The demon swung an arc of crimson energy in Kess's direction. She grounded her stance and twirled her staff to block and scatter the attack.

 

Kess was out of her depth here. The reports only indicated unethical magical experiments happening in this hideout. Nobody could have predicted the culprit would be a mage eater.

 

The demon lifted an arm to the ceiling and muttered words of power, and small motes of arcane energy appeared in the air above it. The points of light began one-by-one to fire at Kess's current position. She dodged what shots she could and deflected the rest with her staff. After the last one missed her leg, she concentrated for a moment and willed herself to the demon's other side. She then took advantage of her position by lobbing her own bolt of arcane energy at it.

 

The demon turned in time to bat away her attack, arcane energy scattering off of its claws. It flashed her a grin. "You're quite agile for a mage. That's quite possibly the only reason you continue breathing, little bird. Well, that and other reasons..."

 

Its form suddenly melted into the floor, and she felt a shove from behind her, flinging her across the room. She wove a quick protection spell between her hands, catching the ground with a palm and righting herself before the fall rendered her prone. She willed herself directly to the demon's side and readied a melee strike with her staff, but the demon caught it without looking and used the force of her strike to fling her yet again.

 

"It's cute how you think you can beat me. We'll fix that soon enough."

 

The demon melted into the floor again. Learning her lesson Kess quickly wove a barrier spell around herself, but it didn't seem to matter. She felt a strike from behind hit her barrier, shattering it instantly and sending her flying. As she righted herself, she saw another bloody-colored crescent racing toward her, and she scattered it just like the last. As she landed though, she felt magic below her feet, and she was suspended in the air.

 

Kess looked down and saw a magic circle spin into being under her, spawning inky black magic tendrils along its perimeter. She struggled to no avail. She was trapped. The tendrils reared back into a striking position. Kess closed her eyes.

 

No searing, breaking pain followed, but she suddenly felt an intense pressure in her mind.

 

"Relax, my intentions aren't so gruesome."

 

The demon spoke. "They're not piercing your gooey human brain, they're piercing your mind. Their job is to help me with something."

 

"What, are you going to devour my magic, beast?" Kess spat.

 

"You would have to have an amount of power worth consuming for that to be worth my time or effort. No, I'm intrigued by you, and I think I'd like to do a little tinkering~"

 

Kess's eyes went wide. "W-what do you mean tinkering...?" She thrashed in her unseen bonds.

 

"I think that will become clear momentarily," the Demon responded. Kess somehow felt the creature's magic rooting around in her mind. "Ooh, a competitive spirit, and a strong one at that. For such a weak little bird, something like this would only get you hurt. Best to trash it~"

 

Kess tensed as she felt a part of herself stripped away, like a part in a machine. Her rage left her. She didn't care about beating the demon anymore, she simply wanted to flee.

 

"Mmm, how about we dial that panic down. A little self-preservation is good, but this simply won't do. You wont need to fear for your well-being after I'm finished with you."

 

She could feel the part of herself get sucked out of her head, and without it her fear died down, present but muffled. Just as well, considering she wasn't getting out of this anyway. With the demon distracted playing with her mind, maybe she could kill the thing and spare anyone else this humiliation.

 

"Your confidence is admirable, but like your desire to dominate, it's unbecoming and unsafe for someone of your station."

 

Another piece went missing. With her confidence in her abilities gone, she had little left to make this situation tolerable. Her resolve began to crumble. This demon was going to get whatever it wanted from her, and once it was finished with her mind, it was going to go after her town.

 

"You feel responsible for people in your life. Weak little birds like you aren't good with responsibility. It drives them to do things they can't handle, and they get hurt in the process. It would be best for me to remove your responsibilities from you, but you need something in their place to give you direction... and I think I know just the thing~"

 

She felt a part of herself melt and reshape. The safety of the town was no longer her problem. They'd sent her out here, and she'd followed orders. She was good, and her failure couldn't be her fault.

 

...something about that train of thought seemed odd.

 

"Now to have a little fun. I think I'd like to keep you, little bird, so I'm going to ensure you always come back to me~"

 

This time, she felt feelings ooze out from a tendril and into her being. It was hard to place what those feelings were until she looked up into the demon's beautiful red eyes... oh.

 

More feelings flooded in. Her fear, as weakened as it was, melted away completely. She knew the demon would never hurt her, and she suddenly had very different feelings about her predicament. Her face reddened, her breathing grew heavier, and to her shock she felt a wetness forming between her legs.

 

"Exquisite... a few alterations and I have you ticking to an entirely new tune~"

 

The demon closed the distance between them, and Kess spat in its face.

 

"Y-you did this to me, you changed me-"

 

"That may be, little one, but does that make your feelings any less real? Besides, none of the truths I've bestowed on you are false. I've taken a liking to you, little bird, and I'd quite like to have you. Hurting you would be counter-productive."

 

She knew it was telling the truth. Or, she "knew" it, anyway. The idea that this obviously evil demon cared about her safety or comfort was asinine, academically, but she was powerless to believe otherwise.

 

The demon tenderly stroked its large hand down her arm. She knew it was wrong, but she shuddered in delight anyway. The touch felt comforting, even pleasurable. Another stroke down her arm, and she melted further into the creature's control. Her breathing slowed and her adrenaline wore off, replaced by surrender and the barest hints of desire.

 

"How quickly you bend to me, once given the correct incentives~"

 

She thought of her friends and family back home, and of her guildhall. She instantly regretted it, but to her surprise the demon didn't speak up. Another "truth" was planted in her.

 

"I'm going to let you down now. You're going to leave this place, and you're going to tell your guild that you barely managed to escape me. After that, the choice is yours whether you return to me, or continue your life as though none of this happened. But I think we both know what you'll chose, don't we~"

 

The demon flashed her a wicked grin, and she blushed. She wanted to believe she was strong enough to resist its temptations, but the demon had probably taken whatever part of her that strength would come from.

 

Her feet touched the ground. She looked for a long moment into the demon's crimson eyes, then wordlessly picked up her staff and walked away. She ignored the tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

 

Kess laid in her bed. It was evening. She'd been debriefed about her mission to the "hideout" (huge fucking trap) their scouts had found, and told them the story of her daring escape that her Owner that fucking thing planted in her. She felt no particular need to struggle against that compulsion. Even if it were possible, she couldn't bring herself to feel responsible for trying. She'd done her best.

 

She tried to think of literally anything else, but no topic held her mind for long, and her thoughts returned to the demon, the mage eater. Her Love. Fantasies, of it caressing her, touching her, fucking her, breaking her, over and over and over until it had claimed every inch of her...

 

She was wet. Had been, for quite some time actually. She didn't want to want this, but she desperately wanted it. It had only been a few hours, but the separation was tearing her apart. Her resolve was crumbling by the minute.

 

...she was so fucked.