Necromancer
White ceiling.
The finishing on the corners looked familiar somehow. Was it just my imagination?
I lowered my gaze and found Kayla slumped over the bed. It was the exact cliché scene I'd seen a hundred times in movies. So this was a hospital?
I slowly ran my right hand through her blue hair.
"Mmm..."
Kayla made a soft, contented sound.
"You're awake?"
Elena. She was rising from the sofa by the window. One look at that sofa and I knew exactly where we were—the same hospital Kayla had been admitted to before.
"How do you feel?"
I carefully pushed myself upright. The missing left arm made everything feel awkward, but sitting up itself wasn't a problem. My toes wiggled just fine.
"Everything's fine except the left arm."
"The left arm... it completely disintegrated when the second floor blew apart."
"I see."
No left arm. It still didn't feel real. I could almost swear it was still there. Was this phantom limb pain?
"It's all right, though. Once I can receive divinity later, regeneration will be possible. If you can just hold on until then..."
Of course. I'd figured Elena would have a way. How long it would take for her to receive the divinity of Four was anyone's guess, but having a guaranteed path—even if it took time—was a good thing.
"Ah, I'm fine. Just feels a little weird. So we just wait, then? Elena really is reliable."
"Reliable? I didn't do anything this time either. If it hadn't been for you, Jungmin... you're the one who's truly reliable."
"No. At the end especially—I couldn't have done it without you. We all did it together."
If Elena hadn't held the line in that crisis, we wouldn't be looking at each other right now.
"What about me? Am I reliable too?"
Kayla had woken up. She immediately burrowed into my arms. I stroked her hair as I answered.
"Obviously. Without you, we'd all be dead."
"I barely did anything."
She nuzzled her face against my chest as she spoke. The fact that she'd suddenly turned into a clingy child meant we'd really come within a hair of crossing the river of death. Looking back, everything had been razor-thin. How the hell had we even survived?
"Your existence alone did everything. And you didn't see it, but at the end I used a bit of your technique."
"Hm? What?"
"The blue flame. If I hadn't seen the way you looked when you used it, I never could have controlled that power."
I'd only properly seen the blue flame once. But that scene at Shinyongsan had left such a deep impression that I'd been able to rein in the Necromancer's power. If I hadn't, we would have all died right there.
"...You used blue mana?"
Kayla pulled back from my arms, eyes round. Those were the same eyes I'd seen that day. She'd warned me so carefully about blue mana—that if you didn't follow the proper steps, you died.
"Don't worry. I only borrowed the flower shape. Just the image. Image only."
"...Then that's a relief."
She burrowed back into my arms. She'd truly become a little kid. I turned my head toward Elena. She was watching Kayla with a motherly smile, as if she found her adorable. That smile was lovely to look at, but I wanted to go a little further now. I'd already made that resolution.
"Elena, come over here too."
"...What?"
Elena's eyes went wide. Kayla, still in my arms, flinched.
I kept stroking Kayla's hair and said it again.
"Hurry."
"I-I, um..."
"Kayla's fine with it, right?"
"...Tch..."
"What, you don't like it?"
Kayla lifted her head slightly. Resentment filled both her eyes—an attack that made my heart lurch. But this was unavoidable. It had been decided the moment I accepted Elena. Kayla had been the one to push Elena forward in the first place, so she must have known a situation like this would come. If it was Kayla, she'd already steeled herself for everything before we even started. If anyone's resolve had come late, it was mine.
I answered her message with a nod.
"...It's fine. Elena, don't hold back—come over here."
"What? No, I..."
"Elena, if you don't come now, should I call the Captain?"
"No!"
Elena shot to the bed in an instant. With no left arm I couldn't pull her in, so I ended up nestled into her embrace instead. She wasn't in armor, so my face sank straight into her chest.
"...Nice."
"Me too."
"M-me too..."
With the three of us holding each other tight, it finally felt like things were over. And every ending always led into a new beginning.
"You two feeling all right?"
"I'm good. Except you're low on mana."
"I'm fine as well. The power the Necromancer took at the end has returned. And I also..."
Elena would be short on my mana too. Both of them had fought hard. I needed to replenish it soon.
"Then... shall we?"
"Yeah."
"...What?"
Kayla barely reacted, but Elena looked thoroughly startled. Under our combined gazes, her face went bright red.
"I-I-I..."
"No pressure. If you don't want to, you don't have to."
"...Even so, that feels like too much. Next time, once I'm mentally prepared..."
A little disappointing, but you couldn't fill up on the first sip. Elena was quietly stubborn; I'd half expected this.
"Then I can go first, right?"
"Of course, Lady Kayla. I'll wait outside for now."
Elena hurried out. Just like that other time, only Kayla and I remained in the private special room.
"Right now you only think about me?"
"Of course."
"Mwah, mmph."
Kayla kissed me. It was easily twice as fierce as usual—and twice as good. Only after a long exchange of saliva did we finally part lips.
With only one hand, she undid the buttons of my top for me. She carefully stroked the sealed left shoulder.
"...Does it hurt?"
"Not really? Maybe a little ticklish?"
"We need to raise your mana and magic power fast. Like this you can't even jerk off."
"...What? How did you know my left hand and I are best friends?"
I used to masturbate with my left hand. But after meeting Kayla I hadn't done it even once, so even I could barely remember. How the hell did she know?
"You think there's anything about you I don't know?"
Peck.
She kissed my shoulder. It didn't stop at one. Peck, peck. From the shoulder it continued to my neck, chest, stomach, knees, feet—as if confirming my existence with her lips. I simply received her careful, aching caresses. Everywhere her hot kisses landed, I felt alive.
Peck.
Kayla finally kissed my cock. It was already weeping.
"...I'm putting it in."
She climbed on top of me. In her dress, she hiked up the skirt and nudged her panties aside. Her valley was already soaked through.
"Ahhn..."
As my cock slid in with a wet sound, she buried her face against my shoulder and moaned into my ear.
Squelch, squelch.
She moved her hips slowly. My cock sank all the way into her valley, pulled completely free, then drove in to the hilt again.
"Ahhn, hah."
Heated moans kept ringing in my ear.
Squelch, squelch.
Feeling each other this leisurely was nice too. The only regret was the missing left hand.
"Haaah!"
Then all at once her valley clamped down hard on my cock. She pressed herself fully against me and shuddered.
"Haa, hah..."
"...Feel good?"
"Yeah. So good."
Kayla smiled in satisfaction, cheeks flushed. I kissed that lovely face.
"Mwah, mmph, hnn..."
My cock was still rock-hard. Sitting up, I began to move my hips slowly. The range was extremely limited, but I found the right spot and worked it.
"Haaah!"
I'd found it properly—Kayla reacted instantly. I kept that place in mind and moved slowly. She matched my rhythm, making it far easier.
Creak, creak.
The motion grew fiercer. The bed screamed as if it might break, and my lower half was drenched in the water she'd spilled.
"I'm about to cum too."
"Yeah. Cum as much as you want. I'm yours."
Kayla's mysterious blue eyes were filled with my face. The eyes in that face were probably filled with her. Looking into her eyes, I thrust deep one last time.
"Haaah!"
She shuddered hard and threw her head back. That was when I poured everything out.
Spurt, spurt.
"Haaah!"
Her valley contracted again, squeezing as if determined to wring every last drop from my cock.
Gulp, gulp.
The climax stretched on and on. Eyes closed, she received my semen as if savoring it.
"Hnn, hah..."
Long after it ended, she leaned into me again, pressing close. She whispered in my ear.
"I love you, Jungmin."
"I love you too. More than anyone."
It was the truth. The biggest weight in my life right now was Kayla. That wasn't going to change.
"Tch. You talk a good game."
"It's not just talk."
"Hah, this again, hnn..."
I immediately brought my cock back up. Maybe from using so much sexual energy, this kind of thing came easily now. I almost felt like I could use lust without even getting hard.
"Wait, hah, I..."
Kayla seemed more worn out than usual. Two orgasms would do that. Normally she'd rest a bit after two. But what was this?
An indescribable sense of wrongness registered in my senses. I carefully pushed Kayla off.
"...Why? It's not that I can't, I just..."
She'd said she was tired, yet flipped her attitude instantly. But I raised a finger to my lips. Kayla must have felt the strangeness too—she carefully drew back.
Drip.
The first thing that caught my eye as I sat up was the semen running out of her, but I kept focusing on the sensation.
Sssss.
Something leaking away. If I had to put the sound into words, that was how it felt. The leak point was my left shoulder.
"Kayla, can you feel anything from my left shoulder?"
"Huh? Hold on..."
While waiting for her, I became certain of what I was sensing.
"...I don't know. Is something there?"
"Yeah. Energy is still leaking out."
"...What?"
"The passage the Necromancer made is still there. Probably the same for you and Elena."
The passage the Necromancer had used to steal my energy was still right there. No—calling it a passage wasn't quite right. It started at my shoulder, but I had no idea where the other end went. More hole than passage. The hole he'd punched open was still there, and my energy was still trickling out of it, however faintly.
"...Same with you, Kayla."
And from Kayla as well, I could feel that same leaking energy. An energy I still couldn't name was pouring out of her and scattering in every direction.
"...That means we'll die eventually, right?"
"Probably."
It was a small amount, but it was clearly accelerating our deaths. We had to stop it somehow.
"There'll be a way."
Fortunately I could feel the energy, so we'd figure something out.