Pleasure City of Dis

Beyond his usefulness as a sex-partner, Izou was apparently good for general information as well. According to him, there was a place she could send for an individual to fill the hole of current lifestyle. Ah, but there was a Berserker between her and this apparent goal. Kolin's brow rose drastically, it was quite unusual for him to say someone like that existed while claiming to be bored. "Oh? You didn't kill a Berserker in the desert? No wonder you're bored, it sounds like you're slacking♥!~" she mused, this statement was both teasing and meant to make the man explain what exactly it was about this Berserker that it's life hadn't been claimed by a man who simply enjoyed the challenge of fighting and killing. Oh? And compliments... according to this man she didn't need things like cosmetics. Those who followed and did things for her would do everything she required even without her access to such things. He even lifted her foot and made a joke. Yes, that was his way, even after more than a decade he was somewhat constant for her. "Oh? Flattery? Were you always good at that?" she asked of the man before exhaling a sigh.

"The cosmetics are not for them. Nothing is ever for them... it is for me. I like it. I want it. I deserve it. Nothing will stand between me and what I want..." Kolin's words were the truth as she saw it. And gave a great deal of insight into the type of person she actually was. If one managed to be like this for something as inconsequential as a luxury item... it only stood to reason that she was more adamant about things which mattered to her. Oh well, that wasn't worth thinking about too much. What was worth thinking about, the naked samurai also occupying her bath. Was she complaining about this man's presence? No, not really. Still, she couldn't help but be exasperated. "Ah, you do know you're annoying right?" she asked him not that she expected anything more than another sassy answer. "But you're right... I'm not actually complaining. And I'm not thanking you..." the woman scoffed. Oh yes, her nature was too contradictory. Even when she was calm she was still not able to properly express herself. It was quite terrible.

Izou did not enter a deathmatch with the Berserker found in the desert, and he never intended to do so. Was he truly slacking? Was this just one thing he avoided doing, simply because he didn't feel like it? No. In this case, he was making the wisest decision possible. That thing was not killable with a sword, or perhaps even with anything physical. It was a mindless monster, capable of only killing. It was also... a legendary hero. "Feel free to send someone who can actually kill that thing. I like to fight, but a tussle with Heracles isn't what I would call fair," he explained.

Was it flattery he employed? Hardly. Izou hated the concept of makeup and the like, in most cases. So many women never had a need of it, yet so many made use of such things regardless. And then... there were the types who used it to conceal their hideous features. Those vile, disgusting vermin were the scum of the world, walking around with their baited faces and their push-up bras! What did a guy have to do to find a naturally-massive rack and some nice facial features? Well... apparently coming to Dis was the answer, so he supposed that was the real reason for him being here. Hell, he'd probably stick around even if there weren't soon to be whores as far as the eye could see─ especially after recent discoveries about the woman in charge of Dis. "If you're into it, that's fine. I don't imagine you'd be the type to overdo it, and it's not like you're using all that stuff to cover up an ugly ass face or anything. Oh, and yeah, I might be something similar to annoying," he added, shrugging it off. "You like it, though. Be honest; nothing beats having someone around other than those tagalongs that leash themselves to that huge rack of yours. So... you're still welcome."

Izou made a claim that he wasn't slacking and that she should send someone out to kill the berserker who was actually capable of it. The claim being that he was someone called Heracles. Kolin's left brow rose at this, as it was said as if she should recognize it and truly... she didn't. "Am I supposed to know who that is? I definitely have no idea... but if you aren't willing or able to kill him... it'd be a waste of resources to try and take him on. I mean you're the best at killing I have access to, if you don't think you can... I'd have to throw too many people at the problem... well at least right now. It is starting to seem like I am actually going to need that creature from the abyss," the blonde mentioned. It was still something she was giving consideration to, Beatrice hadn't ever led her astray. As such, the nun was technically the most trust worthy woman that any face of Mai's had ever come across.

Moving right along, it would be Izou who spoke on the matter of cosmetics. He seemed quite hardcore about the idea that she didn't need them, but apparently trusted her judgement with them. "It's not like I want a face full of make up or anything of the sort. I just want to smell like what I want to smell like and have soft skin. It's hardly something to be overdone," the woman mentioned. If they'd been different people, she might have questioned his dislike of such things. But she was currently someone who could only concern themselves with things that mattered to them in a very strange way. He went on to point out that he was something like annoying but that she liked it, because he was different from the others who tied themselves to her. This was... kind of true. "Well, at least you aren't boring. I'll give you that..." she said with a casual roll of her eyes. "I'm still not thanking you," she stated flatly. Still contradictory even at the very end but, Kolin was rather prone to being that way in the first place. She should probably figure out her next steps and remove herself from this tub... but, maybe, just maybe she was actually enjoying Izou's company.

She... had to be joking, right? Why did she look so serious? No, that wasn't possible! This woman, who'd allegedly been around for millennia, didn't know the legend of Heracles? Izou was aghast at the thought! "... Heracles? Legendary ancient Hero? Twelve Labors? Demigod son of Zeus, turned god by the end of his tale? Now reduced to a mindless, damn-near 10-foot tall muscle machine of death? He was already out in the desert when this place was set up; he's just walks around fighting whatever shows up. They had a whole show about the guy back in our world, and you don't know who he is when you used to be a goddess here?"

Rant aside, Izou would definitely agree that a demon summoning would be necessary. If Kolin intended to do something about that monster, no living human could get the job done. Actually, he wasn't even sure if Heracles was killable in his current form. Maybe he was? Izou wouldn't be the one to find out, unless the reward for doing so held greater value than his own life... which was very unlikely, considering there was hardly a thing he didn't have access to, that he would otherwise seek. "I recommend the weird Satan contract. And, yeah... I didn't think about the smells and all that jazz. Soft skin's nice on a woman too, so whatever," he chanted, casually waving a hand about while clamping his teeth around his pipe's tip. He would be removing himself from the bath, foregoing drying as he sat against the tub's edge. As cooling water cascaded from his body onto the floor, he carelessly continued the more... lighthearted part of their discussion. "You don't have to thank me. Next time you're on your knees with your mouth open, I'll take that as thanks. Fair trade?"

Why did he look so incredulous? Was there something here she was supposed to know? Some reason she should have known it? Well, Kolin was about to get a full lesson in the apparently Ancient Hero. Apparently he was the son of a god, who became a full god. He'd performed some set of tasks and eventually fallen into the state of a Berserker in the desert. Apparently this was some sort of layover from their home world. But it wasn't like she had interests in things like fiction in her previous life. "Oh? Someone like that huh? Well it isn't like I have interest in heroes or anything..." she said. Oh. How interesting. That last part of that sentence as a lie. The truth of Mai was that she did like a hero... actually she liked one in particular but she'd never be saying that to anyone ever. Not until she got her revenge. "As for our world. I wasn't into stuff like that... boring tv and history. I didn't get out of going to school to be stuck watching stuff like that on tv," she said with a scoff. She was truly a strange woman. Well maybe she wasn't strange but she'd definitely not ended up in this world nor playing the game that led to it, by normal amounts of interest. "And while being a goddess the lives of mortals were hardly my concern. Aside from the blessings I handed out, I was busy... too busy to track one random hero." Another lie. She'd definitely been stalking one random hero... so much so, that she'd gone off the deep end when he'd rejected her. Thus ending her here. Millenia later with nothing but a grudge and a dream of ascension. Ah, but she'd not told a single lie today until they got to the topic of heroes. Perhaps if she'd been a bit more learned she might have been able to properly talk to Jason. Perhaps if she'd been a bit more into such things... the Hero whose attention she wanted wouldn't have been outside of her grasp. Maybe... if she'd put forth any real effort... she wouldn't have been constantly longing.

But it seemed regardless of what she thought, Izou thought her abyss contract was one worth taking. She could agree. Especially when knowing about the good knights she'd lost. A boy playing at King Arthur, The Spirit Knight and the Sword Saint. Those losses alone were quite disturbing. Even if Arthur wasn't the real King Arthur a fake one who could replace one of the objects of her hatred was about all she could ask for. Ah, but then what kind of sacrifice to make? It'd kind of be worth it to lose some undesirables to get a devil with the necessary power to help her subdue the berserker in the desert. "Of course you didn't think about that part. Guys never do until the encounter the opposite. Then they'll talk shit about how gross some random chick is... that's nature. As for the devil, I'll make my contract... maybe have the first real test of it being helping me find a way to control that berserker. I'd rather not kill someone I can use," she said. And she meant it, in more ways than one. Still Izou lifted himself out of the bath, dripping water everywhere. Luckily she didn't have to care about that sort of thing. She had people to worry about stuff like that... she had no concerns. Still his last more lighthearted words made her scoff, as she tended to do. "Take that as you will.... I still don't do anything for anyone but me. What you get out of that sort of thing is up to you..." and she meant that too... strangely. Still, Izou had never displeased her in anyway. She could let him annoy her and take all his liberties because unlike most others, being in his company for longer than a few moments didn't make her skin crawl. Maybe that was the appeal of one like him?

"Interest or not, Heracles might be one of the strongest things in the world right now. Well... this part of it, at least. That hurts to say, so don't go ignoring the fact that I said it," Izou mentioned. He could move on from the fact that Kolin never observed historical and mythological figures despite previously being one herself, if only to maintain his own sanity for the duration of their interaction. But how could she have─ no! Moving on!

True enough, the finer intricacies of things were often lost until the lack of those little features was experienced. Izou would never give consideration to how the average woman smelled, or the texture of their skin... unless he encountered a lass with the skin texture of an iguana, the scent of fish left out in the sun, and so on. Well, the types who would have those features were never the ones catching his eye anyway. Izou, in life, liked them a bit prissier, but not too much so. Kolin and the previous identity she held, actually fit the bill quite nicely, though her inability to know the more casual side of life was an annoyance. Whatever the case, it seemed Kolin planned not to kill Heracles, but to take control of him. At face value, it was a very dumb decision to make. Well... as long as he had nothing to do with that damn Berserker, all was fine. "Yare yare. You never even think of doing nothing, do you?" Izou questioned with an exasperated sigh. "Whatever. If you're doing stuff for your own sake, nobody's got a right to complain about it. That one thing, though─ it doesn't matter who you're doing it for. A guy's going to get his rocks off anyway, so it's for him in the end regardless of what you wanted to happen."

For someone who'd been discouraging of doing something with Heracles, Izou was doing a fairly good job of upselling the man/demigod/berserker... whatever. According to him, it hurt him to admit the strength of that man... somehow this wasn't surprising. Izou was a man who prided himself on his skill and strength, knowing he couldn't kill something was probably a mark against his pride. Perhaps making such a creature his comrade would free him of his burden. "I won't forget you said it. It looks like it was a pretty painful utterance..." the woman teased. Of course, she would take him at his word, but the plotting had to continue. She had goals after all, even if what she wanted was scary, she still fully intended to reach that point again.

As their conversation went on, Kolin never thought of what this man's preferences might have been. What kind of women he might have liked, she was the height of likeability right? So him liking her was proof enough he had reasonable taste. Whatever the case, he took issue with her rather obvious plot to take over the Berserker in the sands. She didn't think of doing nothing... he was quite right. It was a flaw with this one. Or rather maybe not just this one, being in charge of things and wanting to have everything under her own control was a flaw of her personality. Especially when one considered how lazy she actually was and how little knowledge she had of the things she apparently wanted. "Doing nothing gains me no benefit. It's bad to let such things stand," she said with a shrug. She could have left him alone. Let him raise hell all through the desert. He could have been considered just another obstacle to reaching this place... but that wouldn't do at all. She needed more people on her side regardless. Especially people she could use to conquer that oath she made. Divinity would do nicely for that sort of thing. Besides... if she could take a bit of his, she could begin cultivating her own. She stood from her bath, if she stayed any longer, she'd start pruning and that would be bad. Out she walked dripping wet foot prints being left all over the floor. "Ugh, you shouldn't have told me that... I'm not the sort who gives anything to anyone..." she said and this was the truth. How could she enjoy something if it was a gift for someone else? That didn't make sense. Whatever, that and many other things would be what she thought about it. Until it was time to take the next few steps of her plans.

The things Kolin had to say, made sense... as things coming from her, at least. All things were for the queen's benefit; that seemed to be a running theme with this one. Izou couldn't fault it. If she was going to be both stuck-up and selfish to such a ridiculous extent, there was nothing to be done about it. People came in different flavors; some simply tasted a bit more... bitter than others. Well, a bitter flavor was alright, depending on the dish. "Don't be the sort who gives to anyone, then. Let's be honest, that info dump isn't going to do shit for you. You'll keep doing that anyway, not to give to somebody else, but because you're not going to not do something you want for the sake of not giving to others. That's just how you work."

With that said, Izou was content to abandon the current discussion, as well as the bathroom. Was he going to get dressed first? No; he would actually walk around nude, dripping bathwater down the corridors. This was a city of whores, so perhaps some would pass him by and take an early interest in a potential patron, prior to the market for such women becoming readily available. Ah, genius investments.

A bit of passing advice from Izou before he left. How interesting. His words made a great deal of sense, maybe? She couldn't be sure. One thing was for certain she could be herself in moments and it wouldn't matter. Even if she was contradictory, even if she was bitter. None of it would matter so long as she got what she wanted. No one could complain because it simply wasn't their place to do so. She watched as Izou strutted out of her room naked. "I'm still not thanking you." Yep. Contradictory to the very end. In for a penny, in for a pound. She'd remain this way.

A bit of sleep, in a comfortable bed, and more time to think, and she'd come to a few conclusions. Whoever she sacrificed she wanted that particular bad karma applied to this face. No need to waste the buildup on a new one. She'd summon her little devil friend when the ritual was ready by whatever method of sacrifice she decided and then, she'd let the seemingly anxious Charles claim this face's life. With all that done, she'd resurrect in her new body and clothes. She'd put them on that Avatar in private. She didn't want to reveal too much too soon. This was all about the show, her followers would always get the same quality of reveal that she wanted to give. Ah, then when she was ready she could do a bunch of other things. Use the devil to help make the start of this little city into something. A few more administrative tasks and then she could leave this place to run itself and feed her proper rise to power. Beatrice was at least a positive in this, that woman worked miracles. They'd spoken a couple more times, and Kolin had given the go ahead for her to fully integrate the application of those anti-pregnancy marks. Of course, this came with a direct siphon for her own power as well, as a stipulation to make sure they were always happy for the customer. It was added to her to-do list. It was interesting to know such effects could be applied to those. She might make use of them later... for punishments to some. Yes... that seemed like a good idea. What else was there... the VIP section. She was waiting on word about that. Those people were among the first to be given their marks and they were now at work making sure that place was up to par. Beatrice was supervising that as well. Did that wicked nun not need to sleep? Well that was hardly worth any extra concern.

"Ma'am the circle is ready." she mentioned casually. Those narrow eyes of hers seeming to be delighted. "Also the VIP section will be completed by the morning and whenever you are ready... that ritual is set up in the throne room." she said taking the opportunity to make more of an explanation. "You simply must evoke the magic circle and it will grow to accommodate the size of the sacrifice. There after the visitor from the other side will appear and you'll negotiate your terms from there." she said with a swift bow. "Uh... really? That was fast." she said before aiming her attention elsewhere. To someone she felt like part of her shadow looming over her. "You're in luck... you won't have to stare at me from so close for much longer... I'll be able to let you claim this face once I'm done with this... and then we can make another deal." she mentioned. She had no real intention of letting the person she was speaking to go. It was far too useful to have such a killer on hand. Having two at her disposal now would make her life much easier... how could she resist.

With Izou gone, there was but a single male figure in Kolin's presence. This one was always around, and only drew closer and closer with every speck of negative karma added to Kolin's visage in his eyes. What was this? After an exchange with her little slave of a nun, Kolin spoke words not meant for the other woman in the room. Those words were for none other than Charles-Henri Sanson, and he knew it. Charles' visage showed nothing short of a grimace as he appeared in a wisp-like shadow, his blade nowhere in sight. This woman truly was a moron. Did she think she could simply be done with this body, and move on to the next after sacrificing it? Not after all she'd done to muck up the situation. "Non," he said in a foul tone. "I cannot claim this life. The world does not want the death of the other life you hold." That was all. Just as Charles had a sense for viable execution targets, he had a sense for those he should spare of execution. Kolin may have currently been the biggest target the World's Guillotine could ever hope for, but attached to her was something else─ something gray instead of black. To eliminate that gray would place a stain upon his own identity, removing his ability to act as the world's executioner... and making him the prime target of the next one holding that title. That simply wouldn't do.