CHAPTER 60: THE AUDACITY OF SIBLINGS

The inn lay silent under a quilt of moonlight. From the outside, it looks like a normal place of rest. Inside, however, chaos looms in the rafters.

Raenly hangs upside down like a sack of potatoes, an enchanted rope wrapped around his ankles as he dangles just a few meters above Pip’s bath.

"Okay, lower me just a bit more, Mysa," he whispers urgently. "I need precise calibration for this scan to work—"

"Shhh!" Mysa hisses. She crouches on the wooden beam above, goggles pushed up over her forehead and eyes darting back and forth. "You’re going to alert the Pleasure Prince!"

Raenly grits his teeth. "For the last time, stop calling him that!"

Below, Pip lounges in a steaming wooden tub, water lapping at his gleaming metallic body. Penelo lay sprawled across his lap, half-conscious and humming in post-pelvic-peeking bliss, her cheeks flushed and her limbs loose like overcooked noodles.

Pip hums a soft tune as he idly splashes water onto her chest with gentle hands, completely engrossed in watching the droplets slinking down between her breasts and completely unaware of the danger descending from above.

Raenly slowly extends the scanning device, a cobbled-together masterpiece of ancient enchantments and demonic hardware, its lenses glowing softly.

He clicks a button. A faint whirring starts.

"Yes... yes... just a few more seconds..." he whispers, sweat running down his nose.

Just then, Pip splashes Penelo again. A single bubble floats upward... lazy, innocent, unaware of its destiny.

"No... no... no no no—" Raenly’s panic rises as the bubble wafts higher. It pops.

Directly in his eye.

"GHHURGH!" Raenly yelps involuntarily, lurching in the air.

Pip freezes.

With a slow, deliberate turn, his glowing eyes drift upward.

There, dangling like a caught fish, hangs Raenly. And above him, waving with a sheepish smile, Mysa.

Five minutes later...

Raenly and Mysa sit on the inn room floor, gagged and bound in enchanted rope. Pip stands over them like a stern headmaster, arms crossed, steam puffing from his vents in silent disappointment.

Penelo, now fully conscious, stands beside Vuvi, hands on hips and ears twitching with righteous indignation. "I cannot believe you were peeking during our bath! That is sacred bonding time!"

Veena leans against the wall in the shadows, idly flicking a small blade between her fingers. Her violet eyes glinting with just enough menace to keep Raenly sweating through his tunic.

Vuvi, slouches in a chair with a smug grin, twirling the scanning device Raenly had dropped. "This thing’s impressive... shame you didn’t make it."

Raenly grumbles through his gag.

Veena saunters forward. With a flick of her wrist, she slices through the gag’s binding. Raenly yelps.

"I did make it!" he cries. "Sort of."

Vuvi raises a brow. "Sort of?"

"He didn’t," Mysa adds helpfully.

"Mysa!" Raenly wails.

She just shrugs. "Sorry. But how can you lie to him?" She turns to Pip, eyes wide, voice dreamy. "Look at him. He’s divine."

Pip beeps bashfully.

"Right, that’s enough," Vuvi mutters. "Tie them in the bathroom. The chief can deal with them in the morning."

Pip beeps in confirmation and drags Raenly by the collar into the bathroom. He yelps like a cat in a rainstorm the entire way.

Mysa goes next. Pip gently picks her up, but as he ties her to the sink, she leans forward and suddenly licks his faceplate.

Pip beeps in confusion.

"I’d love a... private chat later," she whispers, biting her lip.

His eyes flicker, then his body hums... before he quickly shakes his head and gives a stern, scolding whistle.

Later that night...

All was quiet.

Raenly snores softly, head lolled to the side. Veena is passed out with her blade stuck halfway through a bedpost. Penelo and Vuvi sleep tangled together, ears twitching in unison.

Only Pip is awake. He sits silently by the bathroom door, his internal clock ticking through idle cycles.

Then... a soft whistle.

He turns.

Mysa, still tied to the sink, gestures with her eyes. "Please," she whispers. "I didn’t lie about everything. I didn’t ask to get dragged into Raenly’s madness. All I wanted... was a chance to feel what everyone else has felt. To feel... you."

Pip tilts his head.

"I’m just a woman... in awe of something beautiful," she says softly.

Moved by her words, Pip’s eyes dim with empathy. He pulses a warm wave of feelings to her. Understanding, compassion... trust.

Mysa gasps, her heart flooded with Pip’s feelings, her skin tingles as her bindings are loosened under Pip’s touch. As soon as she’s free, she pounces onto him, pinning him to the floor. "Thank you... thank you."

She leans in, reverently stroking his chest, eyes sparkling with desperate anticipation. "I’ll make it worth your while," she whispers, already tearing off her clothes.

Pip hesitates. Eyes flickering.

He then whistles a soft tune filled with pre-loaded regret and activates his pelvic port. It opens with a slow, mechanical purr.

Mysa’s eyes widen. Her mouth falls open. She reaches out with trembling fingers as divine light begins seeping out. "...Magnificent!"

Until...

Pip suddenly freezes.

"W-What?" Mysa whimpers as she stares at a paralysed Pip. She leans over, tilting her gaze to the next room where the rest of the team lay in total silence. Even dust particles hang suspended, motionless in the air around her.

"No no no no no!" she cries. "Why now?!"

Then... the air crackles.

Crimson lightning splits the room in half.

Raenly snaps awake, yelps as his eyes fall on his half-naked sister straddling Pip. He then shrieks when he averts his gaze and finds Bilorial instead. Behind, a golden haired figure cowered under glowing, white wings, and next to her a arachna-kin women stared lazily around the room with half-lidded eyes.

The towering demon general, and his angelic subordinate, had just materialized in the center of the room.

"Oh no, not again!" Raenly grumbles.

"Go away!" Mysa scowls. "Pleeeeeeease!!"

Bilorial strolls over to Mysa, clicking his tongue, "You really should find better hobbies."

He then turns to Raenly, shaking his head disappointedly. "Such crude creatures."

With a flick, he snaps the bindings off Raenly, lifting him like a wet noodle and dusts him off gently.

Bilorial cups his cheek, voice soft and amused. "Raenly, was it? What a brilliant mind. Geniuses like us are so rare and... misunderstood."

"I don’t... w-what do you want from me?" Raenly stammers.

"Look here, Billy-Bob, or whatever your name is." Mysa snarls. "I just need 5 minutes here, okay. After that, you can dump us in the Demon Lands for all I care." she turns to Pip, tilts her head, eyes shimmering dreamily. "Please! I just need a few minutes with the Prince."

"My name is Bilorial." the demon-kin sneers. He flicks his hand lazily, lifting a yelping Mysa off Pip, suspending her in the air above him as her limbs flail helplessly.

He kneels, reaches out a massive hand, and gently touches Pip’s chest. "He’s beautiful," he whispers. "Artistry. Power. Mystery. A shame he’s wasted on such... juvenile applications."

Mysa squeaks.

Bilorial stands again and turns his gaze up to her. "You must be the one they call Mysa."

She nods quickly.

"I see you’ve gotten very close to our golden miracle." He reaches into his coat and produces a gold-trimmed notepad. "Did you learn anything useful?"

She shook her head. "I-I didn’t do anything yet! I was just about—"

He fuses her mouth shut with another click of his fingers. "A disappointing result."

He turns to the arachna-kin. "Thoughts, Rana?"

The arachna-woman steps forward, sniffing at the air, her eight eyes narrowing. "He smells like holy magic. Pure."

He then turns to the angel. "And you, Mika? Care to bless us with some divine wisdom?"

The angel rolls her eyes, pokes her hand out from her wing and falshes a crude hand gestures before turning to face a wall.

Bilorial exhales.

"Our queen was right to worry." He turns back to Pip, kneeling once more, and brushes a thumb over his jawline. "This is more than just a construct of pleasure."

"This is a weapon of salvation."

He looks to Mysa again, with something in his eyes. Approval, perhaps, or pity. "He chose to trust you. Do not squander that, my dear."

With another click of Bilorial’s fingers, Raenly finds himself standing on an open field, a short distance from the inn.

He hands Raenly a small, empty velvet pouch.

Raenly turns it over. "What... is it?"

"Whatever you need," Bilorial says with a sly smile. "Within reason."

He pats Raenly gently on the head, smiling like a doting father. "I have high hopes for you Raenly Mystbern, use this, conjure whatever you need... and bring me everything you find on the construct."

Raenly nods nervously.

A moment later, a half-naked Mysa shrieks as she tumbles out of the sky, hitting the grass with a solid thud.

"Ow!" Mysa shouts, face planting in the dirt.

Bilorial chuckles, straightening his cuffs. "Apologies, my dear. My teleportation can be... temperamental. Until we meet again." he says, bowing slightly before he and his subordinates vanish in a flash of crimson light.

Raenly hesitates... then reaches inside the pouch. His mind fiercely focused on only one thing.

He gasps, then whimpers, then sobs as he pulls out a warm, fresh, chocolate-coated croissant.

"Thank you... thank you, Mr. Billy-Bob!" he cries softly, tears welling in his eyes.

Mysa lay nearby, groaning and nursing her nose. "You got food? I got a concussion!"

But Raenly barely hears her.

He weeps softly, eyes twirling with delight as he slowly chews through a mouth full of crispy croissant.