7.124 - Coliseum VIII

"I'm pleased we're not incompatible in the short- and perhaps even medium-term, and that you won't stand in my way," Elida said. "But long term? Regardless of what you've said, I expect us champions will be in conflict by our very nature. There's something larger at play here, and I will get what I want. Dismantling the Parda-Halts won't be easy. I'll do what I must to reach the heights I need. Thus, we may be enemies nevertheless. What drives you at a deeper level, Natalie?"

Natalie frowned.

Her long-term motivations. What were they?

In the end, she wasn't a complicated girl. What drove her decisions as a person? What was she working toward, day in and day out? What future did she want? The answer came easily.

"I want to get closer to my teammates, and be a successful delver." That summed up ninety percent of it. "What will I do if I become important, because of my class? I guess I'll try to do some good in the world, but I don't have anything specific in mind. That's too far away. Too abstract."

Elida considered, her stroking foot stilling as she mulled over Natalie's words.

"Gods, but you are boring, Natalie," she said, rolling her eyes. "But good." She seemed to finally relax. "This was a fruitful event, however it may end. We understand each other better now." Leaning slightly more heavily on the foot that was rubbing up and down Natalie's cock, she said, "Hurry up, then. I'm surprised you've lasted this long. I would've sworn a gross girl like you would fall apart at being stepped on."

"The problem is who's doing the stepping."

"Unfortunately, I see through lies that blatant. Especially when your thing is twitching like that." Elida smirked. "About to climax while being insulted straight to your face. This turned on by my foot. You called me a masochist, but I think that was a projection."

The pace quickened, and Natalie groaned, collapsing backward. She covered her eyes with her forearm. Loath as she was to admit it, Elida was right. She had managed to keep somewhat composed while giving her answers, but that didn't mean she'd somehow been resisting the pulses of heat that came with every stroke of Elida's slim foot up and down her cock.

"After how you sprayed this thing all over my face, I think it's only fair I return the favor," Elida said. "You don't mind, do you? It's only in front of Vanetta and half the City." She covered her mouth with a hand and laughed, eyes sparkling condescendingly down at her. "You're excited that I'm going to make you do that. I can see it on your face, even if you're outraged too. My, we really are kindred spirits in some regards. Minus the perversion. Even I have my limits there."

"S-Shut up."

"On with it, then. Point it for me, I'm not touching that gross thing with my hands."

Natalie glared, but, keeping to the rules of the game, obeyed. She lifted her cock and, with embarrassment coursing through her, pointed it toward her face. The angle made Elida's foot-stroking less effective, but her blood was singing and heat pulsing through her—she was already hanging on the edge. She wouldn't need much to go over.

"If I was really mean, I'd make you open your mouth," Elida said.

Natalie's stomach sank, which Elida smirked at in delight—but she didn't follow the threat up with an actual demand.

"Don't go easy on yourself. Make sure you coat yourself like you did for me. Two eyes for an eye, that's my philosophy, Natalie. So really, I'm being generous here."

Groaning, Elida's rubbing foot finally brought her to that peak. Holding her own cock in place, as ordered, she closed her eyes and felt the first streak of warmth lash across her features. Shamefully, the sensation tore a groan from the back of her throat and sent a full-body shiver through her. The next hot rope that squeezed out was even thicker. Over and over, she coated herself as thoroughly as she had Elida. As demanded of her.

When her climax ebbed and she sagged into the ground, she was more than a little ashamed. The orgasm had been way too strong near the end, and not even because of Elida's foot.

"Excellent," Elida said. "Boot, please."

Though the Dare might be over, Natalie wouldn't take the risk of refusing. She put Elida's sock on, then her boot, and tied it for her.

"And clean yourself up, Natalie," she tutted. "Heavens. You're a mess." She pursed her lips. "There are a few more things we need to discuss before the third round," she admitted. "I might not be in the right state of mind to do so after, depending on how this ends. This might be our last chance at an amiable discussion."

"This is what you call amiable?"

"Indeed, Natalie. Remember that."

Well. Natalie appreciated the girl's honesty, if nothing else.

Face burning, she sat up and cleaned herself off. She tried to ignore how a hundred people had watched that display.

When she stood, Elida was looking at her appraisingly.

"I know you might not believe this," she said, "but genuinely: no hard feelings for the first round. Would you believe me if I said I found it flattering, how much you enjoyed violating me? No woman can resist the satisfaction of seeing her charms at work."

Her charms. This woman was delusional.

Elida clearly found Natalie's incredulous look amusing. She laughed.

"That said, I don't like you. It's nothing personal, Natalie. I don't like you in the way I don't like almost anyone. You're soft. You haven't seen the world for what it is. You frolic between fields of flowers and the only thought in that empty head of yours is where you're going to stick that gross thing next." Her eyes flicked down to Natalie's loincloth. "But that doesn't mean I hate you, and everyone else, for being that way. You're just … pathetic. I can't relate. It pisses me off. But no, not hate. I have more important directions to point that energy."

Natalie supposed she did.

"All of that said, if you end up not accepting the team invite, and I do suspect that's where this is headed, we'll be enemies—the academic sort. I won't hesitate to sabotage you if it benefits me. That's clear?"

"Did you really think I expected anything else?"

But the words came as a relief. She didn't have to worry about Elida's daggers being pointed her way, or at her friends, not in a deadly sense. She hadn't even been worried about that until today, but obviously the reveals had made the possibility clear.

Having a rival at the Academy felt all but trivial when contextualized like that. She didn't want to deal with Elida as a rival of any sorts, but an academic one was vastly preferable to the alternative—true enemies.

"Perfect." Elida nodded and turned. "Let's end this then."