^^ James Pantera ^^

--- Wren's POV ---

I assumed my full armor, just before I landed in Masa's courtyard. She appeared suddenly, as was her way, and smiled. "And who are you, sir?" She asked softly, her eyes calmly roaming my metal second skin.

I melted it into my Sigil, and she gasped. "You slew a Dragon? How?" She asked, darting forward to dig her fingers around in my gums, feeling my new fangs.

"Agh-cwaud- ACH!" I pulled her hands out of my mouth, and spat to the side. "I crawled down its throat, and then into its chest cavity, and then clawed open its heart and bathed in its blood. It melted, and absorbed into me. The armor came from its scales." I explained, licking my fangs as they receded into my gums.

She grinned. "Ahhh, old-fashioned, huh? No weapons except your claws? I'm impressed... so. Is my newest protege coming behind you?" She asked.

I nodded. "Indeed. If you could think of a schedule that allowed her to sail half the time, train with you the other half, I think it would be perfect..."

"You're using your sister as a pawn in your game?" She asked, incredulous.

"Everyone is a pawn in my game. Even you, Masa. Well... more of a Bishop. And she's a Rook. The Big Trick." I smiled softly.

She blinked slowly. "You... you're actually scary. I'm truly deciding whether to kill you now, to save the world from your all-consuming need for revenge."

I smiled again, joyous. "Good. You understand enough to be scared... but don't worry. You're one of the good ones. You're not my target. Neither is the Uruk Clans, or the Tinker... even the Arielle Isles. Everyone loves the French. Moving on to more important matters, the Equatorial Archipelagos are going to declare war on us, and soon, within the next year. They are far more advanced, technologically... the only thing we have them at is Rail Tech... and a certain Rail Technician just switched sides, so that'll change quickly." I hummed.

She raised an eyebrow. "You know this... how?"

"I convinced him to do so." I grinned.

She disappeared, and I activated my armor just in time. Her foot slammed into my stomach with enough force to rupture mountains, but my runes held, so I just skidded back a few feet.

"Let me explain a bit more, before you get serious, alright?" I growled.

She appeared again, legs blazing with electricity. "Start talking." She hissed.

"They were going to attack within the next few years when their Rail Tech met ours anyway.... What I did was give them a Rail technician who knew basically the minimum knowledge possible. I got a very good hypnotist to make him believe that he knew everything about Rails that was known, and that he hated the Monarchy so much he wanted to join the other side in a War Effort." I slowly disabled my armor.

"Why?" She snapped. "What is gained by this?" She asked, confused and angry.

"They'll attack us with inferior Rails, and I am working on a prototype that disables weakened Rails. So... their warships will fall out of the sky like flys. And if they manage to make them fly, like the airship from Trigly, or planes from before the Break, then I'll incite a Core Flare over their fleet, in open ocean, after disabling their Rails. They'll be decimated. If, somehow, they survive that, then you and I, together, will destroy the remnants. Now. What we stand to gain... well, what I stand to gain, is access to their best war technology, which, as I've said, is far more advanced than ours."

"And... you'd be the only one with knowledge of the wrecked ships for a little while, so you'd salvage them, and learn their secrets, then destroy them, so you were the only one who had them." She reasoned out.

"Correct. Or I'll just capture a whole one before I destroy them all, so I don't have to salvage. So. Instead of a war, it will be a single battle. When their ships go down, I'll intercept their frequency, and cry mayday, saying that the enemy forces are simply overwhelming, and all that jazz, further discouraging them from any more shenanigans for at least a decade or so." I continued.

"And what will you do with the technology?" She asked slowly.

"I'll build a business around it as a platform. Advanced technology is always a good product. People want the best things, always. Rich people especially. This way, I don't have to buy it, or patent it... I can simply take it, and as a Spoil of War, I am within my rights, and cannot be sued by anyone for it. This way, I'll strengthen the economy of the Southern Archipelagos." I nodded.

"So... you want to start a tiny war..-"

"Single Battle." I interjected.

"To make money, and also strengthen the economy." She finished.

"Correct." I nodded.

Her foot crashed across my chin, and I was knocked back a step. She nursed her bruised foot, and chuckled. "You've gotten more durable, that's for sure..."

Someone knocked on the door, then opened it, and I smelt Elena's perfume, along with Tojo's gently-masculine aroma, and the sickly-sweet smell of Mei's happiness. "Ah. There they are." I nodded.

She sighed. "Alright... you survive another day... let's greet my guests, hmm?" She patted my cheek, and walked past me.

I cleared my throat. "Legs?"

Her electricity died down, and she grinned. "Thanks."

She walked to the entryway, and laughed. "Ahh, you must be Elena, My beautiful new student? Good! Come, dear, have tea with me." She steered Elena towards the tea room, and poured her a cup of tea after they were situated.

I smiled and leaned against the doorframe, and snagged Tojo. I chuckled deeply and kissed his ear. "Adorable..."

He blushed, and smacked my chest. "Stop flirting with me..."

"It's only flirting if you don't plan on doing anything, my adorable little wife..." I grinned, and nibble his ear. He melted into my arms, and I laughed. "Perfect..." he started getting himself together, and I smiled. "You're 17 now... one year left..." I reminded him.

"Un...till... what?" He asked slowly.

"Until I make you a proper bride." I laughed at his blushing, and he covered his face, smiling behind his embarrassment. Then I nodded and patted his ass gently. "Go on."

He scooted away, and then scurried down the hall. As soon as he was gone, the smile dropped off my face. 'Hmm... I think that's enough to keep him happy for a bit... I don't have a romantic bone in my body... Nor does his body really excite me... though, to be fair, nothing does. I've come to terms with my complete asexuality. I find people attractive, but only aesthetically. I'll have to make it good, though... especially if I want to make a child with him... (don't know how well that's going to go...)'

I looked up at the core, humming. 'Though, on another plane of attraction, I do, honestly, adore his childish personality, so delightfully innocent... that cute, hapless little face just makes me want to swallow you whole... trap you inside me so you're only mine... and squeeze and squeeze until-'

Someone broke into my musing, a fist entering my field of vision. I calmly dodged, and then hip-tossed the offender, registering Elena. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Your face was kinda scary for a moment, so I thought I'd... punch you, until you were happy? I didn't really think it through that much, I just thought it might work." She grinned.

I sighed. "You need to do that. Think things through. If I hadn't caught sight of your hair, I would've crushed your arm into dust."

She laughed, sitting up. "Like you could-" I picked up a rock, and pinched it between my pinky and thumb. It literally dissolved, turning into sand.

"Your bones are a hell of a lot less dense than a rock." I stood, and walked away. "You've got training, haven't you? Shoo, shoo." I said lazily.

She huffed, but followed Shinzo-Sensei into the garden. She began teaching Elena basic forms, starting at the very bottom.

I laughed and turned away. "I got an opponent for you, Wren... he's in the Meadow. Name of James Pantera. He's almost as fast as me, a Freelance Knight, and a Dragon Slayer. You should train with him until you can beat him. His sigil will be very... useful to you. Ask him why." Shinzo-Sensei called out.

I nodded. "I will."

"And be careful. Your personalities will either clash terribly... or click. I'm not sure which is more dangerous. And I mean it when I say watch it. He's a panther... and you're a snake with wings." She narrowed her eyes.

I bowed my head, grinning a long grin, full of malice and hatred that I quickly quenched before it showed.

Then I smiled a more easy smile, less filled with emotion. In fact... emotionless. "I understand. Thank you for your concern." I said simply.

I was walking past a seemingly empty hallway when a hand shot out, and grabbed my collar. I noticed Sir Ten Kuro, and allowed myself to be moved.

He grinned happily, and whispered conspiratorially. "Hey!!! Do you hear bells? I don't know if I'm hearing bells because I'm festive, or because I'm high as fuck right now!!! Heheheheh!" He giggled, and leaned against the wall, slumping.

I smiled. "Okay, Mister Kuro, let's go. Someone gave you way too much razorleaf." I sighed as I picked him up, and carried him to his room.

"Wait! Go to the kitchens! I'm honestly so hungry, I'd kill children for a bowl of rice." He blinked bloodshot eyes at me.

I sighed and pressed a pressure point in his neck, knocking him out.

"Did you just... kill my husband?"

I turned and grinned. "No. he was seriously high on razorleaf, so I knocked him out. He should be fine soon after he wakes up." I nodded.

She blinked. "Well that's a sight I'd pay to see."

"It was highly entertaining." I shrugged. Then I stood, bowed my head, and walked out, headed to the meadow.

---

My first view of James Pantera was... shocking. That body of his... Then downright amazing... his hands... and finally completely satisfying... ooh, that finish!!

Taken out of context... perhaps a little provocative. But the reality was so much more stimulating, for me. Why? Because I finally realized what actually turned me on.

Staring at the man as he rampaged, destroying boulders and tearing apart anything inanimate, moving so fast my Sikh Runes itched to activate so I could catch him and swallow him whole, I realized that he was beautiful. He was carnage personified, and I loved it.

I smiled again, my most lovely smile, and giggled softly. "Well, well... Aren't you just... scrumptious..." I whispered, and his long ears turned to me quickly.

He growled. "You're late."

"You're fucking sexy as hell." I quipped.

He blinked, taken aback, and then hummed. "How long were you standing there? And do you seriously have- get rid of that." He growled and covered his eyes.

I shrugged and controlled my blood flow, and it dwindled and disappeared. "At least you have an idea now." I grinned, and stepped next to him in an instant.

He flinched at my sudden appearance, and even I was surprised at my own speed, but I was too busy roaming his body with my hands to notice.

He was quickly pressed against a tree, and my tongue found his neck, slowly tasting him. He shivered, and I smiled. "Mm..."

"This is not what I meant by training, Wren!" Masa appeared.

I turned and simply looked at her. "I have, after 21 years of sexual fasting in both mind and spirit, found a being that makes me horny. Vacate the premises if you don't want to see what I'm about to do to your pet panther, because we're about to make hot, sexy love. Shoo." I said simply, and turned back to the panther.

"You're marrying my son."

"His body doesn't intrigue me, his mind does. His spirit is adorably pure and innocent. He's going to make me a happy husband. But my sexual desires towards him or anyone on this planet are zero... except this panther..." I captured his lips, and he shivered, relaxing into my arms.

I tightened my grip, and grinned savagely when I realized he was stronger than me. He could handle what I wanted. My constricting embrace tightened comfortably, and I undid his belt, whilst conquering his tongue.

He melted into me, and Masa shrugged, then left. I turned my full attention to the kitten, and set out to make him purr.

---

"Wake up. It has been Two. Whole. Days. Wren, you have officially worn out my patience." Masa kicked my head to wake me up.

I blinked slowly, and groaned, releasing my death grip on James, and then cracking my back. My skin was still healing from his claws, but at my attention, the wounds quickly became scars. Then I sat up, and whacked James in the head. "Oi... wake up, Sex Kitten." I grumbled.

He stretched like a panther, making me hiss and slowly stroke his washboard abs, and then he popped up like a spring, hissing in fear.

"OHMIGOD! SHINZO-SAMA! IT'S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, I'M NOT STEALING YOUR SON'S MAN, UHM!!!" He huffed, whimpering in fear for a moment before my laughter sunk into his ears. "What? Why are you laughing?" He asked.

"She was in the meadow, Kitten. She knows already. And I explained. You are a physical desire of mine. I will still marry her son, because I'm not marrying him for his body. It doesn't interest me, just like hers doesn't, and just like Mei's doesn't, and Günter, and Alba, and so many others. I'm sexually attracted to only one thing, so far, and that is the raw physicality that is you..." I smiled at him, and rolled off the mat, popping up and stretching.

He blinked, confused. "Wait... I'm confused. Am I your mistress now?"

"More... Sex Toy, I think. But whatever you want to call yourself." I patted his head.

He smiled. "I'll take it."

"You will indeed." I smirked, and walked out to his incredulous laugh.

I dressed in the battle dress handed to me by none other than Mei, while she glared at me. "So my body doesn't interest you?" She demanded.

I hummed and leaned closer, looking her up and down, and smiling inwardly at her blush. "... No." I said flatly, and walked away.

James found me in the meadow. "Now... the reason I'm actually here, is because... well, I'm like you... but different. I bathed in a Dragons blood, and also absorbed its armor... which is what this earring is." He tapped a little white earring on his ear, and then smiled as it formed into a second skin, melting into him, except the Jaw, which stayed looking like a set of large jaws, attached to his right cheek.

I hummed. "Interesting, so that's how you could withstand me hugging you..."

"Yes and no... I'm also a Rogue Paladin." He grinned.

I blinked slowly. "Wow. Okay. A paladin is my Sex Toy. Amazing. I know we didn't talk much the past seven days... but don't you think that would've come up? How do I know your favorite food is red beans and rice, but not... fuck it. Okay. Where's this going?" I asked.

He grinned. "Simple. We're not special. This technique is called 'Stahl-Haut', which means-"

"Iron skin, I know. You absorbed the dragons Scales into your cells, like mine absorbed mana. What am I supposed to be learning? I usually am a lot more patient, but my blood is way too hot right now for patience." I breathed deeply to try to center myself.

He laughed. "I understand. That's the Dragon in you. An unfortunate side effect of becoming part Dragon. They're reptiles. And Cold-Blooded. Their warmth comes from swallowing fire and lava. Without it... death. As Dragon-Kin, we are... polarized versions of our formal selves."

"Explain?" I asked slowly.

"Let me guess. Before you ate the Dragon, you had a plan for revenge... but afterwards... that wasn't enough. You don't want revenge. You want BLOODY, DESTRUCTIVE, CREATION-LEVEL CARNAGE. You want the world to burn, and you want to be the king of the ashes." He grinned savagely, the ground quaking with his strength.

I shivered, feeling my blood heat up in response to the words. "YES..." I said simply.

"Good. When you first saw me, you moved so fast I truly didn't even see you move. You just... were." He nodded. "You tap into that and make it easy for yourself... you'll be scary, some day soon."

I grinned. "I'm not scary now?"

"Not to me. To others, maybe..." he laughed.

"Okay, wait... what's your sigil?" I asked, realizing I hadn't seen it.

"Ah. Yes. My Sigil is unique. I can connect peoples minds, and create a sort of... parallel universe, inside my mind. Inside, pain, wounds, power... they're all real, and exactly the same as this plane of existence. Getting hurt in there means getting hurt out here. The difference, is that time is wonky."

"Wonky?" I said dubiously.

"Yes. Wonky. Inside, I can make time as many as thirty times slower. That's why Masa called me here. I was supposed to train you for 14 months in my mind... instead, we can get maybe 12." He grinned.

I blinked slowly. "Very interesting... do you have any children?"

"One, a very sick boy in Council Island. He's in the care of a nice old lady I know. He can't live with me, as I'm unable to give him the medical care he needs while traveling. I usually stay in one place for a few months, train with the local knights, then move on. But I think... training with you instead will be interesting." He grinned, completely at home with me, and not perturbed by the sudden question.

I smiled. "I see... them let's get to it, hmm? What needs doing?" I asked, already thinking about stealing his son's Sigil. 'If he can't survive another few years, then that sigil could be very useful. It would also be a good test, to see if stealing the sigil would harm the patient. If he dies, then it was at least a painless death... no, I'll try it on a few death-row people first. Better practice, and morally more acceptable.'

He sat down simply, and waved my forward. I sat in front of him. "Close your eyes, and enter your mana Reservoir." He commanded softly.

I obeyed, and heard his voice on the wind. "Now make a rope, and reach out to my mind. I'll meet you halfway."

I made a chain, and dragged it out into the nothingness that was the air. It felt amazing. I saw a speck of dust with a spider-silk thread trailing behind it, and knelt, peering closer. "Oh... hello, James. Where you always this small?" I joked.

"Holy shit... you're fucking STACKED!!! what do you eat to grow a reservoir like that! Wow! Anyway... tie this to yours." He held out the spider silk.

I tied it around my chains end link, and dropped it. "Next?"

"Hold on." He grinned, and I was suddenly standing on a vast plane, so far-reaching that it had its own horizon.

I analyzed its curvature, and gasped. "14 mile horizon?!?! This is Earth!!! Before the Break!!!" I grinned.

He nodded. "Indeed. Faithfully recreated from satellite images. We're going to be fighting on it, so get ready." He grinned.

I pulled out my armor, and then concentrated, pushing it into my skin. It protested, but I simply snarled at it, pushing harder, and it submitted meekly. The wings stayed on my back, simply because there was no anatomical equivalent.

The were still bronze and gold, which made me sigh, but I cracked my neck, and readied myself for his onslaught.

I tapped into the feeling I'd had when I first saw him, and latched onto that feeling, as my magical reservoir poured an unspeakable amount of magic into my physical body, like a roaring tidal wave, to my normal rivers.

I made the tidal wave permanent, and instead of a wave, a ocean, and opened my eyes as my runes all activated, peeling alarms at being stressed from too much magic, which I didn't know was possible.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(((^^Alarm sound^^)))

Then I stepped towards James, and hummed when he disappeared, and the terrain changed.

He suddenly appeared again, and laughed. "Indeed. You overshot me. Watch out for that. Take a while, discover your limits, we have nothing but time."

I nodded, and blinked when my bones creaked. I hummed, and delved into my body, and was surprised to see I'd found a way to drain my reservoir... of nigh-unnoticeably. Pouring an entire ocean of magic into my runes for every second, and then another oceans worth into my muscles, all at the same time.

About 1/10th was gone, but it seemed to be regenerating as I thought about it, and was holding steady at around 90%.

I noticed my runes stopped creaking and groaning, the alarms simply going silent, as my new energy output had simply forced a small evolution. My Sikh Runes showed the most improvements, having three fully detailed rings, and then a faint fourth.

I quieted down the blood rushing in my ears, and then turned towards where James sat, watching me. "I think-"

My voice crackled and shook the air.

"Ahh? Yes. Try to remember to stop pouring energy into your body after the need for it is done." He nodded.

I nodded slowly, and stemmed the flow to its normal levels. "I see." I nodded, my normal voice back, though still as fluid as it had been since the Dragon.

He stood, and drew a thin katana. "Now... what do ya say we get to a little ass-whooping, hmm?"

"Only if the loser actually gets an ass-whoopin'. Then I'm in. I'd love to lay hands on those lovely cheeks..." I grinned.

His incredulous laugh preceded him leaping at me swiftly. I dodged, and calmly began a series of simple, yet elegant movements that would completely evade him, by staying close enough to his body that he couldn't swing properly, and when he did, I simply wasn't in the same place anymore.

I noticed the only runes he had activated were a single Ankh on each foot, hand, and over his heart, all heavily evolved, like mine.

In my moment of hesitation, his sword flashed downwards, and I blinked as I saw blood in the air immediately.