I woke in a dark chamber surrounded by chains and hooks covered in blood. Standing up to my feet, I gripped my hands into fists, ready to fight for my life, even though it was clear nothing I did would matter. Laughter echoed throughout the chamber before I turned to come face to face with the skull of a great stag, its white optics staring into my own eyes.

  "...welp. This is a terrible outcome," I said out loud before throwing a fist at the creature's face, and watched as it opened its maw and caught my attack.

  With a swift jerk, the creature tore my arm off and threw it aside like rotten meat without breaking eye contact, laughing while I screamed in pain and fell to my knees, placing my hand over the stump where my arm used to be.

  "Always so ready to go down fighting, Gideon. That is what I like about you... that is why... you will not die. Your suffering entertains me," the creature whispered while circling my form.

  "What do you want?" I asked, and looked back at my missing arm to watch as it slowly began to grow back at a snail's pace.

  "Entertainment, of course... and sadly, your suffering alone is not enough to fill my pit of boredom. So here we are... in a world FILLED with those who are marked," it stated plainly while chattering its maws and breaking eye contact to turn and hover behind me.

  A spotlight turned on to reveal the shield bearer getting his limbs crushed by Dhalmor one at a time, starting from his feet and slowly up to his head. By the time Dhalmor smashed his head into the pavement, he would heal instantly with a look of confusion, as if it was his first time there, only to gain the same treatment. I watched, not amused, while the thing behind me chuckled and patted my shoulders.

  "Not an ounce of shiver from you, little man," it whispered before roughly turning me around to have me stare into his eyes once more. "And I want more marked individuals!"

  "How am I supposed to do that when I have no idea what I can do or how to do it?" I replied with narrowed eyes, only for it to shove me back, laughing again.

  "You will figure it out. You can be harmed... but you cannot be controlled... nor sealed. I have set up... certain safeguards regarding such instances... but Gideon... I will give you a heads up. The cost for such a safeguard is very painful... even to demon standards it is near mind-breaking," it said while tilting its head.

  "...why did you stop me from saying your name?" I asked, watching as it slowly sank into the darkness, followed by the spotlight on Dhalmor shutting off. "Al...."

  I was stopped as a skeletal hand covered my mouth, followed by its maw hovering over my right shoulder.

  "Shhh... I do hate spoilers... and even more so... spoiling the surprise... for our little readers present," the being whispered into my ear before chuckling lightly. "You are indeed a servant of the canvas... who has access to call upon those who work under me..."

  —

  With that, I opened my eyes to see Lilith sitting over me, staring into my eyes before blinking. It did not take long before we screamed in unison, before she head-butted me and ran off to hide behind Nel, who was sitting on a wooden chair. Groaning in pain, I held my head before slowly sitting up and looking around.

  "Where are we?" I asked, looking at Nel, who sighed.

  "We are in a haven for now," she said, while looking to the doorway to reveal a goblin walking in.

  The goblin wore a leather cloak with the hood down to show off her hair and skin. She stood at four feet tall with long olive-green skin and messy swamp-green hair that nearly touched the ground. When her eyes locked onto mine, I could see not only her ember-colored eyes but also the wariness and disgust she felt for what I was. After a split second of eye contact, she broke it and focused on Nel with a smile as they both bowed to one another.

  "Shaman Tikka. I am grateful for you accepting us into your humble abode," Nel said with a gentle voice, which I could not help but scoff at.

  "Think nothing of it. We both served the same lord... I am sorry, I should be of no help since I was off in the forest dealing with any soldiers and authors who crossed this landscape," the goblin shaman named Tikka said before she glanced over her shoulder toward me with hate. "So why are you pulling along a human author? I thought they were all enemies."

  "I did kill him... twice. He has a curse on his status that prevents him from staying dead," Nel pointed out, her eyes glaring at me for a bit before they closed, followed by a sigh. "That, and he was summoned by the late emperor to protect his daughter."

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  "This fat thing?" Tikka asked, nudging her head toward my direction.

  "Hey... I'm not that fat..." I mumbled to myself, grabbing at my fat slightly now with a sad expression, before focusing back on the two to find Tikka in my face.

  "Nel here trusts you, and you are not permanently dead... so show me your status," Tikka demanded while taking a step back.

  Now that she was in front of me, I could easily see that her attire under the cloak was barely anything. Her only real attire was a loincloth that covered her private parts, while her B-cup-sized breasts were only barely covered by a necklace of animal skulls, but nothing else. Upon her face, she had red paint from one side of her temple to the other. I was at a loss for words as my eyes wandered throughout her body before quickly snapping out of it and looking to the ground.

  "This is a modest human you have here... did you train him or something?" Tikka asked, almost amused.

  I only thought about my status as it popped up and flew over to Tikka to view. It did not take long before she also laughed at my misfortune, before she pushed the status back to me for it to fade.

  "This is what our emperor summoned?" Tikka asked, turning halfway to face Nel, who only stared.

  "He may not look like much, but his summons is worth it. I have seen two out of the three of them defeat the soldiers of the human kingdom," Nel pointed out as I looked over to her, surprised she was backing me up. "Do not misunderstand. I am backing up those you summon... not you in particular..."

  My face dropped as I looked at the ground.

  "So how does his summons work, exactly?" Tikka asked, focusing back on me while leaning forward just as I focused on the goblin, my eyes drifting to her breasts before forcing them to look into her eyes.

  "He will have to explain that," Nel stated.

  "I can summon... things from another world... a dark one. But they need a sacrifice. A corpse and a feeling from me..." I tried to explain while looking at the ground.

  That was when I felt pressure on me, which brought my focus to what that was. Upon my lap sat Tikka, who continued to stare into my eyes as if trying to find something. I gulped as she leaned more forward, as if trying to gaze into my soul, but instead felt something. She leaned back and looked down to find me beginning to go erect, which caused her to snarl and jump back in disgust.

  "Perverted human!" Tikka screamed while pointing a finger at my groin. "Spark and pierce through that which the howling wind screams!"

  From her finger, a beam of yellow flashed forward and raced toward my groin, which made me panic and close my eyes.

  "SUMMON!"

  A skull of a snake formed, which took the blow and jerked back, but only an inch before floating up and beginning to form into a full body. I watched on in confusion and shock as the humanoid figure formed; instead of a cloak, a black business suit took shape.

  "I thought you could only summon if you had a sacrifice and feeling?" Nel shouted, getting to her feet and placing her hand over her rapier.

  "I didn't get a fucking manual for my skill, okay?! I am figuring this shit out as I go!" I screamed back while glaring at Nel, then back at the figure that stood in front of me.

  "If a feeling is strong enough, there is no need for a sacrifice... especially if it is linked with a higher up," the other said, fixing his suit.

  "....you horny bastard!" Tikka screamed, pointing at me with judgmental eyes.

  "Now do not blame him for liking what he saw," the other said before kneeling and placing his hand out to take Tikka's into his own. "Lu, enchanter."

  Tikka stared in awe as he kissed the back of her hand, causing her to blush.

  "Lady Nel. It would be best to leave with Madam Lilith for now," Lu said, keeping his focus on Tikka.

  Nel began to breathe heavily and nodded before taking Lilith and leaving the haven.

  "I think I should go too..." I whispered, trying to get up, but was stopped as Lu glanced at me.

  "No. You stay here and watch," he said before slowly looking back into Tikka's eyes.

  He raised his hand to take hold of the snake skull and removed it like a helmet to reveal the head of an Arabian prince with baby-blue eyes, soft tanned skin, and wavy black hair.

  "...I can already see where this is going..." I said, closing my eyes and turning away.

  "It is what she wants," Lu whispered before the sound of kissing and making out took place. "I have to give her a reward for taking such good care of you, servant."

  I could not argue as the sound of clothes dropping hit the floor, followed by moans and grunting. Even the sound of the table creaking was heard behind me while I curled up, not wanting to see what was happening. It was not proper, but disobeying someone like that was going to get me into a lot of trouble. The clapping of flesh on flesh, followed by moans and mumbled words that I could only guess meant more. Even the smell began to build up, so I covered my nose.

  "Oh God, please tell me this is going to end soon," I begged.

  As if my prayer was answered, a final moan was heard before panting and laughter. Clothes were soon being put back on as I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder to find Lu fully clothed and Tikka with her cloak back on. She had her arms wrapped around Lu's leg, looking up at him with joy and satisfaction.

  "Be good... and I might return to give you another reward," Lu whispered down to her, his hand moving across her lips, which she lightly bit down on as he slowly faded away.

  Tikka stood there sighing before closing her eyes and clearing her throat.

  "Funnel the air and fade that which smells," Tikka chanted as the smell sank into the earth itself before her eyes snapped over to me.

  "What?" I asked with a shaky voice.

  "Seems I am going with you all," Tikka said with a grin.

  She revealed her barely covered body to show her loincloth was loose, and even her necklace of skulls was still barely covering her nipples. Unlike last time, I did not feel anything as I looked down at my groin to find no reaction whatsoever. Even Tikka was surprised and a bit annoyed.

  "What kind of reaction is that? You were flustered moments ago when I barely showed you anything before! What gives!" Tikka screamed, glaring at me while covering up.

  "...sacrifice..." I said, staring at her, then at the ground. "Higher up..."

  As if something hit me in the back of the head, my eyes grew wide.

  "...I CAN'T GET HORNY!" I screamed, covering my face in horror.