Arc 8: Chapter 5
They had to spend around ten minutes in that room, with the window open, before the stench that filled it finally faded sufficiently that Bianca’s sensitive nose no longer picked up on it easily. Since her nose was the most sensitive out of their whole group, it was a fair assumption that if she couldn’t perceive it right away, then the others would struggle with it even further.
She had to admit that she slightly missed the intense mixture of cum, cock, sweat and pussy that made up the fog of scent that had filled the room, but she satisfied herself with the knowledge that her ass was still full enough with cum that she’d be feeling its warmth for hours.
Better yet, although the enormous plug did make itself known whenever she moved even a little, it wasn’t so disruptive that it actually got in the way, and with her bountiful ass, one would need to spread her cheeks and look closely to spot the base of the plug. It had a white jewelled design, akin to the rest of her collection but in a different shade, but it was subtle enough not to draw the eye.
‘Still, I can’t believe that I’ve taken this long to try it… I can’t wait to make Song Ming wear something similar, after my own cock gets even larger,’ Bianca felt herself smile as she put on her clothing and made herself presentable, returning to her proper, Demon Queen look, ‘And I was able to spread some of my influence to Han Rushu, to the point of physical changes, so that might be what prompted her to be so nice earlier… I should try and corrupt her further, until-’
She had to stop herself there, as she realised once more where her mind was going.
‘Fuck. I shouldn’t be thinking like that, it’s… it’s evil and wrong, and…’ Bianca stopped, feeling as though a dark shadow was standing just behind her, glaring at her, ‘… Fuck, I can’t even argue against it properly. Han Rushu is far from a good person, she’d happily influence me – and has, to an extent – so my actions in response are effectively justified…’
“What’re you looking so glum for? I’ve heard of guys having a post-orgasm clarity where they get all mopey over their actions, so I hope that’s not gotten to you.”
“No, no, I’m just… thinking about things. Please shut the window, and I’ll head out first. Come out after a while… let’s just say that we discussed plans for stuff for you to make. Any ideas?”
“Butt plugs? I can make butt plugs,” Han Rushu offered up right away, and Bianca found herself actually considering it.
“… Is there any precedent for sect members being required to wear butt plugs as part of the uniform?”
“Heavens, I love it when you come up with shit like this,” the blacksmith chuckled, “I don’t think there is, but I’m sure you could convince people depending on what you offered. There’s been more than a few men that cut off their cock and balls to cultivate some technique and skill of… dubious quality, so if you can offer something decent and make that a requirement…”
“… and with Xue Yaling to help out, we could definitely make up a good reason for it too,” Bianca offered up right away, before mentally snapping at herself again, ‘You dumbass, that’s worse! The sect is supposed to be a haven for women like me, not a place to exploit them!’
‘Is it really exploitation, though? It’s a harmless little thing in exchange for the protection from a Sect Master and a Sect Mistress, complete with a wide array of techniques and skills to teach them…’
‘That’s… no, it’s still wrong! I would just be taking advantage of them for my own perverted desires, which is completely and utterly fucked up!’
‘Not if it’s truly necessary. Your technique is a peculiar thing, it shouldn’t work but does because of you. If the others want to replicate it, something to properly balance their energy and help them stabilise their Demonic Forms might be just what they need…’
‘S-Stop making any amount of sense, it’s fucked up… and, uh, am I talking to myself? Demon Queen?’
No reply followed, once more making her ponder whether she was going insane. The voice had felt unusually clear, and the conversation went on for longer than she was used to, to the point that it felt like she was speaking to a truly distinct person. It felt rather peculiar, but she could hardly delve into it now, especially when she barely understood the root cause of any of this.
“… Anyway, let’s think about it when there’s actually a possibility of a sect at hand. For now, it’s a little early,” Bianca shook her head and gestured over to the window, “Just say whatever if anyone asks, we’ll work it out later.”
The blacksmith nodded and headed over to handle the window, so Bianca lifted the barrier and stepped to the door, opening it up to reveal a mostly empty room, with only Xue Yaling lying on her belly in a bed, her white tail swishing back and forth while she rested her head in her hands. Her eyes were shut and she looked to be humming something, at least until Bianca stepped in and she peeked with one eye.
“There you are. Long discussion, wasn’t it?” the tone she used sounded awfully like she knew what had gone on, but Bianca kept a stoic expression on.
“Yeah, we were thinking about my technique. It works for me for… reasons, right? But in others, I imagine getting something like that set up would be challenging,” Bianca presented her thought process so seriously that the kitsune was visibly taken aback, her tail stopping mid-swish as she listened, “Would it be possible for some external object to help stabilise my body technique in others and allow them to cultivate the stuff I do – or something similar, at least?”
“… I almost believe you, you know. Almost being the important word there… but the idea is an interesting one. How people control their energy differs depending on talent and intuition and all that, so something static that we can distinctly control is… did you- you two come up with something?”
“It’s a little awkward, but… well, you know how the two of us are, so-”
“It’s some kind of sex toy, isn’t it?”
“… More precisely, a butt plug. I imagine that it could be filled up with all kinds of inscriptions, arrays and whatever on the inside – no idea how that works, but it sounds vaguely plausible – and then disciples wear it to help control their energy.”
The kitsune rolled over, folded her arms, and spent a good minute staring at the ceiling, clearly thinking rather hard about the subject, “You know, a butt plug might actually be among the best toys you could’ve picked. It can be made of a variety of materials, but inevitably contains a large volume of material on the inside that we could exploit. Furthermore, if made with the right properties, it could be made to sit perfectly still, and if the typical cultivation position is taken into account when designing it and the techniques we teach… It could be the perfect anchor for a newcomer to focus on and begin their cultivation.”
“… Did I actually have a good idea?”
“Whether intentionally or not, yes, I think you did. It’s an awfully perverted one, but that suits a perverted Sect Mistress.”
“Shut it,” Bianca sighed, “Honestly, I don’t really like this, but it sounded too reasonable in my head to not suggest it.”
“Reasonable in the sense that it was viable?”
“Mhm. Again, forcing this onto innocent women that just want a break from the outside world is rather… cruel, don’t you think?”
“A little, but at the same time, there are men out there that would chop off-”
“Heard that one already, I’m afraid,” Bianca said, pointing to the room she’d exited, just as Han Rushu approached.
“Yeah, I shared that one. Feels awfully concerning how common the idea is with men, you’d think they’d prefer to keep their genitals intact. I know I would, I like my balls quite a bit,” the blacksmith muttered that last part, not that it stopped either of them from hearing it.
“It truly is an awfully common anecdote, then… but, as I was saying, there are countless people that would happily agree to all kinds of conditions for a chance at power. It’s always possible to present the techniques as they are, then offer the solution as a kind offering rather than what this truly is, which is your perverted desire to see some sluts plugged and ready for you.”
“I-I do NOT! Stop ascribing weird ideas to me like this…” Bianca said, trying her best to supress the blush, though by the looks of it, Xue Yaling still caught on.
“No need to act like this in front of me, I can understand you completely. You’ve seen what it’s like when Song Ming obeys all your whims, so now you’d like a whole host of attractive women to do the same… treating you as their Mistress, getting into all the kinks that you’ve got, and loving you for it. Come on, it’s okay.”
“… Fuck off. I’ll go to sleep, and you better not do anything weird while I’m asleep,” Bianca tried to ignore her and got into the bed she’d claimed, quickly turning over to face away from them and shutting her eyes, trying to force her mind to drift away as quickly as possible.
Naturally, it put up quite a bit of resistance, as it was prone to do, but with enough willpower devoted to the task, anything felt possible.
Thus, she drifted off, the metallic golden shine of sleep claiming her…
“Wait, what?”
Bianca’s eyes snapped open, and she found herself in a strange realm, darkness surrounding her, though it was tinged with a bluish shade at the edges of her vision, no matter where she looked.
She looked around frantically, finding nothing, until the initial rush of fear faded away and she took the time to examine everything properly. Simply looking down revealed that she was wearing one of her old outfits from Orbis, a casual set of shorts with a loose shirt and grey hoodie, clothing that blatantly didn’t fit in the world she’d found herself in.
More importantly, it wasn’t what she had gone to sleep in, and the fact that she had gone to sleep combined to inform her of the fact that she was dreaming.
“Took you a while, didn’t it?” a very familiar voice appeared behind her, causing her to spin around and find… herself.
Sitting on a chair in a reversed manner, leaning on the backrest, looking at her with a bemused expression and a mocking glint in her crimson eyes. Her skin and hair were both white as snow, and she was garbed in an outfit that mimicked the one that Bianca had picked out to suit her Demon Queen self. Combined with that cheeky voice, her identity felt obvious.
“Demon Queen? So you are real.”
“No, dummy, I’m you.”
“Huh?”
“More precisely, you believe that you’ve got a Demon Queen in you, and now that you’re in your head, you’ve separated out a part of yourself to be said Demon Queen,” her other self leaned down and rested her chin on her arms, rocking her head left and right.
“… That sounds ridiculous.”
“No, it doesn’t, you just don’t want to believe that your mind is capable of all the things you do. You’ve been doing it for years already, so projecting it all onto a Demon Queen is only natural.”
“For years… you mean the stealing? That was involuntary, just something my hands end up doing when I’m not paying attention! You should know that, if you’re… me.”
“Uh-huh. If you believed that completely, I wouldn’t be disagreeing with you, and yet, here I am.”
“And what do you mean by projecting, anyway? Are you saying that the Demon Queen doesn’t exist?”
“I have the same information that you do – we’re the same mind, you’re just imagining me so that it’s less awkward to speak to yourself. So, I don’t have a clue if the Demon Queen exists, because we’ve yet to confirm that. However, you doubt her existence, don’t you?”
Bianca wanted to retort, but she paused when she realised that the chances were pretty high that this Demon Queen, her other side, might well be telling the truth. She sounded an awful lot like her more reasonable, more logical, more brutal side, not specifically the Demon Queen, but just the side of her that will get things done.
She had used it on herself before, without imagining her as some separate being, but since she was now worrying about the Demon Queen all the time, creating this phantom to embody it-
“Sounds an awful lot like what I’d do… is what you would’ve said, no?”
“… Look, I can’t just believe you, so… what was the first porn video I watched?”
“Do you want to feel more embarrassment? You don’t recall the exact name, but it featured hyper cocks, literal litres of cum, and-”
“Shutup!” she practically exhaled those words, her cheeks burning when she considered that she could’ve easily avoided recalling such a memory if she just spent a moment to think of an alternative.
“I did warn you.”
“You’re a dick.”
“And at the rate things are going, you’ll get one permanently. You should really consider ways to hide it in your clothes before that happens.”
“How do you know?”
Her other side sighed and tapped the side of her head, “I used my brain, dummy. You can understand all this stuff just fine if you let yourself, you know that already, but even in here, without anyone to judge you, you still insist on avoiding it.”
“… It’s not particularly pleasant to have all the stuff I worry about be presented to me like this.”
“And yet, it’s things you need to hear, otherwise you wouldn’t be saying them to yourself through me. You know all too well that you can’t keep running forever, but you still try, each and every time.”
“…”
“You knew the shop keeper back home would catch you eventually, would turn against you, but you still indulged in the opportunity to satisfy your kleptomaniac tendencies any time they arose. You abused his trust and betrayed him dozens of times, and now you’ve even forgotten his name.”
Bianca felt as though she was being repeatedly stabbed, and the fact that she was doing so to herself – as far as she knew, anyway – made it all the more painful. She even felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she looked away, unable to keep meeting that arrogant gaze, when she spotted something that shook her out of it.
In the vaguely bluish darkness, a golden shine had appeared at some point, appearing to be coming from metallic tendrils that seemed to be snaking towards them- her, rather.
“Wait, that…”
“Come on, your life or at least your mind could be in danger, but you still delegate it to this side of yourself… That is responsible for pulling you into your mental landscape. It’s also the exact same shade that was around Li Wusu. You don’t trust the captain, and know that she was probably spying on you. Ergo, this thing cannot have good intentions, especially when it looks straight out of a porn scene where you’re about to get destroyed by a bunch of tentacles that’ll mindfuck you and-”
“Okay, enough of that! What do I do?”
“Best idea would be to think for yourself – and I mean properly. Stop pushing it onto another self, another side, and use all of your brain.”
“I…”
“You believe you can’t, so you won’t. Second best thing would be to prepare to defend yourself. Best case scenario is that you simply wasted your time, worst case is that the defence will save you a second or two before the tentacles slide into your ears and-”
“Sto-op!” she dragged out the word, practically begging her other self to stop, “Can you help?”
“… You believe you and I are separate entities, and this fight is occurring in your mental landscape. I should be able to pull off everything you believe the Demon Queen can pull off.”
“Aren’t you me and not the Demon Queen, though?”
“You don’t believe that enough to change anything, so in terms of strength, I might as well be her,” her other side responded, standing up and arming herself in the most peculiar of ways.
The chain beneath her simply vanished, and a long, dark blade appeared in her hands in the process, crimson arcs quickly manifesting over the blade. A dark, intense aura surrounded her, finally giving Bianca a taste of her own malevolent aura…
“If you want to ensure your safety, you cannot pretend to be that innocent girl from Orbis. That’s not where you are, and you don’t live by that world’s rules anymore. You’ve killed people, you’ve injured countless more, and you’re more lethal with a sword than a good number of people in your realm. If nothing else, acknowledge that much, and fight!”
As frustrating as their chatter proved to be, Bianca couldn’t deny that, and so she forced herself to shut her eyes and focus. Mentally, she took the old clothes, the attitude, the memories, and threw them behind herself, and focused on the present.
When her eyes opened, the hoodie and the like faded, replaced by her tight shorts and crop top, the outfit she’d worn in this world the most. She held her faux-star metal sword in her hand, and her third realm cultivation surged forth, entering her control with the same ease that she experienced when the Demonic Tyrant held her hand in the outside world.
“Alright… what are we actually fighting?”
“… Not a clue. Considering this is the realm of the mind, perhaps… memories.”