Voluptus Ludum Ch. 07

"Youngest goes first." Clair said.

"Don't mind if I do." Alannah replied and drew. To her fortune, she had a creature with a skull count of ten, allowing her to play it from the start, "I play, Young Fire Element." She placed it down, gasping as a strange burning sensation crept across her skin. She felt like she was on fire; however, it didn't hurt. When she looked down to her hand, seeing she was indeed aflame, "Damn, that's cool." She noted under her breath, before ending her turn. Her body hadn't changed much, besides the fire.

Clair drew her card. Her hand was perfectly fine for the time being.

"I play, Maiden of Steam." Like before, she felt the tingling spread over her as she turned into something else. Fortunately, it was a good deal more subdued than her last one was, that is to say her body wasn't nearly so overtly sexual. She had a long, flowing dress now. Her bust, now shrunken to a D cup, was supported by a tight corset, though it was oddly comfortable despite what she knew about them. Attached by straps to her hips were a pair of gears and a wandering hand found a top hat on her head, "Really?" She sighed, but continued on as normal.

Her creature had a power of 7000. The skill was unusable at that point, having a Skull Count of 9, nor was it that useful. However, Alannah's creature only had 6000 power. Needing no other move, Clair attacked and dealt the first damage of the game. Alannah didn't seem fazed, rather, she was happy about it.

"My ability activates. When I take damage, I can search my deck for one card with a Skull Count equal to my damage." She explained, adding a piece of equipment to her hand. Unable to do anything else, Clair ended her turn. Alannah surveyed her hand after drawing. Unfortunately, she was limited to what she had on the field at the time. One card in her hand had a Skull Count of 8, meaning it couldn't be used next turn... or did it? She thought with a smirk as she read her card effects.

"I equip Blaze," Her flaming body was enveloped in armour, which erupted into blue fire upon coming into contact with her burning skin, "With this on, if I have a card in my hand that can be used when my damage counter is lowered, I can put it into play. I also gain 2000 power during my turn." She explained, seeing Clair frown at the power of such an early card. It wasn't entirely unfair, given the restriction on the power increase, however the first effect was somewhat worrying. She wasn't sure if she should attack next turn or not, lest she grant Alannah a more powerful card to use. Not that it mattered as the Flame Woman attacked.

She ended her turn. Clair bit her bottom lip in contemplation, trying to decide if she was better off waiting until she was in a better position to attack, however that would be risky. Everything she could think of would incur a consequence; she waits, she takes damage; she attacks, she risks Alannah getting more powerful far quicker. Throwing caution to the wind, she attacked as before.

"My ability activates." Alannah said, adding a more powerful piece of equipment to her hand. Having no idea what her Irish enemy's deck was designed for, Clair had no way of knowing if she was allowing Alannah to set up her demise. Either way, she thought, I wouldn't get anywhere if I just waited. She ended her turn and steeled herself for whatever would come her way. Alannah drew for her turn and, after a brief moment of browsing her hand, she came to her decision.

"I equip Darkness," Around her blue flames an aura of purple blackness appeared, "This lets me choose one my other equipment cards on the field and return it to my hand. I return Blaze and summon Wizened Water Nymph." She said, placing Blaze back into her hand and placing her new creature on her mat.

The flames on her body vanished abruptly. As she waited for her change, she began to feel moisture seeping into clothes. Frowning, she looked down at herself and saw her body turning see through, similar to how Karen had changed when she used her trump card last night, however Alannah looked distinctly more like a liquid. She retained her figure for the most part, though she found that if her thoughts strayed she would begin to turn into a puddle. Though it wasn't all bad.

Her equipment vanished along with her flames. She re-equipped Blaze. It was strange having fire on her liquid body, the flames constantly sizzling. To her pleasant surprise, she couldn't feel the no doubt intense heat. Across the field Clair was frowning with worry, uncertain what the Irish woman had in store for her.

"My skill activates. When this creature is summoned, I can add two cards with a Skull Count of 6 or lower to my hand. If I add two cards with a count of 2 or lower, I get an extra 4000 power during my turn and can lower the count on one card in my hand by one for the rest of the game." She explained. Clair was about to say something about it being completely unfair, or that Alannah was making such an overpowered effect up, but she knew cheating would be caught in an instant. She had no choice but to accept it.

Alannah added her cards and her creatures power of 8000 went up to 12000. This was with Blaze still in effect. She didn't like that her cards were fairly weak by themselves, however the combo moves were enjoyable. If every game is this enjoyable, maybe this tournament isn't so bad after all, she thought with a grin. Before she attacked, she focused on her free hand, attempting to reshape it. The urge had come out of the blue and wouldn't be ignored. To her surprise, she saw her fingers elongating like tentacles. All manner of sexual thoughts came to her mind, but she held them at bay for the time being.

She made her attack and ended her turn. Clair drew and almost swore in frustration. Her luck was evidently rotten that day, as her entire hand was filled with cards that had a Skull Count of 7 or lower. The only move she had that she could make was attack or use her ability. She shook her head, it was her creature, not her actual self. As she thought of this, she noticed how Alannah had referred to her creature's skills as her own. These cards are messing with us, Clair thought with worry.

Shaking her mind clear of her concerns, she focused on the game. Her creature was still stronger during her turn, however another attack could be deadly, given what she had seen thus far. The skill wasn't all that special, only allowing her to switch her creature with another in her deck that had the same power, regardless of its Skull Count. Clair very nearly face palmed herself, as she realised the real use of such a skill.

"I activate my creature's ability. I can search through my deck for any card that has the same attack power and summon it, regardless of its Skull Count." She said, picking her up deck and scouring through it for the highest level creature she could find. It didn't take long to find one with a Skull Count of 3, one that would no doubt have a powerful skill given its attack power, "I summon Maiden of Gears, Giya." She hadn't been looking at the images in her haste to find something powerful to use against Alannah.

The change was far more sudden dramatic than her previous two. Clair gasped in shock as she felt her body heat up all over, the burn increasing vastly in her chest. She panted as she tried to continue her turn, the transformation continuing at a fast pace. Despite that however, her body took several long seconds to change, each second seeming to be a full minute to her.

"I-I-I..." She stuttered in an attempt to ignore the changes, but the sensation that centred in her bosom would not be ignored. Clair looked down, eyes widening as she took in her vastly expanded bust, each of which looked like a set of inflating balloons attached to her chest. They were already past G cups, seeming determined to try and reach a massive J cup. Moments passed and they reached that cup size, however the growth was only slowing, her breasts continuing their journey through the alphabet. Although the most prominent, it wasn't the only part of her changing.

Since her creature was such a high level, it's design was naturally more complex. Clair's hair began to tie itself into pigtails, hairclips appearing from thin air to pin them into place, the clips themselves in the shape of gears. From the back of her shirt, two wings grew forth. They were distinctly mechanical in appearance, with visible circuits running across them, though they were surprisingly light. The fingers unfolded out from it, with a webbing of sorts connecting them together. The span was a good seven feet across.

Her dress had also changed. While it wasn't all that different in design, the chest was adapting well to her expanding bust, which was now K cups and still growing. When she could think clearly, Clair was thankful for her wings as a counterweight. The key change to her clothing was the hem of her dress, which was rapidly shortening as her body changed. It didn't stop until she looked to be wearing a mini skirt if it had been designed in the Victorian era.

It did well to emphasize her all but forgotten lower assets. Despite being overshadowed by her still growing chest, now M cups, her hips and rear had been steadily growing alongside the expansive mounds. She looked ideal for being a mother, with her child baring hips, though with the distinct allure of a young, overly voluptuous woman with her large, shapely behind. Across from her, Alannah couldn't help but lick her lips at the sight. If she won, there was no doubt in her mind that either she, or Clair would always have that form. Eventually, the transformation came to its end.

Clair panted from the sensations still pulsing through her. It was almost completely unlike anything else she'd felt before, even when compared to her prior transformation. She straightened her posture, breathing deeply to regain her composure, each breath causing her overabundant chest to jut out further. If not for her wings acting as a counterweight, she was certain her back would already be crying out in protest from the weight of her breasts. Each of which looked to as big, if not bigger, than her head.

Despite having a high level creature in play, it's skill was useless at the time. However, the equipment cards in her hand were of use to her. One in particularly caught her attention.

"I equip the Cost Down Ring. This lets me choose one of my creature's abilities and increase the Skull Count by up to 2," This put the skill at a Skull Count of 6, "I equip another one, making it 8. Now I activate the skill: By discarding one card, I can remove one piece of equipment on my opponent's side of the field from the game, I can then search my deck for one equipment card and play it, regardless of its Skull Count." She explained, removing Alannah's Blaze from the game and searching for her own card.

It wasn't long until she found an ideal equipment card.

"I equip the Steam Scold Armour," She bit her lip as her voluptuous body was suddenly covered in tight, leather and light metal clothing, "This card gives my creature 4000 power at all times. I can also discard a card from my hand once per turn to attack twice, which I think I'll do." She said and discarded a useless card from her hand, "Not only that, but if my opponent's Damage Count is equal to or higher than mine at the start of my battle phase, I deal two damage." Clair smirked, clearly confident in her ability to turn the tides in her favour.

Alannah wasn't worried however. Despite her often fiery personality, a reflection of her natural hair colour, she did possess a keen intellect and could be quite analytical when it came to situations such as these. She had noticed Clair's somewhat dishevelled state; her focus didn't seem entirely on the game, and her words were slightly slurred. Not to mention the obvious, lingering blush on her cheeks. And people think the Irish are always drunk, she thought with amusement.

The fact that she was going to take 4 damage this turn didn't worry her. In fact, she was quite glad to be taking that much damage, as she had a near perfect card for the next turn. Clair made her move, putting Alannah down to 4 Damage Counters. The Irish woman drew for her turn and smirked at her opponent, enjoying the slight surprise that showed on her face for a second.

"I summon Dragon Flame King, Akai!" She announced, feeling it as her body changed much more dramatically than before. It wasn't simply her body turning to a different element unlike before, this time she was transforming into something far more inhuman in shape. She grew taller, her legs lengthening as their shape began to change, becoming reptilian in nature. Scales spread sporadically over her body scattered about. Her forearms were covered, as were her shins and the outskirts of her face. It almost looked like armour.

From her back grew two majestic wings. Their span was greater than Clair's, spreading out over eight feet. Each finger was connected by low, simmering flames, sparks of it occasionally licking out at the air. Below that, her tailbone began to alter itself, becoming longer and jutting out from just above her rear. It grew rapidly, her skin, muscle and flesh catching up quickly. Before long, she looked to be a hybrid between human and dragon.

Her breasts had grown to a modest DD cup to keep in proportion to her now six foot two body. They didn't appear overly large on her frame, however they were still nice, perky and capped by cute nipples. Likewise, her hips and ass had also grown slightly, keeping up with her bust. With the change over, Alannah looked over her new body and had to admit she was impressed by it. She might even try and convince Stacy to give it a try in bed.

Aside from her new look, it's base power was 13000. Not only that, but it's skill was the perfect icing on the proverbial cake.

"My skill activates: For each of my opponent's equipment cards, I can search for one card out my deck and add it to my hand. I can then choose any number of cards that are out of play, and return them to the bottom of my deck in any order," She did just that, returning her entire drop zone back to her deck, "After that I then gain 1000 power for each equipment card on the field. And then," She almost giggled seeing Clair roll her eyes, "I deal one additional damage for each equipment card that's made for Dragon Flame King, Akai. And I have four such cards in my hand at the moment." Clair's eyes widened in shock.

It was far stronger than what she would expect. Even if it's Skull Count was 4, the fact that it had a skill with the same count put it on par with most decks' trump card. Not to mention the fact that it's base power was extremely high. Clair glanced at her hand, in case there was anything she had missed that might be able to lessen the damage she was about to take, however there was nothing. Alannah gave her a knowing smirk and declared her attack.

"My other ability activates," If it were possible, Clair was certain her eyes would have popped from her head at those words, "By removing three of my Damage Counters, I can add any number of equipment cards from my deck to my hand, but my hand size is limited to six and my power goes down by 10000 at the end of the battle."

"This is such bullshit!" Clair shouted, finally unable to take it. Even Puer, who rarely showed emotion when away from her goddess, was surprised by the outburst, "Nothing about this makes sense. First that obscure Goddess drags us all into this ridiculous farce of a tournament, gives us some kind of joke that we're in some form of control, and then changes the decks she gave us to make them into this?!" She ranted, slamming her cards down angrily as she glared and pointed at Puer, "This is a game. A fucking game, not some sophisticated method of selection. Your goddess is easily the most foolish of any deity I've heard of."

For a second, silence dominated the field. Alannah wasn't sure what to do after that. She knew she was about to win, and was eager to do so, however she was waiting to see what else Clair had to say. Moments went by without anything happening. As she was about to declare her attack, lighting flashed in the sky.

"You dare mock my Goddess?!" Puer said, her voice low and calm, yet seeming to boom and echo across the entire field. Clair visibly shrunk away from the immortal, while Alannah remained frozen in place. Not for lack of trying, she wanted to simply say she attacked and that was all, but even her face refused to move a muscle. All she could do was look between the French woman and the immortal representative of Sors Nepellus.

"I-I..."

"No, do not speak. You've made your thoughts perfectly clear. You're fortunate, human, that my Goddess is a merciful deity, otherwise you would be nothing but dust now. However, I doubt she would admonish my decision." Puer said, cutting Clair off as she floated closer to the battle. Another wave of silence overcame the field, none of the three moving a muscle or making a sound. Alannah's finger twitched and suddenly Puer was gone.

Alannah looked about madly, able to move properly at last. The Goddess' representative was nowhere to be seen, not even a hint remained of her. Seeing nothing, the Irish dragon girl was about to declare her attack, when she felt her mind go blank and the world around her go dark, not unlike when she had been taken to the field. What the hell? She questioned in her mind as darkness overcame her.

When the world came back into view, she was standing away from her mat. Puer was back in the sky, a hand raised as she declared Alannah to be the winner. The redhead frowned and looked around quickly, looking for Clair, and finally saw her. Her opponent laid on her back, legs spread, chest rising and falling slowly as she breathed deeply. Alannah soon saw her pussy was on display, the gaping hole drooling a constant flow of juices as it twitched. It was hard to tell if it was just muscle spasms or if the cavernous opening longed to be filled.

"What the fuck happened here?" Alannah asked aloud, to which she heard Puer laugh loudly.

"I see no reason for you to be kept in the dark." She said and the world faded to dark once again. This time however, Alannah opened her eyes to see the field, Clair standing before her and quivering in terror. The redhead frowned at this; while she knew she must look somewhat intimidating as a dragon-human hybrid, surely Clair wouldn't be shaking uncontrollably like this. Not after her display of anger at least.

It wasn't long before the answer clicked in her mind. Puer was using her body as a way to punish Clair. But why, Alannah thought in confusion, surely her own body would be far more suited to this? Despite the flawed logic, she soon found that Puer was not hindered by the use of a mortal body. Clair couldn't say a word, for fear of biting her tongue and/or angering the already enraged being before her. Before she could even think to flee, Alannah, or rather Puer, tackled her to the ground. The French girl cried out in shock and pain, but didn't struggle.

That wasn't quite right. She was struggling, her entire body tensing as her muscles strained to lift her assailant from her body, but it was futile. She may as well have been a toddler trying to lift a boulder.

"Look at me." Puer said through Alannah's mouth, her normally somewhat amusing Irish accent turning as menacing as the greatest movie villain of all time. Clair, unable to mentally or physically resist, did as ordered and looked into Puer's glowing eyes. The irises had turned to flame, acting just like any other flame, however, with Puer in control, they shone an unnatural green. The abnormal colouration only adding to the fear they inspired.

"You insulted my Goddess, I can't let that slide. Alannah has already won this battle and you put up a pathetic fight. My Goddess prefers more entertainment than that, so I'm going to give it to her." As she spoke, Puer's tail began to move across Clair's legs, reaching up to the hem of her short skirt.