Ep3: Professor Melisa

Lao locked up the Tavern, putting the owner's keys in his pocket as he left the place. The patrons lasted until late into the night this time, more than the owner bothered to stay for. Thus, he gave the keys to Lao, told him not to destroy the place, and left him to manage the tavern. As he exited, he took a look at the wall of bounties. Melisa's bounty was gone now that she was presumed dead, but his had gone up, replaced with an orderite bounty for his arrest. By the time he had gone up, he had served enough drinks to be burned into the memory of the tavern patrons. Some are figuring out a way to loophole the reward, but for now, no one in the tavern laid a hand on him. Plus it was an orderite bounty, so half the patrons won't even entertain them anyways.

It was another thing he noticed now that he had thought about it. Occasionally, a monster girl will come in, and Lao would have to repress the urge to stab her on sight. The first time it happened, his strongman of a boss held him back while he swung a butcher's knife at a lizardman. No one got hurt, but Lao still gets that feeling whenever he sees mamono. It had been instilled in him by the Chief God's teachers, that the only way of purity was through death and repent. All of a sudden, he had everyone telling him that it was backward to think like that…

Lost in his thoughts, Lao ran into a little succubus girl that had wandered off. She dropped her ball, rubbing her feet as she watched it roll at where he stood. "Charlie!" Yelled another succubus, still ways off. "You scrap, what if you run into someone dangerous?"

"I'm fine!" she yelled back, going up to Lao to pick up her ball. "Sorry mister, hey, mister do you wanna play with me?" She asked with all the innocence in the world. Lao looked away, folding his hands behind his back. "Mister?" she asked again, poking his thigh. So corrupted… he thought, the touch making his thigh tingle. He felt his hand near his satchel, wanting to clutch a weapon so badly….

No, the bossu said to repeat a mantra….

"She is...not dangerous." The words rolled off his tongue like sandpaper. It physically hurt his body to say, every conditioned fiber of his being screaming out in rebellion. Nevertheless, it was working. His hand was relaxing, going back to his side as he kept repeating it under his breath. To the child, it looked like he was just standing there, menacingly. "There you are Charlie! Oh, you're are that man that attacked the lizardman." The elder sister said, picking up her little sister. "I understand, it's hard to resist right?"

Lao couldn't hear her, still lost in reciting his mantra like it was the only prayer he knew. There were two of him now, but his self-control was going to be the victor here, not his thirst for exorcising! "I understand. Come on Charlie, this man is trying really hard not to hurt you…"

"Is he going to do a spell?" She said, curious about what Lao was doing. "Yes, but he will only show you if you're inside…"

They continued talking to each other, the succubus leaving Lao until they were far enough not to bother him. He gasped and fell to the floor, feeling like he had been holding in his breath for the entire time. He caught himself on the ground, watching the moonlight rise over him. It wasn't perfect, but at least he kept himself from attacking this time.

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"Come on faster!" Melisa yelled from her place on the steps. Lao nodded, drawing his new blade and swiping it in a quicker arc. "Haaa!"

"No no no, that is all wrong! If you swing it like that you have too much room to be hit!"

"You said faster!"

"Yes, but not wider." She drew her own rapier, slashing quickly but in a thin arc. "Like this. I spent money on that iron sword for you. Even made sure that it wasn't tainted, just so I didn't have to hear an Orderite throw a fit. But now you're making me regret it!"

"I'm not going to throw a fit! Besides, you were going to kill me!"

"That is beside the point! Just swing properly!" Lao turned away, but nodded, narrowing the arc of his swing. "Yes, yes finally progress. Now faster!" It was all she said for the next hour, doing nothing but watching Lao swing his iron short sword in front of him. It didn't take long for her to get irritating at the novice, standing behind him to adjust his posture every other swing. She reprimanded him with bonks on the head and threatening various actions, but he was improving rapidly. Finally, he took one swing, unsheathing his sword and whisking it out in front of him in one fluid motion. He could almost see the blur, and hear it slice through the air.

"Stop!" She said right after. "You're ready."

"What?" He sheathed his blade in confusion. "But I've only been at it for less than a day."

"That is good enough. It's time to take you on your first bounty hunt." She placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him with a fangy grin. "Trust me, this is all you will need."

"....What!?"

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"Can't you jump onto the trees?" Melisa said from her perch. "The moonlight is burning away!" She watched as Lao slowly scaled up the tree, using his cape as a string to hold onto. Like a lumberjack with a belt, he shuffled up until he had finally got up the tree, laying his back on the thick branch Melisa also sat on. "There is no way you're tired after just one tree!"

"Why...are we up here…." he said, catching his breath. "Why do you think? We are going to travel through the trees."

"Can't we run along the ground?"

"We could, but this is your next lesson." She tapped the bark with her hand. "Running is fine, but you can easily be surrounded and cut off. If done right, it is harder to trap someone leaping from tree to tree. Especially if they can deflect projectiles." She stood up, looking around for the easiest one to jump on. "Try to follow me," she said, effortlessly leaping onto a close branch. Lao nodded, taking a few breaths to steel himself before leaping after him. He made it but botched the landing. Melisa had to catch him by the collar before he fell off. "That was terrible."

She stabilized him then leaped to another tree, turning around and waiting for Lao to follow again. Then again, then again, tapping her foot as Lao frantically tried to balance himself after landing. She looked up to the moon, sighing as it moved slowly through the sky. He thankfully got faster, leaping, then waiting one second before leaping again. It would do for now, but they were still too slow, she thought to herself. Their slow progress to her destination built up with time, until Melisa - instead of leaping to another tree - dropped back down onto the ground. Lao landed beside her, rolling to keep his legs from breaking.

"We're here," she said, crouching down and advancing. Her hand fell on the handle of her rapier as she moved forward. "Your next lesson is in stealth. Now quickly, take off your boots."

"Why?" He whispered, a body length behind Melisa. He put his hand on the handle of his shortsword. "They are too loud. I can hear them from a mile away, and the guards from this castle will notice as well."

"Guards?" Lao said, Melisa suddenly disappearing through the bush. Determined not to lose her, he ran after him, his heart dropping once he passed the foliage blocking his view. They had reached an ominous castle, surrounded by a moat of what looked like corrupted waters and two-story walls. It smelled like lust and felt like it too against his skin, to the point where he thought he was breaking into one of the Demon Lord's strongholds. He wanted to ask questions, but the Dhampir in front of him wasn't stopping at all, nor slowing down. Her crotch had broken out into a full-blown dash, running at the moat like a carriage without brakes. She jumped and then he, Melisa easily clearing the river while Lao just barely avoided slipping into corruption.

Her body started growing to her larger vampiric form, stretching the shirt and pants she wore as she got more supple. Once she had fully grown to full power. She stopped in front of the wall, peering up to its height. "Can you jump this Lao?" She asked. "Yes, because I can totally jump up the height of a tower." She bapped his head for the sarcasm and lifted him up, leaping up to above the stacked cobblestone. They had gone high enough to see above the trees and peer into what the walls kept hidden. A small town of merchants and artisans resided inside the walls, going along their day without noticing them in the cover of night. She quickly pointed to a small window, looking like a dot in the distance. It was located near the middle of the castle, among a bunch of other things. "You see that window?" Melisa said as they reached the apex of their jump. "I am going to throw you now. If you die I will revive you!"

"What!?" Lao had no time to react as Melisa lined up her shot, grunting as she threw Lao higher up. He screamed as he flew through the air, clearing the houses below and the smaller fence that restricted entry into the royal grounds. Her aim was true, but now he was on a beeline towards the window!

He racked his mind for a solution, but all that came was more panic. What could he do possibly! The only thing he had on and was a dagger and…..

He looked down at his waist, his blade still sheathed neatly away. It is all you will need, he recalled her saying. "If you're right…" he started, placing his hand on the blade, "then I might as well try!" He got into the best stance he could with no ground, now moving towards the window in the worse way to absorb the impact possible. He waited and waited, his heart racing as he watched the window get closer to him until he was almost right on top of it. "Now!" He drew, doing his best to recreate the best slash he had all day. A wide arc, but instead of brute force, it had more skill behind it. He heard the contact of the sword with glass and stone but didn't feel anything stopping his iron's progress. The blade was cutting clean through until he had finished his slashing motion.

He still crashed through, but his cut made it so that the cobblestone could crumble around him. In his stance, his shoulder was the first to get hit, pain shocking his arm as he fell through in a mess of his body and rubble. He rolled off it once he had landed, groaning and putting his sword away. Sitting up, he surveyed his new surroundings. He had landed in what looked like a dining hall, a large and empty room with everything in storage. Only low ambient lamps lit up the. He could hear footsteps coming, however, picking himself up with a blade in hand, ready to defend himself from monsterization.

In came a knight in full armor, his face and skin all concealed by shiny grey metal, and a red cape fluttering behind him. He had no weapon, but his pose made him all the more threatening, Lao suddenly feeling underdressed for the occasion. He backed up, seeking time to look for an exit before he was subdued by the knight in armor. "Halt, you didn't get permission to come into King Geo's castle," the knight said, walking forward to match Lao's pace. "There is no need to run either, we can just ensure you are checked in to get into grounds…"

"I rather not side with someone that is corrupted." He kept backing up, going in a circle with the knight like a child around the couch. His shoulder had a dull distracting ache, but he did his best to conceal it. "What are you under, are you one of the incubi?"

"No, unfortunately," he responded matter-of-factly. "What about you, young sir? You look ragged."

"My business isn't of concern to you." Lao took another look at the door. He had a clear lane to run now, instead of being blocked by the knight. He started running, only to be tripped and fell to the ground. "You thought I wouldn't notice that?" he said, going to the front of him and kneeling. "You were pretty fast, but you're not going to get away." Lao grit his teeth, clambering up to his feet and pointing his blade at him.

"Let me guess, you think that since I am unarmed, you have more of a chance?" He said, holding his hands out as if he was inviting him to strike. "Come on then, take your shot!"

Lao indeed went for a strike, using what he learned to quickly bring his blade to the knight's neck. It's going to hit! He thought, thinking it was impossible for him to dodge cleanly out the way….until he sidestepped cleanly out the way.

"That was fast!" The knight side, checking himself. "You were just a bit too slow. That time. Come on again!" Lao started his barrage again, swiping like he didn't have a sore joint on him. The knight just kept dodging, clearly a class above Lao as he anticipated every one of his attacks. The closest he got was one that was a line drift dead towards the center of his chest. The knight was already in motion going one way. It was inevitable!

Sure enough, he wasn't able to dodge, but the knight stuck his hand out, metal grabbing iron as he simply stopped the path of the blade. Lao tried digging into the palm of his hand, but the armor wouldn't give an inch. "Faster. You must have been trained by a real master of the blade to use my movement like that. Or just real lucky." Quicker than Lao could react, he was struck in the gut by the same hand, getting hit back onto the ground. "Now then, if you could just work with me, we can get you all settled in. Maybe you will find someone faster than I did!" The knight sounded unusually cheerful for someone that was apprehending a trespasser.

As Lao struggled to overpower him, Melisa finally crashed in, breaking in a new hole in the wall instead of just cleaning landing through the first one he had already made. "Oh?" The knight looked at the vampire coughing dust and rubble while she stepped through, unfazed aside from the dust she kicked up. "Interesting, did you finally get a partner Melisa?"

He knows him? Lao looked at the two, switching his view from the knight to Melisa and back repeatedly. "You know you are always welcome, I do not see the point in-"

"I'm not joining the" cough. Still in the middle of clearing out her throat, she held up her finger for a moment of patience before it cleared. "As I was saying before you interrupted me, I'm not joining your little pseudo Order." Order? If Lao had elf or fox ears, they would be standing ridged and attentive. If he recalled correctly, he was sure he felt the presence of corruption. Why would there be an orderite here?

"Still keen on fighting me? Even when you have full permission to roam about Geo's castle?" He put Lao down, walking over to the hostile vampire. "So, what new move do you wish to try out on me today?"

"Nothing, I just came to g- No Wait! Why should you know what I am here to do! G-get away!" She stabbed him herself, her rapier easily breaking through the plating on his arm, and coming out the other end. A very slow trickle of blood leaked down it. "Well would you look at that, you impaled me again." Now sure Melisa wouldn't leave her rapier behind in his arm, his free hand went for a pat on her golden hair. The vampire's other hand went for his, gripping into his wrist as she blocked the show of affection. "Don't. You. Dare Addianas."

"Ah, how many times do I have to tell you?" Melisa's eyes widened as his other hand - the one that had been pierced by her blade, and was still bleeding - landed on her hair. His protected fingers slid along her head, running along her golden locks. "You can just call me Add." Her brow furrowed as she looked down in defeat, Lao watching in complete confusion as he continued to pat and play with her ears. "So you were keeping up appearances for him right? Scared he might try it himself?"

"If he did that he would die…" Melisa begrudgingly yanked the blade out of his arm. The metal plates peeling back like a banana peel as she withdrew her rapier from him, blood still dripping out onto the floor from both ends of the puncture. "Now that you have settled down, do you mind doing your bit on my wound? I can't get you your food for the week if I'm losing blood."

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"Thank you, come again!" The knight waved Melisa and Lao off, sending each one home with a sack of produce. Melisa walked in silence as they exited, Lao wanting to ask her about this New Order. He decided to wait until she was finished stewing, watching the sun rise above the treeline as they traveled back. "Don't vampires burn up in the sun?" He piped up.

"I do not care." Her skin started to sizzle as they walked, but she didn't speed up her pace on the ground. "You're thinking about that place, right?"

"Well yes, I…." Lao trailed off, seeing her mouth turn into a grimace. "What? I thought you hated corruption as much as you hated me."

"I have spent more time with you training me, so I've gotten used to you."

"Good, because I don't want you going near that place. It's stupid, and it has no need for someone like you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lao said as he came to a halt. Melisa keeping on walking until she realized he wasn't going to budge. "It means you shouldn't go there. New Order or whatever their name might be, you will hate it."

"How do you know I'll hate it?"

"Because," she turned her head, having a smug look on her face. "The head of the New Order is an Omnibus. The top ranks are filled with mamono and incubi. Your chances of staying a human are one in many. I would tell your zero, but we came across one of the few humans earlier. Why, aren't you disgusted yet?"

"I...think so. If I knew what an omnibus was." Lao understood her, but he had spent enough time pushing down his instinct to not turn his head at anything resembling a moan. His hand still closed around his blade handle, but beyond that, he didn't feel the need for anything if the danger wasn't immediate. "Trust me, you wouldn't want to know. But, the New Order is just a facade. End of story, now let's go…" Like that, they continued on back to her home. Lao however, wasn't satisfied. He thought back to the knight from before, toying with him without a sense of danger going around his head.

If that was a human, he had to go talk to him.