Theo: The Blood Angel of Lescatie

Theo shook his head mutely. One-in-a-million the chance was now with the eldritch energies coursing through him...

"I see.. fine...well, I hope you live a long and happy life my boy." She pulled him close. He leaned, kissing her deeply, again.

"We'll talk more at breakfast." She kissed him and closed her eyes. Theo did the same.

She felt his seed full of strange power, but she did not know why, assuming it due to foreign blood. Neither did she feel the scrying spell that floated off his fingertips to slowly consume the information hidden in nearby books.

In the post-sexual bliss, the sleeping Kitsune didn't notice the magic eyes sliding in her personal library. Yet Theo's mind started to fill with images and shapes as he slowly fell asleep...until the image of a Naga side-by-side with the mature Kitsune sleeping with her.

"Tomoko..." He gasped quietly. His and his dead love's cell guard. The one who just fed and watered them like animals, only to enter the cell and take his childhood love away to be used as a sacrifice for blood magic. The memories brought a torrent of hatred and trembling...

"No, I must not." He restrained himself from stabbing the fox woman through her eye sockets and scrambling her brain. Plus the information flood of his spell mentioned she was one of the dissenters during the war. She must have felt genuine pity for humans.

Sighing, he let sleep take him over. Best leave under friendly terms after learning about Tomoko's whereabouts.

++

The guard station was abuzz with activity. Mingzhi, Otep and Billie was hard at work trying to compile and population census of the city to find possible Eldritch suspects or Black Veterans to pursue.

"Hmm...Tomoko Kuro...Black Veteran, given amnesty in exchange for swearing off violence against humans. Has a very, very dark past." Billie went on.

"How dark?" Otep's Jackal ears perked.

"She owned Eisenheim mines where Theo and many slaves were being worked for war materials. Disappeared when King Julius personally led a landing force to rescue humans, along with the war chest." Billie blew a lock of hair, her spade-tail twirling around her, wings retracted to her back. "Technically she stole from Mamono Imperial treasury, but records were...fuzzy back then."

The records were always fuzzy with undisciplined monstergirls. Especially during war, especially when humans were figuratively, and literally, fucked.

"Seems that she is the only one alive Veteran in town. Is a friend with Haruka Kizarashi. That 9-tailed Kitsune who was the head of "Alliance for Peace", Black Brigade's greatest detractors, and pro-human peace activists...

"Strange bedfellows I bet." Otep sipped her coffee.

"Detective, Haruka is seen going home with a young boy as my subordinate told me. Should we investigate?"

Billie shrugged. "Why? Older mamono have sex too. Besides Miss Haruka is powerful enough to sense danger."

Mingzhi, hand on her chin, mused: "Well, Tomoko was seen caressing human children, so maybe she decided to have peace with her past and maybe love humans?"

Otep shook her head. "Something feels wrong. Send a hellhound with dampening glasses. I want that house searched."

++

A scaled hand knocking on the door woke both lovers from their embrace. The Kitsune dashed for her clothes while shouting for the visitor to wait, Theo simply slid off the bed and dressed...while hiding a small dagger under his shirt, hoping time, environment and magic did away with his old appearance...

The Kitsune's residence was a pretty little cottage in eastern style; built from wood and set inside a garden. The door, cut and carved from an enormous teak log gave a thick knocking sound as a strong, scaled hand rapped it.

The scaly hand belonged to an ancient Naga. She was nearly twice the size of other mamono, causing dark glances and whispers behind her back as she slithered towards the kitsune's residence. Her eyes were cold, blue shining with a pale fire unseen in the mamono of today. Her ancient blood resonated with a quiet power, untainted by human blood throughout the centuries. She reminded the passing mamono villagers of a Wurm rather than a Naga.

Her knocking seemed to have roused the kitsune and probably a mate that slept with her. Patiently, like a black tower, Tomoko waited. A civilian human who was about to ask her something recoiled in terror upon noticing her badge.

Tomoko ignored her. What was done was done in the past. She just wanted to visit her old friend.

She smiled slightly when her friend's fluffy tails barely obscured a human youth quickly dressing up.

"Have I come at a bad time, Haruka?"

The youth smiled and grabbed Haruka's waist, softly grabbed her jaw and kissed her, petting her tails; the kitsune breathlessly gasping in his mouth at the lavish attention. After tearing herself free of his grasp with a chuckle and a soft slap on wrist, the Kitsune smiled at the Black Naga.

"It's alright, Tomoko. Please, come in..."

Ducking, the naga slowly slithered inside past the frisky couple and slowly coiled next to the kitchen table, her ancient presence giving an aura of power and beauty tickling even Theo's dulled, damaged nerves.

"Coffee?" Haruka twirled her tails, shaking Theo's loving embrace off.
"Yes please." Tomoko nodded.
"This is...Gintaras." The kitsune gestured towards the youth next to her. "He is...well...*giggle* quite a companion." The Naga gazed at him, trying to figure out what he was. He looked strangely familiar... Suddenly, Haruka clapped her hands to take charge of the awkward discussion.

"Why don't you both sit in the garden while I whip up some Magrebian coffee? Gintaras brought it." The Kitsune readjusted her bust and went to heat some water. The black naga shifted for a second, and nodded.

"Sure. We'll...uh...wait there." She started slithering with Theo in tow, keeping a respectful distance. Soon, the massive naga, and the human boy were seated on a table, both hearing the happy humming that accompanied the kitsune's boiling of the water and grinding the beans. Ancient enemies, unknowingly, sat across the table.

It was awkward.

"So..." The ancient naga intoned with a voice like a giant.

Theo blinked at her, hands under the table on his knees. "So..."

"You are upset by my badge." The massive mamono looked at him with blue eyes of hell. Theo nodded quietly. She sighed and put it away.

"Can't blame." She was regarding Theo with cold blue eyes, her towering naga body casting a shadow over him. Her face was a cold mask of indifference that was devoid of any human emotion. For a short moment, she tried imitating a smile.

"Pleased to meet you."

"You as well, ma'am." He nodded quietly. The Naga tilted her head slowly, and tried to smile, and nodded in return. Both sides gazed at each other in an awkward silence. The black mamono woman slowly spoke: "You have met her, I see...Haruka is quite...a woman."

Theo nodded, smiling. "You like her?"

"I love her." Was the boy's answer. Tomoko blinked.

"She likes... younger boys." Was her strained answer.

The boy tried to poke her a bit. After all, his jailor, and the one who dragged the screaming Brikha away to be sacrificed was in front of her. "You hate humans, do you?" The naga gave something of a shrug, her serpentine form rippling.

"No. Not...anymore...what's done is done, human. Both sides suffered. Best move on. Have you suffered from the war?" He nodded.

"Do you love Haruka?"

He nodded again.

"Then forget the past, mate with her and live a happy life to the fullest. That's my best advice. Opening old wounds is... not advisable.Who knows, I might see your children... playing with m...I mean ours..."

Theo squinted, thinking if a small blood magic spell could kill her from that distance. He did his best to avoid showing pain as he kept carving under the table using blood from cuts from his leg.

"But hasn't your side committed horrible atrocities, miss naga?" Theo tried his hand at questioning her with the demeanor of an innocent young man who had done nothing. It made the giant naga smile...a little.

"I...probably...we..." She mumbled, surprising for a beastly figure of her size and disposition. "But your side fought us too, so... why re-start again?" She smiled, revealing a cute, fanged mouth that strained with a fake smile anyone could see. "Aren't you happy with he-..." She paused and stared as if someone was behind him.

"I see that Haruka has arrived. Would you help her, human?" She pointed behind him. Theo stood up on impulse and turned around...

++

All he could hear was a deep thrumming sound from a ton of corded muscles before the snake woman wrapped herself around him.

"Don't move." She whispered, her scaly, incredibly strong body coiled around his in an instant, hands firmly holding his neck and right hand. "I don't want to hurt you any more than I need to."

Theo froze as the ancient naga wrapped around him like an iron coil before he could breathe. Tomoko slowly went on:"I'm going to finish this as painlessly as possible. I will gently bite your neck, and give you a venom."

She extended her fangs, and slowly leaned closer on Theo's neck. "It slows your heart and kills quickly, silently and painlessly. If you won't struggle, it can even give a rush of pleasure in human males, or so I heard."

The naga had him completely immobilized, her muscles even slowly massaging his body. as if she subconsciously yearned for contact. Theo blinked. Ancient Nagas weren't like this, they were possessed with a hate of men ever since a vile human king killed and used their queen, Shahmaran's body for a blood ritual.

She sighed. "Maybe you humans weren't so bad after all. But I know who you are. Theo. Slave 4859. I must kill you for the sake of my daughter and other comrades-in-arms." Her face was without cruelty, but a deep concern. "I would rather not do this. I would like to hand you over to some kind mamono for "protective custody" but..You must die... "

Protective custody was a benign form of permanent slavery for certain humans who weren't far too dangerous, but were dangerous enough not to leave unwatched. Some convicts of manslaughter with good reasons, and the insane were kept like this.

"You wouldn't stay in her home, though you'd be treated kindly for what you went through."

For one moment, the ancient naga's massive, voluptuous body hesitated.

"I broke my wows. Mated with a human when loneliness ate my soul, and I became a mother. Something I swore off when I heard Army of Man won and slaughtered our kin."

Theo growled, full of rage. His voice trembled to a tone that was more fit on a demon of legends. "We weren't "bad", you fucking snake. All the history here is full of humans raped, eaten and enslaved. You of all beings shouldn't even say this!" The Naga gave a small tug what he thought of as a shrug.

"I mean, seriously..."WENT THROUGH?" You and your kind takes me as slaves and you DARE to name it like a victimless crime? Are you out of your fucking snake mind?" He snapped, and rained a barrage of angry curses even when he was in her coils.

Hewent on: "Damn you. My family, millions in history was dragged off, sold like baubles and butchered for blood magic. My people were insignificant toys under your bootheel. How dare you, HOW...give some lecture like a moldy Lescatian Nun! I hope you burn in deepest parts of hell!"

The Naga's body gave an exhalation of a sigh. She didn't want to argue the past.

"For what it's worth, I hope you will be with her and your family together in some afterlife." The Naga's voice was full of sympathy, which surprised him.

Her own surprise was evident when her prey started giving small shuddering chuckles.

"You should be worrying about yourself, dumb snake." The crooked smile he flashed, the Naga could not see. His chuckle she felt in his scales, each sound he exhaled giving her scales a cold ache as her blood started to turn into jelly.

Tomoko could not understand why it hurt so much to breathe. Her nose started to feel wet and smelled iron, overflowing with blood; her muscles meltedand froze in a silent agony as her teeth chattered. Her prey, the human suddenly looked very vague as her eyes, deprived of lifeblood, bulged.

All she could feel was a strong hand prying off her dying coil-grasp. Then she felt no more as her thoughts started to dissolve, her dying mind desperately clinging to the memories of her daughter.

"I am not doing this. This isn't me doing this." Theo spoke calmly, though his lips trembled: even hate did not wash away the sad feeling of killing in cold blood, even via magic or against a hated enemy.

Theo shrugged off her convulsing body, and turned away, dragging a chair. He quietly sat and watched the Naga shudder, vomit, and convulse in her final dance of death. He did not look away one moment, and felt not an ounce of pain in his conscience as the Naga's dying eyes tearfully gazed at him, mouth foaming with blood and spittle.

His hands clutched a bloody dagger, which had just smeared by his blood to carve a pentagram under the table. His leg held wounds and slashes to provide his precious lifeblood; to fuel the magic which had teleported the venom in the ancient Naga's spit glands to her heart.

"I was going to spare you on account of your daughter, had you kindly asked. But you just couldn't curb your pride and ask for it. I lost a family too, you know." His voice was low and sad.

The naga shuddered again.

"You could just talk, not even having to apologize. But no."

He stared at her face, once quite beautiful, statuesque and aloof, not a mask of agony, lips purple, overflowing with bloody foam and eyes bulging. Evil or not, it was not a beautiful way to go.

"Your daughter is better off without you." He spat. She died painfully.

"Tomoko is gone. Shindalla remains. Azaneal remains." He was startled by the clatter of dropped cups, cookies, snacks and tray. His kitsune partner's look was of shock and confusion. A Naga, dead of poisoning, in her own garden with her sexual partner watching on, Haruka was frozen.

"W-what.." She blurted in Zipangu language. His returned gaze froze her heart, his voice did little to soothe her.

"I have done nothing." He shrugged. "She did this to herself. Suicide." Stretching, he quietly passed her by to wash his hands.

"I believe she had a daughter. Reckon you can take care of her?"

She was still in shock when he quietly left the house and disappeared. For several minutes only to be nudged into awareness by a thick, furry paw some time later.

"Officer Nin-Nin, Hellhound." A dark-furred hellhound girl softly prodded her. "What happened here, mam?"

++

"Too late. Too fucking late." Otep was drinking her morning coffee, cup nestled in her thick, cute paws when the dark-furred, bespectacled Hellhound girl sullenly returned, waddling with her thick paws and droopy tail and announced the death of Tomoko. "Cause of death, poisoning." The small slip of paper she was handed made her sneer.

"What poisons an Ancient Naga?" Otep tossed the file to her desk.

"Miss..." Nin-Nin got her attention. "We have his personal profile. Vampire Mina tasted his blood, blood from the second crime scene, and says she seesthe image of apre-war slave with the serial number 4859. White, pale complexion, gray eyes, young male."

Billie snorted, earning a glare.

The Human Genocide.

Maou had, in a fit of insanity, wanted humanity in death camps, to cleanse his Reik and instill their essence back to his own species as a male mamono essence pool.

The result was a World War that brought the entire Lescatie and Mamono Reik to full scale war, humanity even garnering outside help from Zhong, Bharat and Qadimi Empires, for non-Ermorean(the continent where Reik and Lescatie existed) mamono were likewise disgusted by the atrocities.

At the hill of Megiddo, the monsters' Reikmacht met unified Lescatie with auxiliaries from Farsi, Zhong, and Bharat, as well as Zhong geomancers, outnumbered five-to-one, but armed with horrible monsters, darkest magic arsenals and male monsters that still existed, and were one-man armies themselves.

Lescatie resorted to blood mages themselves, people like Theo, to counter the horrid magical gap between each sides. People like him were rounded up and led against the Reik.

The decisive battle had been waged for over a week at the hill of Megiddo, where the Maou himself died, ripped apart by Theo as the horrified combatants looked on. The losses on all sides were so horrific that all factions retreated to their borders with an unspoken cease-fire, losses partially by enormous amounts of Blood Magic employed on both sides: a highly illegal and powerful magic that unleashed weapons and effects that defiled life and earth for a long time, including poisoning the user slowly.

The Reik, with Maou dead and his wife Agrat now Empress, consolidated itself and reformed its way of life, especially arranging its humans used by monstergirls to be made better treated slaves, wives and husbands, and persecuted its Black Brigade members who worked in the Human Genocide project.

Some surviving pre-Megiddo slaves were adopted, in as some sort of penance by certain mamono; to atone for bestial treatment earlier. Otep's mother took care of a young humangirl, traumatized from her time in a slave pit when the Demon King was defeated. She never spoke, and had always clung to both Anubises, mother and child like an infant, for years.

There were worse; some were sent to Lescatie, drugged to sleep. Some were put (quietly) to death for their suffering broke them into madmen or monsters. Theo was the one that fled and armed with a horrific arsenal of spells, rampaged for years.

Mingzhi tapped her tail on her chin, her hands polishing her horn ornaments. "Doesn't ring a bell. I never was in the business." She looked angrily at the dark elf commissar filing reports. Her kind was the go-to species in prisoner, kidnapping, ransoming and although declining, still existent slave handling business; though this one wasn't. As if she understood her glare, the dark elf gave an apologetic shrug.

Otep opened the file and started reading. "Gods damnit.. This is some heavy stuff." After reading every detail, every report. Her ears sank and she subconsciously gave a whine like a puppy. The Hakutaku slowly approached and joined reading. She sighed with a sorrowful voice that made every head turn.

**

His profile designated him as a human slave taken in a raid on Ellas Islands when the Thorn clan of dark elves raided every village for slaves for their vineyards, fields and mines.

His forced tattooing, torture for disciplinary actions when he was eight, and his way of breaking out, loss of family, forced blood magic training by Lescatie made the servant human woman go pale and excuse herself. Otep felt that she'd resign and go back to her family's farm: disgusted by the former monster generation's crimes and content to till the soil and be a mother to future human serfs.

**

Billie took a small glance as well. She tapped her shoe on the wooden floor slowly, high heel clacking against the wood. "Kill him. " She ignored tha glares cast her way. "It would be a mercy. Not cruelty."

She met the Anubis' gaze and did not flinch.

"Let's give him the peace in death he didn't find in life. No progress until grudges are gone, correct?" She was an asshole, but a rational one.

Otep gave a dejected sigh. "Very well. Dispatch every runner and mamono to each garrison, guardhouse and any martial mamono you can find. Put the picture with a reward of ten thousand gold pieces, dead preferred. And warn ex-Black Brigade members, war criminals as they may be. We don't need more orphans or chaos."

She had no idea how to break the news to the innocent Naga daughter, waiting in worry after she heard something happened to her mother.