AI's Got Me by the Balls: Rewritten [Part Two]

Okay, this is the second part but, I'm going to be taking a little break for now. I hope you enjoy these two parts, they're quite long but, I've got plenty more to go.

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"Yvette, I'm sorry that you had to watch that," Colm mutters an apology as he sits next to Yvette and spreads his legs apart to alleviate the pain in his aching sac, letting them breathe.


"I'm simply startled, I assumed you would go for your dagger. I figure any other man would rather plunge a blade through her, as opposed to letting her repeatedly kick them in the balls..." Yvette blushes as she recants the recent events.


Colm laughs and says, "That's Neimi for you... she's always hitting me in the balls, but I would never hurt her."


Yvette laughs as she asks, "She's a bit of an unpolished brute, isn't she?"


Colm tells her with a smirk, "You kneed me in the balls too, Yvette."


"I did?! Oh right! I did!" Yvette says in a humiliated tone before covering her blushing face with her hands and adding, "I'm so sorry, it's just that you surprised me..." Yvette is red in the face at this point.


Colm tried to reassure her, telling her, "It's okay... It wasn't too horrible. Much more tolerable than Neimi's relentless kicks. Besides, I have a weakness for pretty girls." he said.


Yvette's flush deepens, her fingers opening for her to peek out. "Do you think I'm cute?"


Colm affirms, "Yes, I do."


Yvette's response was, "You do?! Oh my... thank you, Colm!"


Again, Neimi gives Colm a kick in the balls while giving him the middle finger and crossing her arms across her chest. "Why don't you ever compliment me on my looks?"


"OH! Fuck! Damn you, Neimi... I have told you how cute and adorable you are! When I do, you just kick me in the balls!" Colm moans back at her, gripping his aching crotch in pain.


Yvette's reaction when she finds out that Colm thinks she's cute is priceless. However, it seems clear that someone else already had his heart, "Alright, I'll leave the two lovebirds alone."


Colm implores, "Lovebirds?! No! We're not fucking... we're just friends. We grew up together."


Neimi growls at Colm's comments, "What's that supposed to mean?! Do you think I'm not girlfriend material?" Neimi turns to look at Yvette and gives her a wink, "I'm not really bothered, if you like him, you can have him. This punk doesn't deserve anything more than a good nut-cracking. Go on, Yvette. You try. Kick him in the balls!"


Yvette becomes red in the face and thinks for a moment before thanking Neimi for the offer, but she says that she won't be taking it up on her offer.


"Why not? It'd be a lot of fun!"


"Well, I'm still not sure I'd want to kick him in the balls; it seems uncomfortable, and we're on a mission; I won't be engaged in such base activities," she said. "Besides, I think I'd rather play with him in another way. I've admired him for such a long time."


While Neimi frowns when Yvette says she doesn't want to help her smash Colm's balls but she can't help but grin as she watches Yvette's cheeks flush. She then gets a devilish idea. "I believe that that's what you think you want, Yvette. But, I also think you're hiding your desires. Besides, Colm loves this!"


Yvette mutters under her breath, "Well, if that makes Colm happy, then fine!"


"It certainly does!" Neimi chirps, giving Colm a grin and wink before turning to face him.


Colm glances over at Neimi and Yvette, worried that he will experience another excruciating episode of testicle pain. He pleaded with the two girls, "Wait, what're you planning?"


Colm gives Yvette one last look before closing his eyes and waiting for them to repeatedly kick his balls. Yvette returns his gaze and smiles, Neimi holding onto her hand as the fairy leads her through the process. "Don't worry, I promise to make it quick."


As a consequence of the kicks, Colm experiences a wide range of distressing sensations all over his body. Because of it, Colm is experiencing discomfort throughout his entire body. Colm was getting his balls kicked multiple times by two beautiful women. The first is a tiny little faerie girl with large breasts that Colm has known since he was a child, and the second is a young human assassin girl who admires Colm's legend and has smaller but firmer, perkier breasts.


When Colm opens his eyes, the two of them are teasingly kicking and kneeing Colm's balls, and this turns Colm on in an odd way. With each kick or knee to his swelling pain spheres, Colm can't help but notice that their breasts are moving. Colm mutters, "Ugh! Wait!" as the intensity of his pain rises.


"Too late!" exclaimes Yvette.


Neimi reflects, "Boys are very weak in that area. I use it to make them cry as well. But Colm never cries about it, he just groans. He has some serious tough balls."


"Are you having fun, Colm?" Yvette wonders aloud, her voice heavy with arousal.


Unsure of how he should respond, he wanted them to be happy so he simply nodded and panted out a short reply. "Yes... I am."


Neimi flashes a sly grin, but her eyes are revealing something sinister.


Colm smiles as he meets her eyes and returns her gaze. "Neimi, to tell you the truth, I've always thought you were quite charming."


Neimi grins sheepishly and shakes her head with a laugh as she says, "Your comments mean a lot to me."


When Colm and Neimi meet each other's eyes, a moment of tenderness is shared between them despite the agonizing events transpiring.


"Yvette, are you enjoying this?" Colm asks.


Yvette's face flushes as she mutters, "O-oh! Y-Yes..." while she continues to viciously kick Colm's balls as he writhes in agony. "I had no idea that something like this could be so much fun," she giggled with fervor.


"I would've never guessed it either," he chuckled through grit teeth.


When Yvette looks at Colm, she gives him an eyebrow raise.


Yvette utters the following phrase: "I can't believe it. You're having a good time."


Colm laughs as he reflects on his experience, saying, "I didn't always enjoy it, but... I guess Neimi ingrained it in me,"


"This is a dark path you have chosen, Colm," Yvette says with a sexy smirk, and she admits that she hopes to be there to witness the anguish that Colm will face in the future. Yvette experiences a warm and tingling sensation in the region of her crotch.


Colm claims that the aspect he enjoys the most is "watching a gorgeous woman kick me and become all nervous with lustful glee."


"W-what?! I'm not nervous! I'm just... Realizing that I'm enjoying this, that's all."


"Oh, I'm not so sure about that..."


Colm extends his hand to gently stroke her cheek as he gazes into her golden eyes, which are sparkling. Yvette's beautiful body is framed by a lengthy waterfall of flowing, silver hair that cascades like moonlight around her.


After examining Colm's eyes, Yvette moves on to inspect his hand. She slowly moves her head into the stroking of his palm against her cheek.


A moment between them is shared where their hearts beat together in sync for a moment, then he kisses her, his lips lightly brushing against hers, and the tender touch of the kiss causes her to softly whimper. She encircles him with her arms by wrapping them around Colm's neck. His hands slide down to gently stroke her back while also running their fingers through her hair.


Yvette lets out a sigh as she pulls away from Colm's kiss and gazes into his eyes. She gives him a shy smile and then kisses him on the cheek, the nose, the forehead, and the chin... She makes an effort to touch every area of Colm's face that she can. She makes her way back to Colm's mouth in a methodical manner.


Neimi's foot comes up behind Colm and kicks him in the balls. Hard. Colm groans out in excruciating pain and leans back as he does so. Neimi gives a beautiful smile. "Didn't forget I was here, I hope! Hehehe\~"


Colm moans into Yvette's mouth as his reply gets lost in the kiss, "never.. could..."


Yvette whispers in Colm's ear, "Be calm, beast," encouraging him to keep his composure.


Colm is rendered motionless as he stares into Yvette's golden eyes, and Neimi continues to kick Colm in the testicles.


Yvette has instructed Colm to maintain complete immobility, despite the fact that he has a strong desire to caress her supple breasts and give her a passionate kiss.


Yvette quickly ducks her head to avoid being touched by Colm and kneels on the ground with a sly grin on her face. Before she approaches Colm for a kiss, she takes off her boots carefully in preparation for the encounter. At this point, a kiss from the two beautiful women would be more than welcome.


Yvette, now half barefoot, slides back up Colm's body to give him a kiss. Colm begins to lose himself in the experience. Colm seizes her by the hand and prevents her from removing her other boot from her foot.


Colm wonders aloud to himself, "Will it hurt worse if you kick me with your bare feet?"


"I'm not sure; should we find out?"


Colm gazes into her sparkling eyes and examines the fullness of her pout. In spite of the situation, Colm could feel a fluttering in his chest.


Colm considers his options for a moment before he nodded, "I believe that would be best."


She beams brightly and exclaims, "Excellent!"


Yvette takes her boots off and then slides her foot up, her bare toes approaching Colm from beneath. She waited for a few excrutiating moments before thrusting her foot up, kicking him in the nutsack toes first with her bare foot. Colm bit his lip to keep from yelping. Under normal circumstances Colm would not have sustained any injuries from the light kick; however, the discomfort in Colm's balls is extraordinary. As Colm groans and grimaces, she cracks a grin.


"I'll work harder," she pledges.


Colm's balls feel like they on the verge of exploding, and Colm wants nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and hug her tightly; however, she has asked Colm to stay still. Colm watches as the color drain from his face as she delivers one of the hardest kicks she can currently muster.


Colm lets out a groan while gritting his teeth and saying, "Oh fuck," Colm's injured testicles are wracked with excruciating pain on the inside.


Colm pleaded with her to refrain from continuing.


She appears to be smiling. "I'm just getting to the good stuff."


One more strong kick to the back of Colm's swollen ballbag. It gives Colm leg cramps, and his world starts to spin around in a dizzying manner as a result.


She can't help but chuckle as Colm moans and sags in his seat, sweat forming on his brow.


Colm hasn't moved an inch despite all of these kicks and harsh fairy stomps on his balls, his cock was erect like a spire reaching for the stars. His lightweight pants did little to hide this fact.


As Colm shows signs of being exhausted, Neimi whimpers, "Awwww!"


For Yvette's sake, it's a good thing that Colm is a lot tougher than most humans, and this ordeal is helping Colm become even stronger. As a direct result of this grueling workout, your balls will be able to withstand even greater levels of torment and beatings in the days and years to come.


Colm gives them both a reassuring smile and tells them that he enjoyed it, despite the fact that he is unable to take any more at the moment.


Neimi gives the impression that she is smiling at Colm while simultaneously licking her lips and staring hungrily at the large bulge in the thing cotton pants that Colm is wearing.


Neimi makes her way over to Yvette and communicates with her in a way that Colm is unable to fully comprehend.


Yvette gives Colm a friendly smile, walks over, and gazes deeply into his eyes. Colm feels an even greater tightening in his crotch as she leans in close, her breasts pressing against his chest as she does so.


"I know exactly what Colm wants."


Colm swallowed as he felt a fluttering in his chest caused by his racing heart. Although Colm's balls have been injured, they are still functional, and his cock is as solid as a rock. Colm returns Yvette's gaze.


When Yvette gets particularly close to Colm, he can feel her warm breath on his lips.


She whispers, "I want it too...right here," as she runs her finger along Colm's cheek.


Yvette extends her hand and massages Colm's groin with the palm of her hand. She asks in a cute and delicate manner while gently patting the swelling, "Would you like me to take them off?"


Colm replies, "Yes...please," while nodding his head.


She gives him a gentle grin before beginning to carefully lower Colm's pants down over his legs. She starts by planting a sweet kiss on the tip of Colm's lengthy beast's head before putting it in her mouth and sucking on it gently.


While Yvette is sucking on Colm's engorged cock, Colm notices that Neimi is blushing and laughing. The beet red balls also show evidence of minor bruising as a result of the sucking action.


Yvette shoves Colm's full cock down her throat with a ravenous appetite. Colm groans as she works her head, and just as Colm believes she is about to let Colm cum in her mouth, she takes her head off of Colm's cock and removes it.


Colm mutters in a pleading tone, "Please don't quit..."


Yvette flashes a bright smile before lowering herself to her knees and drawing nearer to the member once more while maintaining her close position.


She adds to Colm as she pushes her tits even higher, "Will...you be the first man I make cum? I want to watch you cum everywhere, Colm."


As he was lost in the moment Colm hears Neimi yell, "Incoming!" the tiny fairy divebombs Colm's unprotected balls, slamming both of her small barefoot heels into the fat, damaged testicles that Colm had almost completely forgotten about. As his vision begins to blur, Colm lets out a scream of agony and comes dangerously close to passing out.


Thankfully, Colm keeps his consciousness but lets out a loud yell of agony as his body writhes and he arches his back in response. While Colm cries out in agony, his cock goes into repeated spasms, which causes it to expel thick ropes of fragrant cum up through the carriage and onto the ground below. Colm gives a pained yelp as every ounce of pent-up stress, worry, irritation, and rage just explodes as he screams and collapses deeper into the seat. "Fuuuuuuuuck!" Colm gradually loses his vision as he watches Yvette and Neimi licking their lips and laughing while they lick Colm's cum off of themselves. They give off the impression of being ecstatic.


Even though he had been rendered unconscious by an extended testicular thumping session before leaving Embla, Colm was still able to get a good night's sleep for the rest of the night. Colm does not awaken until the middle of the day the following day, and his vision is blurry as he looks around to find Yvette and Neimi still sleeping close to him. Colm observes that the horse-drawn carriage has come to a complete stop. After looking around, Colm realizes that he is in the middle of a small town.


Colm mutters to himself, "Ah, we should get out here and load up on supplies," while simultaneously attempting not to wake up the two others. The two ladies were very kind and offered to switch Colm's pants for him last night, which made it possible for him to leave the carriage. Colm gives himself a sly grin as he thinks to himself, "Heh, might need a new carriage as well because that one is covered with man paste on the inside."


Colm moved toward the driver's seat and cautiously opened the door with the push of a finger. As soon as you walk in, the foul odor of death assaults your senses.


Colm puts his hands over his mouth and nose in an effort to mask the smell with his hands, drawing a deep breath in through his mouth before quickly opening the door with his elbow. He sees the driver's lifeless body with an arrow sticking out of his eye and quickly identifies the arrow as a Blackwood arrow, which is the signature style of weapon used by assassins working for the Ebony Claw Syndicate.


Colm is aware that assassins who are accepted by the EC are truly talented and have a well-deserved reputation for instilling fear and dread. Colm is aware that he needs to leave this location as soon as possible.


Colm makes a beeline for Neimi and, upon arrival, picks up her diminutive fairy form and juggles her around while yelling, "Neimi!"


Neimi springs quickly out of bed. She mutters to herself, "Huh? Wha?"


You jolt Yvette awake and shout as quietly as Colm can, "Yvette! Neimi! C'mon, we have to go!" Colm says to his companions, "We have to go! Now!"


Yvette looks around her in a bewildered manner and asks, "Wha... wha... what?"


Colm remarks that "Ebony Claw is here, and they have us at a disadvantage,"


Yvette gives a response along the lines of "Ebony Claw? We just got here! They shouldn't know anything, right? They don't even know if You're working for me or Holgard." she said.


Colm tells her that the driver was killed by an arrow made from a Blackwood tree and that she should not continue to stay in this location.


"I don't understand; they can't know anything!"


Colm reveals, "I know their orders are to either kill any witnesses to their activity or kidnap and interrogate them, is that reason enough?"


The comments made by Colm cause Yvette to turn pale, and as a result, both Yvette and Neimi rouse themselves awake. Neimi mutters in Colm's ear as they run away, "Why must we always be on the run?" she was pouting but Colm smirks over his shoulder at her.


"This is all part of being thieves, is it not exciting? Are you not having fun yet?" Colm inquires with a grin and wink at her. "Once we get out of this place, I'm sure we can have as much fun as we want," Neimi is currently perched on his shoulder. "Just like last night."


She says with a grin, "Last night was fun! I am definitely down for more of THAT!"


Yvette gives Colm a worried look, but Colm does his best to ignore it. There's no point in being worried, that won't help them run any faster. Colm and his companions run for quite some time before they reach a small suburban farm town on the outskirts of the city. As they pass through, there seems to be no one around. Colm pauses for a moment to take a look in all directions before asking his companions if they found it odd that they had run through the entirety of a small hamlet without encountering a single person.


When Colm detects the sound of footsteps approaching from behind him, he immediately turns around. Colm is suddenly observed by a pair of eyes as he emerges from the cover of a dense bush, and he is asked, "W-who are you?"


Colm introduces himself by saying, "My name is Colm, and I'm an adventurer."


The individual says, "I'm Nyla... We're meant to stay concealed; if they know we ran, they'll hurt us," as the bush begins to slightly rattle. "If they know we ran, they'll hurt us," the individual continues.


Colm asks, "Who will hurt you? Where is everyone?"


"What if... what if you're one of them? What if you hurt us?"


Yvette interrupts just as Colm was about to assure that he did not intend to carry out the action and says it for him, "These two are on our side. They're with us." Yvette said.


The voice asks, "Really?" in response.


"Nyla, we just got to town and our carriage driver is dead," Colm tells Nyla. "Who are you hiding from?"


"I'm hiding from the Church, the Syndicate, and now the Sheriff's men; they all seem dangerous, and if they find out where we are, they'll hurt us," the voice calls out.


Colm wonders aloud, "Who are "we"?"


"The Holgard Restoration organization is attempting to prevent the Syndicate from carrying out its plans, and the Sheriff is just a... a puppet," the voice informs.


Colm looks perplexed as he poses the question, "Wait, how close are we to Holgard?"


"I'm afraid we're not near enough," Yvette said. "Holgard is still days away."


As Nyla and the person to whom her voice appears to be attached make their way out of the bushes, the bushes themselves begin to tremble. The massive figure that had been concealed appears. Colm was surprised to find out that she was much older than he had anticipated, estimating that she was probably still in her early twenties. The voice had sounded like a child's. Her dark-colored, curly hair is pulled into a ponytail at the back of her head.


Colm maintained his defense by placing his hand on the hilt of his weapon.


"You're not going to injure me, right?" the girl asks as she pulls a sword out of her cloak with one hand and reaches into her cloak with the other hand. The girl is staring at Colm with one side of her mouth raised in a smile. The voice was mature now, clearly some trickery having been involved from the start.


"Yvette, take Neimi and keep each other safe," Colm tells both of them.


As Colm moves to stop the girl, Yvette nods and turns to run away from the situation as Colm assumes a fighting stance. Neimi flutters to Yvette's shoulder.


As she moves forward with her dagger, she exclaims, "Aha! You think you can handle me alone? You're awfully stupid, you know that?" as she questions Colm.


Colm asks, "Why don't you just calm down and put away your weapon? We can talk this out. I don't want to hurt you."


Her tone was icily detached as she stated, "I don't think we have anything to discuss."


Colm makes a frowning motion and moves forward while the girl retreats while keeping her blade raised, "are you with Ebony Claw then?"


She continues, raising her voice angrily, "Yes, are you Colm?"


Colm asks this question with a smirk on his face, "Would it matter if I was?"


She gives Colm a brief glance before spitting on the ground, running up to him, and telling him "No." Then she dashes forward to begin her attack.


Colm says to her, "Good to know," as he watches her rush to catch up with him. The muscles in his body are tense and ready for him to either evade or counterattack.


Even with Colm's many years of experience, the girl appears to be significantly faster than Colm anticipated, despite the fact that she is quite young and seems even more trained than Yvette. Additionally, she is a much more skilled swordswoman than almost anyone else that Colm has ever come across.


Although her speed seems roughly comparable to Colm's, he's not even begun to try at this time. Both engage in a pattern of slashes and dodges, but neither is able to land a significant blow on the other. Colm starts off by saying, "Impressive," and continues by saying, "I haven't faced someone this good in a long time."


She responds with a sarcastic, "Oh, really?" before asking rhetorically, "I've heard you're some kind of badass but, I don't think you're all that impressive. Just who are you exactly?"


Colm takes a few steps back and spins his dagger while whispering, "I'm nobody. Just a lazy thief who likes pretty girls."


She scowls at Colm and says, "You're no fun," while rolling her eyes.


Colm makes two stabs at her, she blocks both of them, and then suddenly both swing their knives at each other.


The blades collide with one another and light up like miniature explosions as they are deflected away from their intended targets. Colm mocked Nyla and asked, "So, are you going to seek assistance from your little cloaked friend over there in the bushes, or do you truly believe you don't require assistance?" Colm was referring to Nyla's friend who was hiding in the bushes.


She yells at him to "Shut up!" before hurling another knife at him.


Colm sidesteps it by jumping backward and catching a glimpse of her slashing her blade. Colm deftly slides under the barrage of metal blades and then kicks out her ankle, which separates both of her legs. She then hurls a volley of knives in a wide arc at Colm. When Colm wants to spread her legs even further, she does a hip twist that causes her to fall into the splits. Colm executes a spectacular spin all the way up to his feet, following his own momentum all the way. Colm caught one of Nyla's blades and tossed it back at her, stabbing it into her left shoulder with her own dagger with nothing more than a simple flick of his wrist. She shrieks and cradles her arm in her stomach as she glares at him. Colm called out to the person who was hidden by the bushes, warning them to "Come on out" or else he would "finish off their cute little pal here."


A voice can be heard coming from behind the bushes saying, "I'm not joining the likes of you."


Colm's voice was thick with animosity as he asked, "Join?"


"I didn't say anything about joining; all I said was get out of here or Colm's friend will die," Colm says. "I didn't say anything about joining."


A man wearing a black hood can be heard emerging from the shadows and exclaiming, "Fine!"


As the figure emerges from the cover of the bushes and moves closer to Colm, it gives the impression that it is growing in size until it is approximately seven feet tall. An unearthly glimmer can be seen emanating from within the folds of the cloak. Nyla yells through clenched teeth, the blade still throbbing in her shoulder, "No, Oscar, Colm doesn't need to display his powers here," as the pain from the injury continues.


Colm exclaims, "God damn! You're one tall bastard," in response to your height.


Oscar gives Colm a grateful nod and replies, "Thank you very much. I've heard that a lot, and I'll take it as a compliment now."


Colm asks with a puzzled expression on his face, "So, Colm, what exactly are you?"


Oscar is making an attempt to explain, but his voice is beginning to trail off.


Colm smirked as he asked the question. "A wizard or something?"


"Something along those lines." was the response.


Colm yells, "Well, then, out with it," while displaying a trace of impatience.


"My name is Warlock." said the man.


Colm utters in surprise, "Oh, a warlock?" Who is Colm's sponsor, exactly?


" Patron?" Oscar responds. "I'm not sure I understand."


Colm mumbles something indistinct about "The god of... magic or something," despite the fact that Colm is not familiar with very many patrons. There are still some warlocks around, despite the fact that their numbers are dwindling.


Oscar makes it clear that this deity is not the god of magic but rather the deity of law.


Colm utters in unison, "Ah, the deity of justice," while nodding his head in assent.


Oscar shakes his head and responds, "No, the god of LAW,"


Colm mutters, "Oh, the god of law then," displaying a trace of irritation at his lack of familiarity with the correct terminology for his deity's god.


Colm inquires as to the rationale behind the God of Law joining forces with the Ebony Claw Syndicate.


Oscar doesn't respond right away, his face contorted with rage and frustration; suddenly, he yells, "DO NOT QUESTION THE GOD OF LAW!" while swinging wildly at Colm.


Colm avoids the attack by ducking under it, and then he removes the knife he had been holding from Nyla's shoulder before rolling away.


"You won't get away with this!" Oscar says to Colm.


Colm laughs as he ponders the following question: "The Ebony Claw? They suckered Colm and the Church to serve for their purpose, or are Colm all just corrupt?"


Oscar gives a growl, his eyes constrict, and he starts running in the direction of Colm. Additionally, Nyla makes an attempt to flank Colm while simultaneously stabbing him in the face with a dagger. Colm kicks Nyla's knife away as Oscar races by and hits his chest with his fist. Colm then rolls to the side as Oscar continues to hit him. Colm takes a spill in the opposite direction and lands awkwardly on the ground.


Colm utters an expletive as he lands on the ground, but he gets up quickly and looks down his nose at both of his adversaries.


Oscar yells, "You think you can simply challenge the God of Law? When he takes hold of you will curse the day that you were born!"


Nyla imitates her sister's actions and sprints in the direction of Colm, preparing to tackle him while tucking her injured arm against her body.


Colm is able to sidestep Nyla while being extremely critical of Oscar.


Colm responds by saying, "You fucking idiot! Questioning a God?" Colm kicks Nyla in the back of the head as she stumbles past him and says, "They're nothing more than a fear tactic employed by governments to enslave their people! Even if there were Gods, they would've abandoned us long ago. Humans are miserable creatures!"


Nyla stumbles briefly, but gets up quickly and continues past Colm. She grabs a handful of what appears to be dirt and throws it at Colm, who realizes too late that it's actually grass. With this distraction, Nyla knees him in the balls with her knee-high boots. Colm moans and mutters swear words in response to the excruciating pain in his groin; the little game he played with Yvette and Neimi the night before left him rather sore.


Colm staggers backward, trying to keep his balance as he walks away from Nyla and Oscar. As Oscar charges forward, a bone-crushing punch from Oscar's fist hits Colm squarely, landing in the center of Colm's face. Colm is able to dodge danger and get to safety, though Nyla's kick left a dull ache in his balls. Colm mumbles, "Shit," to himself as he looks up to see Nyla catching up with him. \*Counter-attacks will now be more difficult,\* Colm thinks. She doesn't apologize as she dashes past Colm.


Suddenly, Nyla's hand reaches out and simply collides with Colm's cheek. The sound of the slap can be heard throughout the abandoned settlement. When Colm meets her gaze with fire in his eyes, it's more symbolic than anything; Colm is fed up. Colm rushes past Nyla to grab her injured arm twisting and snapping it, the sound of the bones in her arm drowned by her screams. "Neimi is the only one who can hit me with such disrespect," Colm warns as he walks past Nyla who falls to the ground, with a shriek of pain, cradling the lifeless limb against her chest as she does so.


Oscar pounces on Colm from the edge of Colm's peripheral vision. As Colm brings another flying knee to Oscar's jaw, his body vanishes again as he punches. When he falls, Colm makes things worse by repeatedly banging his head against the cobblestones, further worsening the injury. He makes an attempt to get up, but Colm quickly cuts his neck, causing him to fall back to the ground.


Colm approached Nyla and instructed her to take her friend with her and to leave immediately.


"Go get Oscar and get out of here," Colm orders. A scumbag from Ebony Claw like Colm does not deserve to die at my hands because he is an Ebony Claw member.


While Nyla is looking at Oscar, Colm observes that she appears anxious and confused. She can't believe that they came to this place and both failed. She is frozen with fear and unable to run away, despite her best efforts. Nyla hoists her broken arm off the ground in a cautious manner. She asks, "What the hell are you?" as her question.


"I'm just a thief," Colm says simply.


"I've never known a thief who could easily defeat two EC assassins; you're a demon disguised as a thief," she says.


"I'm nothing more than a thief," Colm declares.


Nyla turns to face Oscar. He lets out a small, whispering sound. She shakes her head and returns her gaze to Colm. This is the strangest interrogation you've ever encountered. "What is it?" Colm inquires, perplexed. "What exactly do you want to know?"


"Who or what are you?"


"I told you, I'm nothing more than a thief," Colm replied with a smile before turning and walking away toward Holgard.


Nyla appears to pause again before saying, "Good luck with your... quest."


Colm leaves the village for Holgard.


As Colm leaves the village, he mulls over Nyla's final words. "Strange thing to say when I'm fighting for the opposing team," Colm mumbles quietly to himself. Unfortunately, Colm doesn't have much time to think about it because, as he gets closer to a nearby river, he notices two heads poking out from behind a stone bridge wall. Colm smiles and tilts his head towards them. "Didn't I tell you two to run?"


"You big stupid idiot! We couldn't just leave Colm behind like that!" scolds Neimi, hurrying over to Colm. Her tiny hands pound on Colm's shoulder, cursing him in her fae language, as she usually does when she's agitated and angry.


Colm chuckles at Neimi's cuteness and waves to Yvette, who appears relieved to see Colm.


Colm chuckles at how cute Neimi is when she's angry, then gently pats her hair, much to her chagrin, ruffling it. Her face is lit up with a genuine smile. Neimi is relieved that You have returned relatively unscathed. Yvette nervously waves in the direction of Colm. Colm returns the wave. Again.


"Is everything all right, Yvette?" Colm asks, tilting his head at her before proceeding.


As she searches for words, Yvette appears to fidget in place. Colm's cheeks flush deeply as she waits in silence.


"Get it out there," Neimi exhorts Yvette.


"I... I just wanted to thank Colm," she says softly.


"For what?" Colm wonders.


"Well, for saving my life," she says, nervously fidgeting.


Colm looks at Neimi blankly as she laughs. "Yvette is aware of the assassins' power, and she believes they were after her because she is from Holgard."


"There's nothing to worry about," Colm said as he approached her slowly.


"Your soothing voice is a combination of calming and empowering," Yvette says with a smile to Colm, he pats her arm in response.


"Now, we've lost our carriage, but we can still walk to Holgard, right? You know the way, Yvette?" Colm remarks.


"I do," she confirms.


"Then everything will be fine."


"It's probably a three-day walk," Yvette says, looking up at the sky as it was now a couple of hours past midday.


"Should we call it a night?"


"We can walk for a few hours until the sun goes down, try to get as far as we can, maybe we'll get lucky and hit a town along the way," Colm says.


"It's a good idea", says Yvette. "Perhaps we can be picked up by a passing traveler."


Walking these lonely streets takes longer than Colm would like, but it's better than standing.


Yvette appears to be staring at her feet as the group walks, and Colm nudges her lightly. "What is happening?" Colm asks with a shocked face as she meets his gaze with flushed cheeks. "N-nothing ..." he stammers softly, trying to hide his obvious shyness.


Colm hits her once again, knowing that Colm can't be left alone well enough. "Come on, Yvette, we should be friends now, right?" Colm says softly.


She nods nervously before looking down and kicking a rock.


"Oh ok... Well, it's just that... I saw Colm get a little hurt there and I was worried; I really want to be stronger; I want Colm to teach me to fight like Colm and move like Colm so Colm can get someone to watch Colm's back in the fight, Colm knows?" she stammered, clearly nervous.


Colm pauses for a moment to think about his answer, and although he thinks Yvette is a capable fighter herself, he doesn't think there would be any benefit in training her like Colm did. .


"I'm sorry, Yvette, but I can't... Besides, Colm shouldn't have watched that fight, and if I wanted to kill her, I should have..." Colm begins to tow, while Colm quietly reminds himself not to be too morbid. Yvette seems a little disappointed with Colm's response, but respects Colm enough not to go any further.


Colm finally came across a worn wooden sign that read Travelers' Inn hanging from a branch.


"An inn? In the middle of nowhere?" Colm remarks.


"Perhaps we should ask to stay the night?" suggests Yvette.


"Are you sure, Colm? This place hasn't been bothered in years," Colm responds.


"It was well worth the risk."


"Besides, I'm tired!" exclaims Neimi, prompting Colm to laugh and shake his head.


"Right, right... all this sitting on my shoulder has made Colm very tired," Colm chides, crossing her arms huffily.


The doors to the Travelers' Inn are locked and secured, with the word 'CLOSED' clearly written on them. They appear to have written it with a piece of charcoal.


"Hello? Is there anyone in there?" Colm asks with a knock at the wooden door, his voice almost seemed to echo in the silence.


"Do you think it's a little too quiet?" says Neimi.


"Yeah," Colm says quietly, frowning as he listens for signs of life. Colm, on the other hand, hears nothing, and the trees above appear to be watching over the building. "This seems a little excessive..."


Yvette snatches Colm's arm. "All right, let's go in anyway."


The interior is tastefully decorated, well-kept, and illuminated by some weak candlelight.


"Well... that was unexpected," Colm says.


Colm notices a staircase leading upstairs and makes his way there, Yvette's previous brave grip still latched onto Colm, making it appear much less brave at this point. "Let's investigate." A creaking sound emanates from above.


Colm bolted backward, pulling Yvette along with him, narrowly avoiding ceiling debris that had fallen in.


"What the hell happened?" exclaims Colm.


Colm's attention is drawn to movement from the rubble as if to answer his question. Colm is waiting for you.


A skeletal monster emerges from the ruins. Her lean body is studded with long, deep cuts and her skull is embellished with skulls.


"Well, you don't see that every day."


Yvette's pupils dilate. "What the hell is that?"


"Hm. Good question," Colm observes the creature.


Colm takes a step back and watches Yvette kick the thing's head. Colm steps back and watches the fight. The monster takes the hardest hit and staggers backward before falling through the ground.


"I killed him!" shouts Yvette, panting.


"Are you sure? I thought he just fell through the floor." Colm investigates the hole the monster fell into.


The monster's skull is partially obscured by the debris it fell through.


Colm lights a fire bomb and throws it at him just in case, it explodes in the hole, obscuring the view with flames. Colm hears a terrifying scream that seems to come from the monster itself.


"That answer's that."