Victor’s Reward
The pillar came crashing down with a loud boom, the stone shattering into several pieces as pale red dust filled the air across several meters around the point of impact. Everything became mostly silent following the fall. Only the sound of smaller pieces of stone detaching from the remnants was audible for a while–Until the dust began to clear and a hand swung through the cloud to disperse it further.
‘Well…’
The hand belonged to Edrick. He looked at the wreckage for a few moments before beginning to walk away from it, dragging the unconscious Blutgar by the hair as he went. He decided to take refuge inside the temple, checking on his numerous–And serious–Injuries whilst there. Naturally, he had brought some healing concoctions with him before getting into a bloody and gruesome fight with the Red Guardian…
Anoteros was covered in cuts of varying depths and bruises. He also had several cracked or outright broken bones. His ribs in particular had taken a heavy hit at the end of the fight… And of course, his stomach was still open, with parts of his intestines hanging out. The scion had been so messed up that his transformation had ended up cancelling itself.
The same was true for the Blutgar, however. Edrick’s opponent had been knocked out by the final punch he had received. Needless to say, if Anoteros hadn’t dragged him away in time, the Red Guardian would have been crushed by the pillar… And that would have been a shame. The realm defender held far more value alive than dead.
So, after Anoteros patched himself up to the best of his capabilities, he placed his hand against the back of the Blutgar’s head. He channelled a maid crest upon his defeated foe–And under such circumstances, it manifested in the blink of an eye. There was no way for the process to be resisted...
The crest took form upon the Red Guardian’s solar plexus–Same as it did for all maid crests… It took the form of a crimson shield wrapped by purple thorns, with the whole thing surrounded by a purple, magic array-like circle. It was a fair bit larger than the usual maid crest.
Anoteros immediately felt the connection establish, and the most prominent, positive emotion the Blutgar felt toward Edrick was already being amplified–Which was obviously not love or affection, but respect. The protector did feel much respect for Anoteros. In fact, that respect had only increased throughout their fight.
The crest was going to not only further enhance this sense of respect, but also bury negative emotions as well. So when this newest follower woke up, he would only be able to feel deep respect for his new master.
Although the Blutgar had received a lot of damage, the noble did not doubt that he would survive...
Even knocked out, the guardian was unconsciously pulling ambient energy toward himself to heal his injuries…
While waiting, Anoteros continued to take care of his own injuries. He unfortunately did not have access to healing sources apart from items. He only had an increased natural regeneration rate, which wasn’t anything miraculous.
…The Magus-King’s bloodline did have a spell that could help, but it was far too advanced for the scion to be able to cast it at the moment. He would need to make a lot of progress before being able to use this one.
Regardless, several hours passed in absolute silence before the Blutgar finally stirred awake. He had never felt more confused than now. Not only had he been violently knocked out after a brutal confrontation that had resulted in a shredded arm–Amongst other things… But he woke up to a wave of new information. His brain and entire being were suddenly rewired into a completely new direction, and there was nothing he could do about it.
In the blink of an eye, his allegiance and reverence for the realm changed. He still felt loyalty for his creator, but there was now something above it… He now had a master–And even though he had his full memories, and could very easily reason why he shouldn’t view the human noble as his master, there was no use.
He couldn’t struggle against this new hierarchy at all. He couldn’t even question it for a second.
His body had mostly healed the more minor wounds already, but his left arm was still mostly gone, and his entire body ached. This was due to him overcharging himself with ambient energy. The consequences of such an action wouldn’t even begin to fade until at least a week of rest had passed.
“Finally awake, are we?”
The confusion stepped back inside his mind as he turned to the source of the voice.
“Master”
The Blutgar kneeled.
Edrick was sitting on the ground, back against a wall. He was now fully clothed since he had thought about hiding some spare clothes before the fight had even begun. It was also from there that he had gotten all of his healing items, bandages, and the like.
The scion took a swing from the Drunken Lord's Hyotan.
“Come over here… And drink this”
Anoteros handed the guardian a vial of Everlasting Elixir Of Inversion. He didn’t need to actually explain what it was–The protector drank it without hesitation… His red body was bare at the moment, as his transformation had torn apart his attire made out of animal hide. As such, the changes were immediately noticeable as his entire body began to change and shift into something else... Something new… Something... better.
He retained all of his major features, but he lost his virility. His great crimson club disappeared, replaced by a fresh, unexplored crimson cavern. His muscular body remained just as muscular, but his silhouette grew into that of a woman, with defined hips, alluring pieces, and two sizable chunks of womanly goodness.
Edrick whistled as the process came to an end.
“Aren’t you one sexy red thing? It’s a shame, though… I've lost so much blood that I can’t even get it to rise right now. You’ll have to wait before I honour your new body”
“I understand, Master”
The scion took another swing from his gourd.
“By the way, I always found it quite annoying that you had no actual name... So let me change that. From now on, you shall be known as Crimonia. You will still do most of your work inside of Eltysia, and if my plans go as I would like them to, you might just land yourself a special status as a maid… Sounds nice, doesn’t it?”
Crimonia nodded.
“Get used to your new body, and get yourself a new set of clothes. I’ll be healing my injuries outside the realm… Also, since my Underwood Elf servants like to call me ‘Dortur’ instead of ‘Master’, why don’t you do the same?”
“I understand, Dortur”
“Alright… See you later, then. Look forward to your initiation. You aren’t allowed to experiment with anything sexual concerning your new body until then. I want you as fresh as it gets”
“Your order is my command, Dortur”
“Good”