The Price of Defiance

Wawalde hoisted Sovenia onto his shoulder, where she was slung backside first, her hands and feet bound with ropes, much like a sack of goods carried by this idiotic dog.

Her silver hair cascaded from his shoulder, loose strands brushing against her cheeks.

Her blue hair tie had fallen off sometime earlier, and her intricate fishtail braid had completely unraveled, sending a waterfall of silver down her back, almost reaching Wawalde’s waist.

Wawalde halted, murmuring, “Wait.”

Sovenia heard the rustle of fabric behind her and felt Wawalde bend down.

Her body, still hoisted over his shoulder, swayed with his movement.

“Your hair tie,” Wawalde’s voice rumbled from beneath her.

Sovenia twisted her head, her gaze falling upon the blue ribbon clutched in Wawalde’s hand.

Her golden eyes fixated on it, her throat tightening.

“Give it to me.”

“Alright.”

The hand holding the blue hair tie extended slightly.

Sovenia was almost laughing in disbelief. “My hands are still tied!”

“Indeed.”

A flicker of hope ignited within Sovenia.

Perhaps this idiotic dog was truly that foolish and would actually untie her hands.

Instead, Wawalde clumsily attempted to gather her silver hair and tie it with one hand.

“What are you doing?”

Wawalde stated matter-of-factly, “You can’t move your hands, so I’ll help you.”

Sovenia’s voice rose, a wave of humiliation washing over her. “My hands are tied! You bound me like this, and now you say—”

Before she could finish, Wawalde began roughly gathering her hair.

He clearly had no skill in braiding, simply pulling the silver strands together and securing them with the tie.

“Can’t you just untie my hands?”

“No. Let’s go.”

Wawalde resumed his stride, his plate armor clanking with each step.

Sovenia bounced forward, the ends of her silver hair swaying behind her. The blue hair tie barely held a small portion of it, leaving a cascade of silver strands still loose upon Wawalde’s back.

She lifted her head, spotting a faint light at the end of the corridor.

It signified that she was moving further and further from the Demon Queen’s Hall. Now that Wawalde knew the way and no longer needed her guidance, she had lost her last shred of leverage.

‘No.’

Sovenia gritted her teeth.

She couldn’t allow herself to be taken out like this. Once outside the Demon Queen’s Hall, she would completely lose her chance to retrieve her head.

Skullcrusher had taken the head, but that fool was surely still somewhere within the hall.

All she needed was to break free, to kill Skullcrusher.

It was, admittedly, almost a fantasy.

Yet, the thought of being permanently trapped in this frail, feminine elven body filled her with immeasurable dread.

Sovenia suddenly shrieked, her body thrashing violently. “Let me go!”

Wawalde’s pace remained unbroken, his strides swift and sure.

“Lady Sovenia, stop acting out.”

She roared back, struggling with all her might.

Her bound legs kicked wildly in the air, her short skirt flying up to reveal red marks on her upper thighs where her boots had chafed. “I’m not a ‘lady’! Let me go! You—you idiotic dog!”

The last two words were spoken in the Demonic tongue.

Wawalde commented, “Your Demonic language is almost as fluent as your mother tongue.”

She switched to the Human Common Tongue, her voice still sharp. “I said let me go! I won’t go with you! I want—”

Wawalde cut her off, his tone chilling. “You want to go back for that head. I told you, it’s an evil thing. I won’t let you touch it.”

Sovenia nearly blurted out “head” but swallowed the word, forcing it back down. “That’s my—that’s my hope! You don’t understand! I need it! I need—”

Her voice grew louder, echoing through the empty corridor.

Footsteps sounded in the distance.

Wawalde stopped, turning his head towards the source of the sound.

Sovenia’s long ears twitched; she, too, heard it—the distinct clang of armored demons. The full plate armor suggested formidable opponents, at least three of them, approaching rapidly.

Wawalde lowered his voice. “Don’t make a sound.”

Sovenia was overjoyed.

She shrieked at the top of her lungs, “Cowardly demons! There’s a hero here for you to kill!”

Wawalde growled, “Lady Sovenia!”

She screamed even louder, her voice bouncing off the corridor walls. “Come on! There’s a hero! A hero is here! Hurry!”

The footsteps abruptly quickened.

Wawalde gritted his teeth and dashed forward with immense strides.

Sovenia’s body jostled up and down with his sprint, her abdomen slamming against his shoulder.

She continued to yell, “Hurry! If you don’t come, you’re not a dem—”

Wawalde clamped one hand on her thigh, while the other rose and delivered a sharp slap to her backside. “Stop it! Shut up!”

*Smack!*

A crisp sound echoed through the corridor.

Sovenia froze.

In that instant, all her struggles ceased.

Her mind went blank, registering only a searing, stinging pain on her backside.

It was a slap, a spank, with only a thin layer of fabric separating the palm from her skin.

‘This idiotic dog—’

‘This idiotic dog actually—’

Sovenia’s voice was squeezed out through gritted teeth, her golden eyes wide and round. “You hit me?”

“If you yell again, I’ll hit you again,” Wawalde stated, continuing his run.

The footsteps behind them grew closer but hadn’t caught up.

Wawalde ran swiftly, his plate armor clanking, leaving Sovenia dizzy from the jostling.

She bit her lip, a molten wave of humiliation churning in her chest.

Jimi the Cruel, the First Heavenly King of the Demon Queen’s Hall, the Butcher of Humans, the Elven Nightmare—had been spanked by a human hero.

‘If I still had my original body, this idiotic dog would have been reduced to a pile of cinders long ago.’

‘But now, I can do nothing. I’m bound, carried, like a helpless—’

‘—girl.’

‘No.’

Sovenia took a deep breath.

‘It’s time to show this hero the dignity of a First Heavenly King!’

She shrieked again, “Demons! The hero is here! Come and kill him!”

*Smack!*

Another slap landed, heavier than before.

Sovenia gasped, her body instinctively recoiling forward, but Wawalde’s arm held her firmly in place.

She felt her skin beneath the skirt burning, the stinging pain shooting from her backside all the way to her waist, making her legs weak at the root.

“You—!”

Wawalde’s voice was calm, yet his hand showed no mercy. “I warned you.”

Sovenia bit her teeth, her nails digging into her palms, almost drawing blood.

She could not cry. She absolutely could not cry in front of this idiotic dog.

But the stinging pain was too obvious.

This damned elven body, with skin as delicate as porcelain, had a pain sensitivity ten times, no, a hundred times greater than her original body!

She could distinctly feel where Wawalde’s palm had landed.

She felt the burning friction of the fabric against her skin, and the tremor of her gluteal muscles from the impact.

Worse still, the Veil of Desire sent a feedback surge.

That invisible protective layer trembled faintly, like ripples on water.

Sovenia instantly understood: Wawalde had developed a desire for her.

‘This idiotic dog, while spanking her backside, actually—’

Shame engulfed her like a tidal wave.

‘No, as the dignified First Heavenly King, Jimi the Cruel…’

Sovenia suddenly roared, a sob catching in her voice. “Go ahead and hit me if you dare! Do you think I’m afraid of you? Do you think—”

*Smack!*

Sovenia gritted her teeth.

*Smack!*

Sovenia gritted her teeth again.

*Smack!*

Sovenia’s pointed ears shot upright with each slap, becoming defiant ‘skyward ears.’

She couldn’t bite back her words any longer. ‘Why is this idiotic dog still hitting me?’

Three consecutive slaps, each landing in the exact same spot.

Sovenia’s words caught in her throat, morphing into a choked whimper.

She felt her eyes burning, tears welling up, but she fiercely held them back.

‘I can’t cry.’

‘Absolutely cannot cry.’

Wawalde asked, his hand still resting on her backside, “Still going to yell?”

Sovenia bit her lip, unable to utter a single word.

Her legs trembled slightly in the air, the muscles in her calves aching above her leather boots.

Her skirt, repeatedly slapped, lifted and fell, revealing skin as white as snow, now adorned with crimson handprints.

The feedback from the Veil of Desire intensified.

‘This idiotic dog! He must have seen my thighs, seen my backside, and he’s undoubtedly reveling in it.’

Sovenia could feel all the desire being converted into energy by the Veil, flowing continuously into her body, protecting her.

Sovenia felt a shame she had never experienced before.

A word inexplicably popped into her mind: ‘discipline.’

The word made her tremble all over.

Sovenia had never been treated like this. She had slain countless individuals, razed villages, and annihilated cities; everyone feared her, revered her, and no one dared to lay a finger on her, much less spank her backside.

But now, she had been spanked.

And by her enemy, no less.

Moreover, her body, this accursed elven female form, was reacting to it.

It wasn’t just excitement, or pleasure, or weakness, but a chaotic storm of emotions too complex to describe.

Her masculine pride was trampled, her feminine shame ignited; the two sensations intertwined, pushing her to the brink of madness.

Wawalde asked again, “No more yelling?”

Sovenia bit her teeth, forcing out each word individually:

“If—you—dare—then—keep—hitting.”

Wawalde fell silent.

‘Ah, is this elven dignity?’

“Really?”

Sovenia felt a sudden coolness on her backside, likely from her short skirt lifting.

“Really!”

*Smack, smack, smack, smack, smack—*

A flurry of slaps rained down, each one landing precisely on her backside.

Sovenia felt the skin on her buttocks growing hotter, the stinging pain permeating from the surface to the depths, leaving her entire lower body numb.

She bit her lip fiercely, her nails digging into her palms, as tears finally streamed from her eyes.

Yet, she made no sound.

Not a single one.

Wawalde’s hand stopped.

Sovenia heard his heavy breathing, felt herself being carried, her silver hair spilling over his back, and tears tracing paths down her cheeks to drip onto the ground.

“You… you stubborn thing…” Wawalde said, his voice laced with a complex emotion.

Sovenia closed her eyes, tears still flowing.

She felt the fiery ache on her backside, knew the skin beneath her skirt must be a vivid red, and sensed the energy stored within the Veil of Desire brimming to the point of overflowing.

‘She hated this idiotic dog.’

‘She hated this body.’

‘She hated her current predicament.’

But what she found most unbearable was that secret, faint, and utterly unwelcome trace of—

‘—anticipation.’

‘No, that’s wrong.’

‘That wasn’t anticipation.’

‘It was merely a primal physical reaction, an instinct to admire strength. It was this elven female body’s inherent response to a dominant male. It wasn’t her, it wasn’t Jimi the Cruel, absolutely not—’

Wawalde suddenly announced, “Enemies ahead.”

Sovenia could hear three sets of footsteps approaching from behind her, the very ones that had been chasing them earlier.

A glimmer of hope surged within her.

‘If these demons fought Wawalde, if Wawalde got injured, if Wawalde put her down—’

Wawalde spoke, as if reading her thoughts. “Don’t even think about it.”

He raised his hand, and a ripple of magic spread through the air.

A figure identical to him appeared beside them.

A doppelgänger.

“Hold her,” Wawalde instructed.

The doppelgänger approached, reaching out to take Sovenia.

She was transferred to the other shoulder, her position unchanged, still facing backward. She watched as Wawalde’s true body drew his demonic greatsword and strode towards the three soldiers.

Sovenia gritted her teeth. “Go, brave demons!”

Wawalde cleaved off the first soldier’s head with a single swing, sidestepped the second soldier’s attack, and then backhanded his sword to split open the second’s chest.

The third soldier attempted to flee, but Wawalde quickly caught up.

Wawalde kicked him to the ground, then pierced his heart with a sword thrust.

The entire process took less than ten seconds.

Sovenia’s hope shattered instantly.

Sovenia closed her eyes.

The doppelgänger continued forward, carrying her, with Wawalde’s true body walking alongside.

Wawalde asked, “How much further?”

Sovenia’s voice was hoarse. “I don’t know.”

She truly didn’t know. She had lost all sense of direction. She only knew Wawalde was heading out, further and further from the Demon Queen’s Hall, further and further from her hope.

After another stretch, a mighty roar echoed from the distance.

It was the Demon Queen’s voice.

Sovenia’s head snapped up, her golden eyes wide. The Demon Queen’s roar shook the very foundations, filled with a blend of fury and sorrow, as if searching for something, or perhaps venting her rage.

She was overjoyed. “The Demon Queen is after us! Put me down, or else—”

Another roar erupted.

It was Skullcrusher.

After that, the sounds grew more distant.

Sovenia recognized it. That idiot who took her head was likely confronting the Demon Queen. They were deep inside the hall, far from here, yet the sounds were terrifyingly clear.

‘Damn it! Damn it all! How could Skullcrusher hinder the Demon Queen’s magnificent advance?’

Wawalde suddenly quickened his pace, breaking into a run.

“Let’s go,” he said, his tone tense.

The doppelgänger also accelerated, leaving Sovenia dizzy from the jostling.

She heard the roars behind them grow fainter and fainter, eventually vanishing completely at the end of the corridor.

Hope was crushed once more.

Wawalde wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t go back. He would only carry her away, further from the Demon Queen’s Hall, further from that head, further from her only chance to regain her power.

Sovenia felt tears welling up again.

She didn’t want to cry. She told herself not to cry. But the tears flowed uncontrollably nonetheless, dripping onto the ground, leaving a wet trail.

“We’re here,” Wawalde said.

Sovenia looked up and saw light ahead.

It was true light. Not the glow of torches or magic, but natural light, streaming in from the exit at the end of the corridor.

She saw the sky outside.

It was hazy, but it was unmistakably the sky.

Wawalde stepped out of the secret passage, onto the land beyond the Demon Queen’s Hall.

Cold wind swept in, carrying the scent of mountains and forests, dispersing the smell of sulfur from the corridor.

The doppelgänger returned Sovenia to Wawalde.

Sovenia was carried, facing the Demon Queen’s Hall behind them.

She saw the colossal structure in the distance, its black spires piercing the sky, smoke still rising from its ruins.

She seemed to see the place where she had once lived, her bedchamber, her power, all that she was.

It had all been left inside.

Including that head.

Sovenia finally succumbed, letting out a stifled sob.

“Ugh—”

The sound was squeezed from her throat, laced with despair and defiance.

Her bound hands weakly pounded Wawalde’s back. Her fists were soft, utterly lacking force, like a child’s petulant taps.

With a choked voice, she pleaded, “Let me go… please… let me go…”

Wawalde did not answer.

He simply continued walking, moving further and further from the Demon Queen’s Hall.

Sovenia closed her eyes, tears soaking her cheeks and dripping onto Wawalde’s back.

She felt her backside still aching, felt the energy stored in the Veil of Desire gently vibrating, and felt all the humiliation and shame brought by this female body.

‘She wanted to go back.’

‘She wanted to retrieve her head.’

‘She wanted to revert to her male form.’

‘She wanted to kill everyone.’

‘She wanted to go home…’

But she could do nothing.

She could only be carried, taken away, forced to leave.

Like a true, helpless, delicate—

—woman.

Sovenia finally broke, crying out loud.