Chapter 883 883 - What I've decided
After Nora and Anne left the dimension, they shortly met with Enkai, who'd remained there with the troops to wait for further orders from Erik. Ankhur, as the king, has already left to continue governing the territory. They informed them of the emperor's decision to meet them shortly and then returned to Enkare Nkai themselves.
Their gait and expressions were normal, unbothered by the burning need in their loins or the phallic object filling them.
Upon their return, they had business to deal with concerning the religion they'd build, which truly was starting to eat up most of their time. The official name they'd given it now was 'The Order of the Wolf-Sire', and it was growing rapidly. Right now, however, there was a chance they had to deal with some discontentment.
After reaching the building they'd been using for their—still secret—gatherings, Anne went through the main entrance to interact with their followers, while Nora went through another door on the side. She wanted to deal with the immediate issue before meeting any of their other followers.
Soon, Nora entered a room that looked and smelled like a sex dungeon. Chains littered the wall and clung to cross-shaped devices, while paddles, gags, Erik-shaped dildos, and the very devices that'd facilitated Nora and Anne's ascension to the rank of fingers, lined several tables.
In the middle of the room kneeled two female second-rankers. Naked, hands in their laps, backs straight, and necks bent. One of them, a vampire, appeared calm, but the other, a human, trembled slightly.
After Nora entered the room, they didn't look up, but the human trembled a little harder. Nora's judging eyes scanned them for a moment. She became immediately satisfied with the vampire, but narrowed her eyes at the human.
"Why are you trembling, Initiate Rose?" she asked sternly, now moving closer to the kneeling pair.
Rose, the human woman, trembled harder, parting and closing her lips a few times. Finally, she looked up with teary eyes. "W-Why…?" she asked with some desperation in her voice. "W-Why would you order us to stop the trials, Völva?"
Völva was the title Nora had taken upon herself as leader of the order, thereby honouring the Nordic roots of both herself and Erik.
Nora cocked an imperious eyebrow as she looked down at Nora. "It was a commandment from the Wolf-Sire, Rose. I don't app-"
"W-What?!" Rose cried out, shooting to her feet. "Does he no-"
Anger surged on Nora's expression. "Leave us!" she thundered powerfully, interrupting Rose.
Rose's eyes widened. Only now did she realise she'd not only stood up, but also interrupted Nora. "W-Wait, I—!"
Flesh and muscle rippled as fur burst from Nora's skin. She changed into werewolf form at blinding speed, her elastic servant clothes stretching with her bulging form. Furious, she leaned closer, looming over Rose as her snout full of snarling teeth stopped just inches away from the terrified initiate. Surprisingly, her normally blue eyes had a few specks of gold in them when in this form.
"Not only… do you break the rules of this place… but you dare question him?!" she growled, practically panting from anger. "Is this the kind of devotion He can expect from you?! I see now that our lord's wisdom is ever greater than I expect, as you are clearly not ready."
Trembling from fear, Rose parted her lips again, but Nora was first. "Speak another word, and I will throw you out of the order," she snarled threateningly. "You are no longer permitted to undergo the trials. Count yourself lucky I'll allow you to earn the right again, with enough time."
More tears welled up in Rose's eyes… but she did snap her mouth shut. Trembling harder, she bowed her head and sank back to her knees. From there, she crawled out of the room, as Nora's rules stated that no one but Erik and his fingers were allowed to be upright in this room. Hierarchy, dominance, and submission were important tenets in the religion she'd created.
With a final sob, she closed the door to leave Nora alone with the one remaining initiate. Slowly, Nora returned to human form, with the phallic object still inside her—perhaps only she and Anne knew what happened to those things when they transformed.
"As for you, Initiate Aster," Nora continued after calming down a little. "Do you have any complaints about my orders, or His will?"
Aster, the vampire, slowly shook her head. "No, Völva… He knows best," she whispered softly. "If he believes I am not yet ready, then I will work harder until I am."
Losing the last of her anger, Nora smiled with a pleased glow around her. "Good. Fortunately for you, this is only a temporary situation. The Wolf-Sire wishes to show our order to his newest wife, the princess Naeku. Out of loyalty to her, He does not wish to ascend any of her people to the status of finger until then."
On the mention of Naeku, a soft tremble passed through Aster's body, but she didn't otherwise react. Nora cocked an eyebrow and smirked, knowing where that tremble came from. "If you wish to increase your chances at being allowed to finish the trials, you should prepare what you'll tell Mistress Naeku when she finds her old friend here…"
***
A few hours after Nora and Anne returned to the order, Erik and the others arrived back in Enkare Nkai as well. As soon as they did, Astrid went to wake up Alice so they could train for as much time as possible before she left with Erik.
Meanwhile, Erik and Elora had some things to talk about, so after Erik put the dimensional portal back inside the Enkarian palace, the two of them took a seat in their living room. Unsurprisingly, Emma tagged along to be his maid for as long as she could before he left.
"So… option two, huh?" Elora began as soon as they sat down across from each other. Though she tried to keep herself neutral out of respect for the moral turmoil this choice had brought Erik, she was clearly satisfied.
Erik sighed deeply as he sank into the couch and spread himself out on it. Emma immediately appeared behind him and started gently massaging his shoulders, a satisfied smile on her lips.
First, blowing Emma an air kiss as thanks, Erik then looked at Elora and nodded sombrely. "Yes… Option two. I'm asking you and Nora to torture and brainwash Meilin so that we can get everything she knows and add her power to our third-ranked line-up."
Elora nodded, still trying her best to remain neutral despite the glee she felt. "Understood. Though I will probably only provide Nora and Anne with the tools while they do the deed, as I'll be coming with you when you leave. We'll find a room inside the facility under Enkare Nkai to hold Meilin while this happens."
Suddenly, she smirked a little. "It's too bad Emily isn't here. She'd be perfect for this part. Maybe we should wait for her return?"
Erik sighed again. Though he appreciated her attempts at remaining neutral, it's not like he couldn't feel her true emotions beneath the surface. "I'll leave that decision up to you. First, we need to talk about what I've decided to give up…"