Chapter 76: 17.2 The Airsoft Thunder Dome
"Welcome to the Thunder Dome" Jamie announced as they got out of the car and onto the still damp pavement.
Ezraphel tilted her head "Thunder Dome?"
At her question Jamie looked to Stan "how has she not watch Mad Max by now?"
"She doesn't like violent movies" Stan sighed before turning to her "and it's okay Ez you don't need to get the reference just think of it as like a gladiatorial arena."
Ezraphel gave the building a once over "it doesn't look like much."
Kendall raised an eyebrow "what were you expecting?"
"Something more?" Ezraphel shrugged
"It doesn't have to look grandiose or anything" Stanley defended "people don't really care too much about how it looks so long as it functions."
Kendall scoffed "speak for yourself. I like my airsoft fields up to code and with guaranteed safety."
"The point is it doesn't matter what it looks like on the outside, it's the inside that counts."
"Yeah Ez, you of all people should know that given who you're currently dating."
Before Stanley could give a scathing retort Ezraphel surprised him by beating him to it "I have no idea how that would apply Kendrick, my Stanley is great on both the inside and outside."
"…" Kendrick stared at her for a moment before looking to the others.
The rest of his friends could only shrug to that with Amelia commenting "told you."
"Wow, um okay" and with that everyone now had their weapons and gear in hand sans the carrying cases.
"Let's just go" Stanley groaned and as they walked he turned to Ezraphel and reiterate "it looks better inside."
This turned out to be true as compared to the drab exterior they entered the staging area was a spacious one painted a bright green with long bench tables. The walls were covered with airsoft memorabilia, there was a TV playing YouTube airsoft videos, two vending machines for drinks and snacks were in the corner next to the bathrooms and in the far back directly across from the entrance was the reception area which was barred with an iron cage and doubled as a place to sell the rental equipment they put up on display.
Despite the terrible weather that plagued most of yesterday and earlier today there were a number of people already present. From the way how they were bunched together it was clear that they came in groups. Despite this it was a bit of organized chaos with most tinkering with their weapons and gear while engaging in conversations. One was by the vending machines, a trio was by the reception area with one of them dealing with the man behind it while the other two were talking animatedly while admiring the weapons on display.
Ezraphel followed along as they made their way deeper into the staging area in search of a spot to set up "is it always so full?"
"For every time we played here more or less" her Stanley replied.
"You'd think the rain would have some affect on the turnout" Kendall commented resting her carrying case on the table.
"Then you'd be the only one to think that" Stanley replied.
"Word" Kendrick added.
"I'll check us in" Liam spoke and in turn they others handed him their IDs.
"I'm coming with" Amelia announced immediately dropping her weapon to do just that.
"Um, okay" he replied whilst giving his significant other a weird look but only for a moment.
As they left Amelia turned back to give her a thumbs which Ezraphel returned enthusiastically while ignoring the looks given to her by the others.
Her Stanley gave her a deadpan stare "I'm not sure I approve of your relationship with Amelia."
"Well Stanley we are both grown women who can make our own decisions" she replied primly before taking a seat at the bench with her back to the table.
In response he grumbled before ignoring her to check over his gear with the others following suit. Whilst they were occupied with this Ezraphel chose to cast her gaze across the room and the people in it. Almost immediately she was hit with the intermitted gazes of every man and woman in the room. Not that she blamed them after all she was the only person in the room not wearing any kind of airsoft gear or carrying a weapon.
Or it could also be because she is a very tall, very curvy, very beutiful and very well endowed woman wearing tight jeans, a tank top that seemed more like a sexy sports bra and a jacket halfway zipped up leaving it a mystery as to whether or not it was a deliberate fashion choice. As she casually leaned back with her elbows on the table and crossing one long leg over the other she was very aware that her display aided in emphasizing her chest as well give a view to her thong straps peeking out the sides of her jeans.
Ezraphel ignored the poorly hidden lustful stares as she evaluated the room, the people and the situation finding her feeling on the whole ordeal to be…whelmed. It was as her Stanley stated the interior looked much better and livelier than the exterior but at the same time she found the whole airsoft aesthetic to be rather gauche and the people to be uninteresting in the ways most mundane humans tend to be especially when faced with her kind.
At least her current form didn't evoke the same response her true form did. The whole room didn't stop to prostrate themselves before her but they did stare, some more than others. At least most of them tried to hide their ogling but there was not a single person outside their group whose gaze didn't linger on her form. There was a general slowdown in the previous activities as the men and women attempted to reconcile her presence, ogle her body or gossip. Ezraphel heard all of it, felt all of it as well and while the combined lustful stares and perverted thoughts of two dozen men and women didn't faze her, like at all, she was hardly impressed either.
'Pathetic' she thought with some unexpected harshness.
"Are you okay?"
Her Stanley's voice interrupted her thoughts, he as staring at her with mild concern.
"I am fine Stanley" she replied pleasantly.
"You sure? Because I get the feeling you're pissed about something" and at this he gaze a fierce glare to the nearby men "like a bunch of fucking assholes not minding their own goddamn business!"
Ezraphel felt mana leak through his intent to convey his thoughts setting off several self preservation instincts and causing the men close by to snap their gaze away from them. The territorial display made a smile pull at her lips, her heart skipped a beat, she felt a swell of adoration and a pleasant tingle run through her body.
"I don't mind them" she admitted.
"I know you don't and that's the problem" he scowled before sitting beside her "but that's not what's got you so uptight right now."
"I am not uptight" she huffed folding her arms under her chest incidentally emphasizing them even more.
He gave another glare to potential gawkers before addressing his girlfriend "Ez, what are you doing?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know I don't mind that you don't like airsoft right? You didn't have to come here."
Ezraphel pursed her lips "but I want to be here."
"No you don't" he retorted with a scoff "I think you think you have an obligation to be here because of me. Am I wrong?"
"…"
He wasn't.
Ezraphel didn't need their bond to know that airsoft meant more to him beyond a hobby he indulged in. She has never seen or felt her Stanley so excited about something beyond his videogames or herself. It was a different kind of excitement that was oddly refreshing and because of this it made Ezraphel want to at least give airsoft a fair chance. It was her hope that witnessing him partaking in it firsthand would rouse her interest.
'And if not…'
Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand touch her leg "look I appreciate the uh, support but clearly this is making you uncomfortable and the fact that I noticed this off rip should say a lot."
"Does it really? You are surprisingly perceptive Stanley" she mused.
Stanley glared at her for a moment before sighing internally 'I'm just going to take the compliment.'
"So are you still sticking around?"
"Well it's a bit too late to change my mind" she commented "and besides I mostly came here to watch you and the others anyway."
"They don't have an area for spectators Ez" he deadpanned "you're stuck waiting here for the next two hours."
He was saying that for the eavesdroppers since he knew there was nothing that could prevent her from watching him. If she was being honest however Ezraphel feared she wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind to be enjoying things at the moment.
"We're in" announced Liam as he returned with Amelia practically hanging off his shoulder.
Their return caused the disguised Lilim to acknowledge the other reason why she chose to accompany them. Ezraphel was very aware she was playing a very dangerous yet calculated game with Amelia and should her Stanley find out it would cause some not-so-easily reparable damage to their relationship. He may never fully trust her again yet she was still willing to take the gamble, her instincts told her it was worth the risk.
Amelia was the perfect human to undergo monsterization and Ezraphel had no doubts that the woman would make an absolutely splendid Mamono. She wouldn't have been able to explain this to her Stanley even if she wanted to. Despite becoming an Incubus and receiving the glorious benefits the transformation afforded him Stanley's view on monsterization and corruption in general was largely the same as almost every human she's ever met. Admirable that he was able to keep such reasoning after his transformation through what she could tell wasn't just bullheaded stubbornness but frustrating all the same.
She understood why he felt this way, really she did and to his credit his aversion towards the subject only went as far as the question of consent. If someone agreed to be turned into a mamono or incubus without there being foul play then her Stanley would hardly care about them so long as they did not cause problems for either of them in the future.
In Amelia's case Ezraphel looked into her heart and saw the woman for who she was at her core. All her feelings of insecurity, self doubt and constraints she placed upon herself to fit in with society created a burden that weighed down on her even when she wasn't actively thinking of them. She knew that such a mindset would inevitably affect her negatively in the future and when that inevitably happens Ezraphel wasn't sure Amelia's relationship with Liam would survive the fallout.
They've only known each other for a day but Ezraphel would call Amelia a friend and she was not the kind of person to leave a friend in the lurch. To that end and to ensure that no foul play occurs Ezraphel wasn't just monitoring Amelia's physical transition as there were psychological effects of monsterization that often results in a radical shift in personality. It was to the point that the individual seemed like a completely different person as a mamono from what they were as a human.
There is a misconception that this personality shift is the result of brainwashing or soul suppression. Ezraphel scoffed at the notion and it says something about humanity that in seeing someone truly happy for the first time would cause them to have such thoughts. Though in their defense it would be jarring to see someone they've known for a long time act in completely contrast to their personality so suddenly especially after undergoing a transformation they think to be 'evil.'
It also doesn't help that mamono encourage this kind of unrestrained behavior since it falls in line with their ideals of freedom. Fun fact: humans monsterized outside of another mamono's influence or isolated from other mamono act in a different manner than those who do for the simple fact that they do retain and eventually exhibit some of their past personality traits after the initial euphoria of their transformation wears off.
Explaining this to her Stanley after revealing her gambit prematurely would be useless. He would be too blinded by his anger to see what she was trying to accomplish. She could only do it after her success in aiding Amelia's transition into a mamono and hopefully he sees for himself that her transformation did not overwrite her human personality. Thankfully the task was made easier due to the overall lack of mana present in the environment. It ensured that the Lilim didn't have any interference in manipulating the Demonic Energy within Amelia's body.
And speaking of which…
'Her mana core is still in the development stage.'
With the lack of mana present in them it brought into question whether or into earth humans even had mana cores. Of course being that mana cores are a quintessential part of every sentient being earth humans did in fact have them. After all if they didn't she wouldn't have been able to subsist on her Stanley's spirit energy before he became an incubus. She found that earth human mana cores were 'dormant' for lack of a better term leaving them virtually invisible to even her senses.
"Hey."
A nudge and Stanley's voice interrupted her thoughts "yes?"
"We're leaving now" he said and she saw that the people in the room were indeed getting ready to leave "you gonna be alright by yourself?"
Ezraphel tapped finger to her chin in thought before getting to her full height towering over the shorter man while peering down at him.
Stanley could only look up at her in question "what?"
Then before he could react she pulled down his face mask and gave him a searing kiss that simultaneously broke the hearts and confidence of more than a few men in the room as well as earn their envy and respect.
After a full minute she separated "to answer your question yes I will be fine" then she pecked him on the cheek "that was for good luck."
"Uh-huh" Stanley said dumbly.
That was Kendall's cue to come up and drag him away "come on lover boy."
Jamie stood beside Ezraphel shaking his head at what he just witnessed "I think you just ignited the fury of a dozen nerds with that stunt."
"Stanley will be fine."
"Who's worried about him?" he muttered while walking away.
Weekly Power Status
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Ranking 
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