no hesitation left in her touch.
"It's okay, Commander. Lean on me. I'll take all your fatigue and worries. With these breasts you wanted, I'll melt away every wound."
Noah's voice rang in my ears like a holy lullaby.
In response, I suckled one nipple obsessively while my free hand kneaded the other breast like dough.
Soft, yielding, warm—the bountiful mound changed shape freely in my grasp.
It felt like it was absorbing all my inner anxieties and pains.
"Hau... That's it, Commander. You can touch and squeeze harder. I can take everything you give me."
Her permission made my actions bolder.
I licked the areola with my tongue, nipped lightly with my teeth, filled my mouth with the nipple, and sucked hard.
Each time, a thin, sweet moan escaped Noah's lips.
She clutched my head tight, twisting her slender waist as she offered herself fully.
For what felt like ages, I nursed at Noah's breast, filling the hunger of my weary soul.
But when did it start?
When I came to, Noah's hand was naturally caressing my waist.
"This part of you looks so tense too, Commander. It's all swollen up."
"......"
She deftly unbuckled my pants and gently gripped my rock-hard bulge through my underwear.
The warmth and softness of her hand seeped vividly through the fabric.
"Ahh..."
With an admiring sigh, Noah pulled down my underwear without hesitation.
She gazed at my exposed member with eyes full of wonder.
"So hot... so hard, brimming with life force. Humans really are amazing."
Then, with another sigh of awe, she took my shaft in her hand with utmost care.
Like polishing a sacred relic, her tender strokes caressed it before slowly moving up and down.
"Ngh... ngh."
"Does it feel good, Commander?"
I nodded at her whisper.
It was good, way better than I expected.
Her touch was clumsy, like a first-timer, but that inexperience only aroused me more.
"Ahh... I can feel your heart, Commander."
But that didn't last.
Soon, her wrist twisted with practiced skill, as if she'd mastered it instantly.
Do ECHOs learn this fast by nature?
She'd tease the glans softly one moment, then stroke down the veiny shaft with firm pressure the next— she really had insanely good technique.
"Ah, N-Noah! Y-You're a natural—!"
I gasped out the question around her nipple.
Noah replied with a benevolent smile.
"ECHOs are made to learn. Even now, I'm learning what you desire, Commander. How to make you happier."
And so, I surrendered completely to the pleasure Noah offered—pure yet skilled, holy yet lewd.
The quiet commander's office filled with slick friction sounds, ragged breaths, and Noah's occasional sweet moans.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A cold wind whipped through the ruins of the city, between the skeletal high-rises.
Pomen checked the scanner on her wrist atop a pile of crumbled concrete.
Beyond the static hiss, a faint signal blinked.
"Found it, Arva. This way—it’s a collapsed shopping mall, basement level 3. That's gotta be the emergency supplies warehouse."
"Level 3... High chance of zombies then. Understood."
Arva gripped the handle of her blade at her hip, scanning sharply for threats.
Fortunately, no zombies in sight.
No anomalous energy fields either.
But as they descended underground, a foul stench assaulted their senses.
"Switch off olfactory sensors. That smell's nasty—like we're inside that Carapace Lord's gut."
"......"
"It headed north, right? Ark 74? Or Ark 53?"
"Can't say for sure. It might've changed course midway."
Arva replied lowly to Pomen's question.
"Well, no info-sharing with them anyway, since we're not allies. I wonder if that Ark’s big or not. I hope it is."
"Why?"
"If that monster runs into their squads and gets wrecked, we'd be thanking our lucky stars, right?"
"Mm... Would be nice."
"Why the doubt?"
"...It's not just a destroyer. It corrupts minds, controls dead ECHOs. If it swallows another Ark? Its power would spiral out of control."
"Whoa... Gives me chills just thinking about it."
Pomen spat a curse at Arva's words.
And silently prayed the Carapace Lord would drop dead wandering somewhere.
After putting down a few zombies, they reached level 3 of the shop’s basement.
Arva drew out her blade without pause and shredded the door in one go.
The warehouse was stocked with combat rations past expiration but still edible, medical kits, tools, and materials galore.
"Whoa... Jackpot!"
Pomen cheered, but Arva's face stayed grim.
"Not enough. To rebuild the Ark proper and face those monsters again, we need way more resources and stronger weapons."
"......And more combat ECHOs."
Pomen scratched her head too.
The Commander's presence had halted the forced shutdown and disposal, but Ark 69 was still in shambles.
The Arclight Squad could handle regular zombie hordes, barely.
But large swarms or ones mixed with specials? Over a certain size, unmanageable.
"Prioritize construction materials and ECHO production resources first."
"Not food?"
"High-concentrate nutrients will suffice."
"...Commander doesn't seem the type to like them, but whatever."
Pomen nodded and started hauling materials out.
Zombies could show anytime—speed was key.
Arva watched Pomen, then scanned the warehouse depths again.
She intended to double-check if there were any rare resources needed for Echo production for the Commander.
Thus, the two cleared nearby zombies while scavenging leftover or expedition-dropped supplies, thriftily hauling it all back to the Ark.
"Whew. Commander'll love this. Hope he gropes my ass as thanks."
"Sexual harassment of the Commander violates Ark code, Pomen."
"This is him harassing me!"
"The code doesn’t apply to ECHOs."
Pomen snorted at Arva's retort and kept ferrying armfuls of materials to the command center.
Finally done, she beamed proudly and flung open the door to the commander's quarters.
But what greeted her wasn't the Commander's praise.
"......???"
The Commander on the bed looked oddly pale.
And beside him...
"Oh, Pomen. Welcome back?"
Noah, her skin glossier and complexion healthier than usual, smiled maternally while stroking the Commander's head.
"Wha—wha—WHAT?!"
The smile vanished from Pomen's face.
They say the quiet ones are the most daring.
It wasn't spiritual NTR anymore. She had been legitimately NTR'd of her Commander.