Chapter 62
“Charity,” I called. “More ink.”
“Yes, Master.”
The former paladin scurried across my room to retrieve a fresh bottle.
She wore nothing but red silk around her neck.
Any human, celestial, or demon who swore an oath to me after they had been captured was marked with red silk.
Their penance for acting against me was a life of servitude.
No pain or suffering. Food and shelter. Books and whatever other entertainment they wanted.
But they had to obey. If a red silk servant disobeyed an order from any full members of the Silk, they were put to death on the spot.
So, Charity always had a little pep in her step.
Finishing her training was the end of paladins.
She was the last, and that triumph earned me the antipaladin champion class and boosted all of my stats by 25%.
In truth, watching Charity submit to me was far more rewarding than any reward the system could give me.
“Here, Master,” she said, bowing as she held the ink out for me.
I took it, and Charity returned to her place, waiting against the wall for when I needed something from her again.
Finishing this phylactery was far more work than I expected, but I made progress. Completing it would be a relief, but Solara would feel that the most. She hounded all of us to get these done to ensure that, should we die, we had the chance to resurrect.
Truth be told, I ended up putting it off for several more decades, but that soon after the war, I wanted to show Solara that I was serious about securing our eternities.
-6 Progress to Your Fall.
Progress to Your Fall: 4 / 100 (Abaddon, King of the Abyss)
I wondered what would happen when that tracker finally hit zero. If all it did was disappear, fine. I never wanted to see a notification like that ever again.
A summoner on the abyssal plane invites you for an audience. You cannot receive or deliver harm for as long as you remain within the summoning circle, and you may return to your home plane at will. These rules cannot be broken or cheated by either party.
Do you accept the invitation?
Yes / No
My heart stopped. Was this it? Was this finally the end?
I selected Yes.
Abaddon was the only being in the room, save for my father. No other slaves or trophies, just the King of the Abyss sitting on his throne and a resurrected prisoner in chains.
My nemesis looked unwell.
His void-black skin had taken on a grayish pallor, and boils covered his body, oozing yellow pus. Within seconds of my arrival, I got to witness one swell from nothing on his cheek and pop.
I have never before or since felt so much relief.
I won.
“I, Abaddon the King of the Abyss, the God of Torment, admit defeat,” he said. His voice was softer now, more hollow. Whatever confidence filled it before was gone. “Byron of Zaglis, God of Silk, God of Debauchery, you are the victor.”
“I see that.”
“Name your price for the antidote. Anything that you desire will be yours.”
“What if there isn’t one?” I asked.
“I will endure your gloating, but please, cure this affliction. The system said that you could.”
“I’m afraid that many of these are incurable.”
“Poisons?”
“Sexually transmitted diseases.”
Abaddon stared down at me. Four more boils grew and burst.
In truth, an antidote did exist. I suspected that asking the system to create a totally incurable disease would make the Plague Master quest requirements even more extreme, so I built an antidote into my suggestion.
Here is the full system description:
Disease Name: Abaddon’s Bane
Description: Abaddon’s Bane is a sexually transmitted disease that feeds on the host’s mana and lifeforce to inflict Holy damage.
Scale of damage is based on the host's overall level. The effect of Abaddon’s Bane does not stop until both the host’s mana and lifeforce have reached 0 or the host has consumed the antidote.
Any being can be a carrier and spreader of the disease, but the damaging effect of Abaddon’s Bane only activates when the host is the being known as Abaddon, the King of the Abyss, who contracts the disease.
Anyone suffering from the disease hears a constant whisper that says only “Byron of Zaglis.”
Uses: 1 Activation of Plague Bearer
Transmission: Sexually
Incubation Period: 24 Hours
Contagious Level: Highly
Antidote: 8 ozs of Holy Water per host level
If Abaddon fucked his wives more often, he would have contracted the disease shortly after I fucked the wings off of one of his wives. I started to worry that the disease had failed or that Abaddon was trapped in a sexless marriage. Either scenario would mean total failure.
It worked. I cast Plague Bearer to make myself a carrier of Abaddon’s Bane, and then I passed it to his wife when I dicked her down, and she then passed it to Abaddon.
-1 Progress to Your Fall.
Progress to Your Fall: 3 / 100 (Abaddon, King of the Abyss)
“Byron, the antidote. Name your price, or I will kill your father.”
My father looked at me with sad eyes. No doubt he had endured horrors in Abaddon’s domain, but he seemed more hurt by what I had become.
His gaze was sad, disappointed. He had become a kind of broken that was only possible for a parent who witnessed their child grow up to be the worst of their fears.
-1 Progress to Your Fall.
Progress to Your Fall: 2 / 100 (Abaddon, King of the Abyss)
“Lord Byron, I Abaddon, bend the knee to you.”
“I’m sorry you suffered even more because of me,” I said to Tad, “but I’m not sorry for who I am. If you understood how the world worked, you would be proud of me.”
“I failed you,” he replied, the collar around his neck choking his words. “You should have stayed dead and joined me in the afterlife. I would have been proud to call you my son then.”
“I would rather disappoint you than die a pitiful, lonely death.”
-1 Progress to Your Fall.
Progress to Your Fall: 1 / 100 (Abaddon, King of the Abyss)
“Fine, you petty fool,” Abaddon barked.
The King of the Abyss flicked his wrist, and my father exploded. In the instant before his face turned to mist, I saw his frown deepen, like I had delivered one final wound for him to carry back to the underworld.
And then he was dead again. Gould. He could finally rest.
-1 Progress to Your Fall.
Progress to Your Fall: 0 / 100 (Abaddon, King of the Abyss)
Abaddon, King of the Abyss, has been slain.
The moment he died, slumping over in his throne when the last boil ruptured, his summoning spell cancelled itself, kicking me back to Sanctuary.
“Charity,” I commanded, “Fetch my wives, and tell each of them to pick five followers to bring with them. Then fetch the dreamdust and the distilled debauchery.”
“As you wish, Master.”
I sat back in my chair. It was done. I could spend the rest of eternity enjoying my life, my wives, and my women. On my way to the teleporter garden to celebrate, I used my abilities to send an announcement to all of my followers and everyone in the kingdom:
“The war with Abaddon is over. We are victorious.”
You have slain your rival abyssal sovereign.
You have gained a permanent 25% boost to all of your stats.
+11,879,090 good-aligned levels.
+5,000,000 Will points.
Spoils of War
Passive Ability
Any prayers or worship directed at the memory of your rival benefits you instead.
God King
Active Ability
Bestow abyssal corruption or the silk aspect to any target at will.
Abyssal Chorus Tentacles
Active Ability
For every Oath of Devotion, gain the ability to summon a Tentacle Mouth, a corporeal shadow tentacle with a duplicate of your mouth at the end. You feel independent sensations for every Tentacle Mouth under your control.
Removing the threat of Abaddon from my life was, truly, rewarding enough in itself, but I was happy to accept more gifts from the system.
Blanket stat boosts and lump sums of Will points were always helpful, and it seemed like I inherited all of the good-aligned levels Abaddon had stored up as well.
I had no immediate need for them, but I resolved to not make the same mistake Abaddon did.
If I was ever at war again, I wouldn’t hesitate to deplete my stockpile to ensure that I emerged the victor. Abaddon likely had many such regrets as my venereal disease ate him alive from the inside, and I would not fall into the same trap.
But who am I kidding? I was the most excited about trying out Tentacle Mouths.
I appeared in the garden and caught Invia just as she returned from her duties on the plane of angeli.
“Pull your tits out,” I commanded.
She obeyed, lifting her shirt for me. I sent two Tentacle Mouths out and latched onto her nipples, then I used the Loyalty Pledge to have distilled debauchery flow from her breasts as I sucked. I was feeling generous in light of the victory, so I gave her the reward of clit nipples while I drank.
I could taste Invia’s flesh and feel her pointy hard nipples with my tongues as though it were my original mouth sucking on her.
“Master…” Invia gasped, reaching for the base of a statue to steady herself.
Yes, of course. I ripped Invia’s clothing off her body with Silkmancer and sent two more mouths to taste her. One ate her out, and one rimmed her ass.
“That’s better,” she purred.
I sent another one to her lips to see what kissing felt like, and also to silence her while I pondered the possibilities now available to me.
The Goddess of Silk and Debauchery has ascended.
I, and everyone who prayed to Purity, heard her voice in their minds say, “You are free of the false Goddess. I will never abandon you.”
A surge of freedom flooded my body as she spoke, like I had been carrying a heavy pack for miles and finally set it down. A sense of confidence and certainty followed, the feeling that I could trust the Goddess of Silk and Debauchery completely.
I could feel that Purity was in my bedroom.
Wait.
I cancelled my tentacles and ran to the teleporters, rushing back to my room as quickly as I could.
When I arrived, I found Purity kneeling on the floor, cradling the body of the Goddess. Liquid sunlight poured from the wide wound in her neck, and all the light and warmth she once radiated was gone. Purity held a stoic expression as she watched the last hints of life flow out of the Goddess.
“The system offered me a quest,” Purity said aloud, not looking up. “She had to die, and she took all of my questions with her.”
The abyssal empress looked up at me.
“Are you upset with me, Master?”
“No.”
Setting the Goddess’ head gently on the floor, Purity walked to where I stood. She drew close and lifted herself on her tiptoes, gently reaching for a kiss.
I met her lips. The moment they connected, I felt the universe open up to me, like I was not just connected to every being alive but knew with certainty that they were beneath us. This world continued to exist because we allowed it to. We could do anything and have anything we wanted.
That kiss was the happiest I had ever been. I had never felt more safe, more content, and more sure of myself than ever before. I would never be alone again, and the devotion of my wives was unparalleled.
Purity was the first to trust me with Loyalty Pledges. She was the first to say the prayer and eat the flower petal. She saw greatness in me long before anyone else. I knew that the woman in my arms was the greatest treasure I would ever have.
“I love you,” I said with our lips barely parted.
She smiled. “Welcome to our eternity, my love.”
Her eyes glanced at the room around us. Ashley, Invia, Podni, and Solara wore nothing but the gold silk around their necks.
With these women by my side, eternity was going to be so much fun.