MI178: Ambition (Patreon)

After guiding Paul through a short passageway connecting to a largely barren treasure vault, Kishirka activated the room's security features as she complained, "I really hate that woman..."

Without having to ask who Kishirika was referring to, Paul replied, "She isn't as bad as you make her out to be..." while looking around the massive chamber. It wasn't nearly as spacious as the throne room, but it was large enough to accommodate team sports such as basket and volleyball.

Not wanting to ruin the mood by talking about Zhongli, Kishirka 'snuck' up behind Paul and linked her arms around his muscular shoulders. He was taller than she was, but her rapidly developing Mana reserves allowed her to levitate as if she were practically weightless.

With her voluminous breasts pressing into Paul's back, Kishirika used her inordinately long tongue to lick the nape of his neck before raising her head to whisper into his ear, her voice a sensual purr as she said, "If you desire power, you know what you must do..."

As much as he enjoyed the sensation against his back, Paul's expression morphed into a conflicted glower as he asked, "What happened to waiting until I defeated Badigadi...?"

Instead of answering Paul's question directly, Kishirika brought her lips to his ear as she whispered, "One of your problems is that you're constantly receiving things from others. To obtain what you truly desire, you need to be willing to 'take' it. That's the only way to avoid feeling pressured by the burdens of others...you must take them upon yourself willingly..."

Releasing her hold on Paul's body, Kishirika began to float away from him with narrowed, seductive eyes. When he turned to face her, she bared her shark-like teeth and added, "No one, not even that shitty god, knows the final course of fate. Time is like a river with infinite breadth. We might not be able to resist its merciless flow, but we affect our final destination with every decision we make. Those who choose to go with the flow only have themselves to blame when they invariably collide with a rock..."

Finished with what she had to say, Kishirika turned away and sprouted a pair of dark purple, bat-like wings. Her maximum speed was limited in an enclosed space, but she was confident she could evade Paul for at least an hour or two. Instead, she nearly dislocated her own shoulder as Paul's hand abruptly closed around her wrist the moment she turned away.

Though he managed to hold onto Kishirika's wrist, Paul nearly blacked out as the buxom Demoness's initial burst of speed was enough to produce a sonic boom. He instinctually protected himself with Touki, but there were a few terrifying moments when he felt like he was falling backward due to his inability to correct his posture and look straight ahead...

Fortunately for Paul, Kishirika quickly realized something was wrong when she saw his head tilted back much further than was typically possible. It was her first time witnessing such a phenomenon, but she was pretty sure he had managed to dislocate his skull.

Grabbing the sides of Paul's head, Kishirika held it upright and said, "You better regenerate. I don't want to die over something as stupid as a game of cat and mouse..."

As she was well aware of what Zhongli and the others would do to her if Paul lost his life, Kishirika was paler than usual. She was confident Paul's regeneration could fix things, but she also knew that injuries to the head and neck were lethal for most humans.

Surprising even himself, Paul could feel the muscles in his neck move of their own accord, followed by a feeling of something 'shifting' as his skull popped back into place. His neck felt incredibly sore, almost like he had swallowed a bunch of ice cubes, but it was a hell of a lot better than not feeling anything at all...

Forcing a smile, Paul tried to speak but found himself momentarily unable to. Fortunately, his smile was more than enough to relieve the Demoness clutching the sides of his face. 

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Kishirika released her hold on Paul's head before adopting a wry smile as she said, "Your regenerative abilities are coming along nicely..."

Though it pained him quite a bit, Paul couldn't help chuckling in response to Kishirika's attempt at lightening the mood. Then, taking advantage of their close proximity, he wrapped his arms around her and dryly croaked, "Got...cha..."

"Huh?"

As she was still aback by what happened moments prior, Kishirika was momentarily confused by Paul's words and actions. When things finally clicked, her smile widened to its limits as she replied, "So it would seem! Now, the real question is, what do 'you' want to do?"

With his neck and throat recovering rapidly, Paul's voice was nearly back to normal as he tightened his hold on Kishirika's body and replied, "I want to be the strongest...strong enough to tear down the broken system that's made this world into a playground for a psychopath...strong enough to set the world on a new path..."

Though she had been asking what Paul wanted to do with her specifically, Kishirika readily joined him in his digression, reiterating, "Individual power isn't what shapes the world...it's authority. Even if you went around killing those who disagreed with you, it wouldn't 'fix' things. You need to be able to inspire, to give hope to those who remain. Without a light to guide them forward, humans are quick to lose their way and succumb to the darkness  lingering within the depths of their subconscious minds..."

Narrowing his eyes, Paul appended, "Not just humans...the only way this world can prosper is if everyone works together. I won't allow people to continue pushing the narrative that one race is superior to another...we all have our strengths and weaknesses..."

Amused by the prospect, Kishirika snickered through her teeth before adopting a serious expression and stating, "The other races won't be so quick to forgive what humanity has done. Neither will the vast majority of humans be willing to admit they did something wrong. That's one of the frustrating things about short-lived races...they readily benefit from the crimes perpetrated by their forebears, deny personal responsibility since they weren't present, yet expect every other race to continue paying the price to uphold their way of life. The thing that annoys me the most is that they're right...it's nonsensical to hold people accountable for crimes they had no hand in committing..."

Though she hated to admit it, Kishirika's long life had forced her to come to terms with the fact she couldn't blame people in the present for things their ancestors had done hundreds, if not thousands of years prior. One of the most fundamental characteristics of humanity was its ability to adapt and change over a remarkably short period. This made them exceptionally easy to influence, but it also severed their connection to the past in a way other races couldn't hope to emulate. 

Seeing hope in Paul, a human with the capacity to live forever, Kishirika's smile broadened as she stated, "What you hope to achieve is something that will require multiple generations. However, it wouldn't even take one for the tensions between the races to render your actions moot...are you certain this is what you desire?"

Shaking his head, Paul admitted, "I honestly have no fucking clue. I don't know the best path forward, so all I can do is keep trying until something sticks. All I know with absolute certainty is that I have a beautiful woman in my arms and that I want to make the world a better place for everyone, not just humans. I'll have to figure out the rest as I go..."

Unable to contain herself, Kishirika smiled broadly and issued one of her characteristic snickers. She also had no idea how to achieve Paul's goals, so she couldn't really blame him for needing to 'figure things out.' Instead, she leaned into him and teased, "I know where you can start..."

Narrowing his eyes, Paul moved his hands from Kishirika's waist to her butt as he said, "I would have already started if your bodysuit wasn't in the way..."

"Oh~? Is that a fact~?"

Putting Paul on the spot, Kishirika's dark-purple bodysuit abruptly 'melted' off her body, pooling beneath their feet before moving away from them as if it were alive. 

Suppressing the numerous questions in his mind, Paul released Kishirika's body and attempted to discard his equipment. As he fumbled around with his belt, Kishirika gave him a playful wink before turning around and taking off like a rocket as she shouted, "You better hurry~! Your little speech got me hot and bothered, but this isn't a twenty-four-hour operation. My front door closes in an hour~!"

Though the thought of vaulting around the treasure room in his birthday suit made him cringe, Paul readily chased after Kishirika the moment he stripped away his pants...

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Located less than a hundred kilometers off the coast of the Biheiriru Kingdom was the ancestral home of the Ogres, colloquially known as Ogre Island. Its actual name was Onigashima, but, as it was largely cut off from the rest of the world, most people simply knew it as the island where Ogres originated.

Situated on one of the larger islands making up the archipelago was a small human population consisting of unique individuals with olive-brown skin, black hair, and almond-shaped eyes. Most humans couldn't imagine sharing the same land as a bunch of 'monsters,' but those who grew up in Onigashima viewed things differently. After all, rather than suffering under the Ogres' tyranny, they were being protected...

Several hundred meters above the secret human settlement was a large building resembling a multi-tiered pagoda. Within sat two muscular men, one possessing blood-red skin, pointed ears, and a large horn. As for the other, he had obsidian-black skin, violet hair fastened into a wild ponytail, and six powerful arms, each thicker than an average man's waist.

Despite their frightening sizes and builds, each standing more than three meters tall when erect, the two men appeared fairly sophisticated as they sat on opposite sides of a gameboard resembling shogi. They were two of the most physically dominant beings in the entire world, but neither shied away from intellectual amusements. After all, living for thousands of years could get pretty boring...

Interrupting nearly twenty minutes of silence, the red-skinned Ogre said, "Lord Badigadi...if something is bothering you, we can resume this game at a later date."

Crossing two of his six arms, the onyx-skinned man, better known as Badigadi, the Demon Lord of Grants Wisdom, replied, "Nah, don't worry about it. I don't have anything else to do right now, and leaving things half-finished always leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Of course, I'll be more than happy to accept the win if you want to concede...!"

As defeat meant serving as Badigadi's training partner, the red-skinned man, also known as Ogre God Malta, turned serious as he replied, "Let's play things out."

Countering Malta's grim expression with a confident smile, Badigadi was about to make his move when one of the shackle-like bands on his wrist suddenly emitted a gold light. Upon noticing this, the smile he often wore faded from his face, replaced by a look that could send shivers down the spine of a reaper.

Without explaining things, Badigadi rose to his feet and abruptly jumped through several layers of ceilings and walls, emerging from the side of the pagoda and grabbing the mountain adjacent to it. Then, despite his friend and several of his compatriots living in the area, he reared back his three right fists before smashing the top of the mountain with a meteoric punch. He could have gone over or around, but his anger compelled him to break everything in his path as he made his way Eastward. After all, the band on his left wrist could only mean one thing: someone had robbed his Kishirika of her chastity...

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