ã€ŠMisadventures of a Rampaging Demonã€‹


 1 - Experiment: 049

    Inside the dark musty chamber, hidden behind a maze of piled books and scrolls, Senior Demonologist Winston sat at his desk. He wore a confident smirk. He was proud of his work, even if it was a state secret he wasn¡¯t allowed to boast about yet.

    Experiment 49 would be fully grown and ready for testing today. Winston was just double checking his notes. It might have been secret research, but it was still research. It was important to keep detailed and accurate records.

    <blockquote>

    Experiment: 049

    Body Desc: Feminine Humanoid. Pale white skin. Black Hair. Visible Demonic Traits.

    Demon Seed: Human Infant (Envy-Spite Orthodox sacrificial ritual)

    Essence Mixture:

    42% - Lust Demon #2: ¡°Miss Nixie¡± (Greater Succubus)

    Primary Contributor. Humanoid body shape, outward physical appearance, sexual anatomy.

    41% - Wrath Demon #1: ¡°Z¡¯Kraugh¡± (Archfiend)

    Secondary Contributor. Claws, horns, skeletal structure, muscular structure, battle-optimized internal anatomy.

    11% - Gluttony Demon #3: <No name given> (Fleshmaw)

    Minor Contributor. Regeneration, biomass accumulation via reinforcement of muscle/bone density, digestive system.

    6% - Sloth Demon #1: <No name given> (Silent Witness of Blasphemy)

    Minor Contributor. Patience, intelligence, instinct suppression, physical senses, magical senses.

    </blockquote>

    Yep, that looked right. Winston put away the research notes and got to his feet. He squeezed his way out of the room, being careful not to knock over any of the perilously teetering stacks of clutter. He was going to have to summon some more imps to clean the room for him again soon. He could get his succubus to do it of course, but she was a greater succubus, even if she was technically under the effects of a magical geas, Winston didn¡¯t want to test the limits of that control by giving her a boring task. The stronger the demon, the more difficult it was to dominate.

    Winston emerged from his office and started descending the spiralling stairs that lined the outside of the remote, Mirrorlake Facility mage¡¯s tower. After descending a few floors, past a kitchen, guard barracks, and entrance hall, the windows disappeared, and Winston knew he was underground.

    He descended into the earth and eventually reached a large circular chamber, mirroring the round footprint of the tower above. The simple stone-walled chamber had a single pair of heavy, reinforced metal doors, leading to the next room. They were absolutely glittering with protective wards and enchantments. Four men stood at attention near the doors, waiting for him to arrive.

    Safety was always a priority, and when one had this many greater demons gathered in one place, precautions had to be made. The four men wore full suits of enchanted armor. The white enameled, and gold embellished steel plates covered every inch of exposed skin. The men all used different weapons, according to their own personal preference, but each weapon shone with the golden light of a Demonbane enchantment.

    Inquisitors. Holy Knights of Judicast specialized in demon eradication. Four of them were down here, and four more were on standby upstairs. It might have seemed like overkill to have this many Inquisitors ready to jump into action, but Winston knew what lay beyond those doors was not to be taken lightly.

    Someone else was waiting for him too.

    ¡°G-good morning, m-master,¡± came the shy stuttering voice of a blushing young maiden.

    Today, Miss Nixie decided to look like a human, a young blonde mage apprentice with an innocent face. She was a budding flower on the cusp of womanhood, pure and untouched, but extremely vulnerable to the charms of older men. Her cheeks blushed pink and she stared down at her toes, too shy to look directly into Winston¡¯s eyes. She stood awkwardly and fidgeted, like she was trying to work up the nerve to finally confess her feelings to someone special. She also seemed to not be wearing anything underneath her robes. While working, Winston preferred to treat his assistant with the professional dignity that the extremely intelligent and capable woman deserved. He did occasionally ¡°feed¡± the succubus in private, but he otherwise kept his hands to himself. Still, she seemed to enjoy testing his willpower.

    Now that Winston was here, it was time to start. One of the knights unlocked the doors and pulled them open with a heavy, metallic creak. The Senior Demonologist and his demon entered the room.

    The containment chamber had been specifically built for its task. The room was circular, but massive in size, with a high domed roof to support the weight of the earth above it. There was space to move around on the outside of the room, but a circular area in the center of the room was cordoned off by a transparent shimmering magical barrier, meant to hold the subject of the experiment.

    Five secondary chambers lined the walls, sealed off by more heavy enchanted doors. The secondary chambers were a bit smaller but were built with a similar configuration. They also had magical barriers inside them. These chambers were built to hold up to five contributor-demons, the living sources of demonic essence that provided the raw materials to produce the experimental specimens. The specimen in question, number 49, was the focus of Winston¡¯s attention, currently contained within the main chamber¡¯s magical barrier.

    Most of experimental specimen 49 looked like a young lady, as pretty as one would expect for someone who was almost half succubus. Her crimson eyes were large and youthful. Her naked body looked slender and toned, with small breasts and subtle curves. Her powerful muscles looked dense and wiry, but not especially bulky.

    Her ¡°cute¡± appearance was likely the result of Miss Nixie¡¯s essence. The greater succubus was centuries old but had a strong preference for shifting herself into youthful looking bodies. Winston had some conflicting feelings as he looked over 49¡¯s body. This was meant to be a living weapon, but she had a very charming appearance, Winston was almost tempted to try out her succubus side. She had the right equipment between her legs, it was possible in theory. Wait¡­ was Miss Nixie flooding the room with pheromones again? Oh well, it didn¡¯t matter. Those awkward feelings faded away once Winston saw the claws.

    Her long fingers ended in vicious claws. These were natural weapons and they were scary rather than sexy. There was a smooth transition that made it hard to tell where exactly her pale white skin ended, and the hard black keratin began. These were no mere human fingernails, they were long thick spikes. The clawed hand was almost a foot long from wrist to tip. It looked perfectly designed for ripping and tearing flesh, the sharp claw tips could probably puncture through armor if enough force was applied.

    Her horns were made from the same black, bonelike material as her claws. They sprouted from the sides of her head, curled around, and swept backwards, ending in a pair of sharp points. While they were sturdy and sharp enough to impale someone, their backward-facing angle made them impractical as weapons. Among demons, horns like these would be mostly ornamental in purpose, a symbol of status and power, like a natural crown.

    Winston knew that underneath her skin, her body had little in common with Succubi or humans. She was a miniature Archfiend on the inside. Her whole skeleton was made of demonically infused bone, as black as her horns. These bones weren¡¯t porous, they were dense, heavy, and slightly flexible, capable of absorbing heavy impacts without fracturing. Her muscle structure was mostly humanlike, though the muscle fibres themselves were stronger and harder to cut through.

    Her internal anatomy was also optimized for battle. Instead of a rib cage, her vital organs were protected by solid plates of interlocking bone, like a natural suit of armor underneath her skin. She had two hearts, in case one of them was damaged. The bones on her limbs were extra thick, and harder to break. Her joints and spine had a lot of extra reinforcement as well, able to withstand enormous forces. Thanks to that, she was easily twice the weight of a human woman her size.

    Winston noticed the demon girl was awake. Interestingly, she wasn¡¯t running around, screaming and smashing herself against the barrier like the others. Instead, she was calmly looking around, poking at the barrier, and carefully watching the room¡¯s other occupants.

    Sharing the containment cell with the monster, was another research subject, partitioned off from the demon by a smaller magical barrier that cut the cell in half. He was blindfolded and kneeling on the ground with his arms shackled behind his back. This was a recently captured spy that was snooping around the outside of the well-hidden mage tower, and experimental specimen 49 would be helping the Imperial army execute him.

    ¡°Ok, I think we¡¯re ready to start.¡± Winston raised an arm and felt a magical incantation flow through his mind. The magical energy inside his body, his mana, formed into the shape of the spell he wanted to cast. The inner barrier, separating the monster from the man, flickered and vanished.

    Winston was pleased to see that she didn¡¯t immediately charge towards the man and tear him apart. She looked around the room cautiously, glancing at the other humans outside the barrier with suspicion. After a brief pause, she crept up to her victim, circling around slowly like a predatory cat. Perfect! She expected a trap. She was capable of showing caution and tactical thinking. Unlike the last specimen, this one was calm and rational, in perfect control of herself.

    ¡°Hello? is anyone there?¡± asked the blindfolded spy as the monster crept closer.

    The demon girl had no answer, she was physically and mentally mature by human standards, but she was still a newly born monster, ignorant of this world. She probably didn¡¯t understand what the noises he made meant. She squatted down next to him, reached up a clawed hand, and poked the man in the cheek. He let out a girly shriek of surprise.

    ¡°W-who are you? What¡¯s going on?¡± the terrified spy asked. Again, there was no answer.

    When she pulled her finger back, there was blood on the claw tip. Overcome by curiosity, she tentatively licked the claw. Her eyes lit up with joy as she tasted human blood for the first time. She smiled and looked back at the hole she made in the man¡¯s cheek. A small trace of blood was dripping down the trembling man¡¯s face. She licked her lips.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Winston commented, ¡°Too much gluttony? We don¡¯t want it to be stronger than wrath. Did we suppress her battle instincts too much?¡±

    ¡°She just woke up, maybe she¡¯s hungry,¡± the succubus replied, dropping the shy maiden act for now.

    49 moved in closer to the bound spy, literally breathing down his neck. She carefully wrapped her sharpened fingers around his throat. The man froze in terror when he felt the vicious spikes pressing against him. Gently, she used her new handhold to pull the man¡¯s face towards her mouth and licked the blood directly off his cheek.

    ¡°W-what are you doing?¡± asked the spy who was now equal parts confused and terrified.

    The demon girl removed her hand from his throat. She placed her palm against his chest and pushed. The man tipped backwards, and her clawed hand followed him down. With the man laying on his back, she climbed on top of him, straddling his hips.

    ¡°Oh, she¡¯s horny.¡± said Miss Nixie, wiggling her eyebrows at her master, ¡°What a good girl, she takes after her mother.¡±

    Winston watched the scene with disapproval, ¡°We might need to use less of your essence in the next mixture.¡±

    ¡°Pssh!¡± replied the succubus with a dismissive wave, ¡°Nothing wrong with a healthy libido. Just so you know, it¡¯s not necessarily my fault, just ask your Archfiend. Some of them have a very literal lust for battle. If a fight is exciting enough, then it can often degenerate into good old fashioned murderfucking instead.¡±

    Winston declined to comment on this troubling new insight into demon culture and focused on the experiment.

    49 defied expectations again because murderfucking did not occur. Instead, the demon-hybrid leaned forward, laid her head down, and gently nestled herself into his chest, using him as a living pillow. She sighed contentedly, closed her eyes, and seemed to fall asleep while innocently cuddling her victim.

    ¡°Sloth¡­¡± the succubus crinkled her nose in disgust, ¡°how boring.¡±

    ¡°This is¡­ an unexpected result,¡± Winston remarked.

    It was another failure, but at least this was at least a step in the right direction. It was a new behaviour. The other specimens either killed themselves immediately, failed to move or react, or ended up as mindless snarling murder machines. This one seemed to be aware, and mostly sane, but she was apparently a sleepy pacifist. That wasn¡¯t necessarily a desirable trait for a living weapon to have. Perhaps the newly added essence of the Sloth Demon had a stronger effect on her nature than he anticipated.

    ¡°We¡¯re on to something, we only need to adjust the ratios. Experiment 50 should have less witness and succubus, and more archfiend,¡± said Winston, looking down at the cuddly monster, ¡°I think we¡¯re done with this one. I¡¯ll start work on the next demon seed. Hopefully it won¡¯t take the teams very long to find another donor.¡±

    ¡°What should we do with 49?¡± asked Miss Nikki, ¡°want to keep her as a bed warmer?¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Winston chuckled, ¡°Surely you jest, she¡¯s still dangerous. We can¡¯t let something like that wander around unbound.¡±

    Winston snapped his fingers and pointed towards the nearest Inquisitor, ¡°We¡¯re done with this one, dispose of it for us please.¡±

    Disposing of the specimens safely would normally be hazardous, but that was why the Inquisitors were here. It was time for them to do what they do best.

    <hr>

    Warm. Cozy. She liked this human. His blood was delicious, and he smelled good.

    So far, being alive was strange. When she woke up, she was very confused. She wondered who she was, why she was and where she was. The first question was easy, she was herself. The second question was too difficult to even begin to answer. The third question seemed a lot more practical, but unfortunately, that answer eluded her too. She decided not to think about it for now, she couldn¡¯t get past the shiny see-through walls anyway.

    The man she was relaxing on made her feel strange. She had the urge to kill him, grind her crotch against his body, and eat him, though she couldn¡¯t decide in what order she wanted to do those things. While pondering that question, she discovered that he was warm and soft. One thing led to another, and now here she was, with her other urges forgotten.

    The man¡¯s heart was beating very fast, and she could smell the fear on his sweat. What was he afraid of? Perhaps he was scared of all the strange people watching them from the other side of the see-through walls. They certainly made her feel a bit nervous.

    With a faint crackle, the see-through walls disappeared. Another man, one wearing armor, started walking towards her. In his hand was a large piece of wood with metal on the end, a two handed mace. The head of the mace glowed with a disgusting golden light that made her feel sick to be near. Her instincts told her to get as far away from that light as she could. She looked up at him from her position on top of the comfortable man as the new man swung the enormous mace down towards her head.

    Instinct took over. Claws dug into stone. No mace struck her head, but there was still a wet crunching sound when the mace found an alternative target.

    The demoness picked herself up and looked at the comfortable man¡¯s destroyed chest. As he gurgled his last breath, the monster girl glared at the armored man with outrage. Not only had he tried to kill her, but he also destroyed her possession. The comfortable man belonged to her and now he was broken! He didn¡¯t look so comfortable anymore.

    Sure, eating the corpse was still an option, but she hadn¡¯t decided if she wanted to do that yet. What if she wanted him to stay alive for a while? What if she wanted the pleasure of killing him herself? Oh well, she¡¯d get to kill this new man instead. Then she¡¯d get two snacks today.

    The man swung the mace at her again. She reached out to catch it but remembered the light. She quickly dodged backwards instead. The wind tickled her nose as the mace whiffed by her head at a lethal speed.

    The man stepped forward and twisted the mace¡¯s momentum into a followup strike. She considered her options. Kill him with claws? Difficult. The man had armor to protect his flesh. What about crushing? Yes, crushing.

    The next powerful strike swung around to hit her from the side. She stepped towards the man, slithering under his armpit and getting close enough to press her body against his chest. The dangerously glowing mace head only managed to whiff through the air behind her back.

    She thrust her clawed hand into his chest as hard as she could, but it didn¡¯t manage to pierce the armor completely. Her claw stopped halfway into the steel plate, only piercing into the armor¡¯s padding.

    She squeezed her hand, grabbing a handful of metal, and hoisted the man up and over her shoulder, before she twisted herself downwards, dragging the upside down human with her. The man¡¯s helmet impacted against the stone floor with monstrous force. The helmet dented inwards and the armored man¡¯s body went limp.

    The demon girl let go of her grip and turned just in time to see a glowing sword swinging towards her neck. She tucked her head and dove forwards into a roll. Midway through the roll, she felt an explosion of pain from her outer thigh, quickly spreading out to envelop and overwhelm her entire body. Her muscles all spasmed and twitched, refusing to obey her mind. It wasn¡¯t just her leg, it felt like her entire body was being torn apart and burnt away. A pained howl of outrage tore its way from her throat. Her forward roll turned into an awkward flop, and she came to rest flat on her back with her eyes watering.

    Through blurry eyes, she saw another shining golden sword swinging down on her. She rolled to the side, cleanly dodging the blade this time, and climbed onto her wobbling feet. The all-encompassing agony was over, but her injured leg continued to twitch, still refusing to fully obey her brain. Some part of that weapon¡¯s sickening magic was still there, lingering inside the cauterized gash the weapon left behind.

    The demon saw one man charging towards her from the side, and two more charging towards her from the front. Her own black blood was still visible on one of their swords, hissing and slowly burning away. She decided to kill that human first, he needed to suffer for what he did.

    The demon growled and lunged at the armored man. She reached out with her claws, aiming for the eye slits in his helmet. The man reacted quickly. He stepped to the side and parried her attack, bringing his sword down on her outstretched arm.

    She screamed as the pain overwhelmed her again. Her muscles locked up mid-step, and she fell forward onto her stomach. She slashed helplessly against an armored boot with her one remining claw. Her other arm was gone, completely severed at the elbow. The fury started to diminish, and despair creptinto her mind. These humans were strong. She might have been able to win if there was only one of them, maybe two, but three humans were too many. This wasn¡¯t fair! Was she going to die already?

    Pain burnt through her again, centered on her lower back. The scream was quieter this time. It hurt just as much as before, but she was starting to feel tired. The glowing sword had pierced her from behind, through the spine, and pinned her to the floor. She couldn¡¯t feel her legs. There was no running away. She couldn¡¯t fight anymore. This was it.

    A sudden roar echoed through the chamber. It was deep enough and loud enough for the demoness to feel the vibration in her chest. The humans stepped back in shock, and the demoness smiled. This roar was savage and primal, it felt like unrestrained rage and wanton bloodlust. She had no idea what was going on, but she was absolutely certain that all of these stupid humans were about to die. She felt a powerful magical aura. It was strong enough that it almost felt physical, like a tangible pressure radiating out from behind one of the doors to the secondary cells.

    ¡°You called for the mightiest of my kind¡­¡± came a rumbling voice.

    The demoness blinked in surprise. The men had been making strange noises, but she finally realized that they must have been communicating with sound. The human language still sounded like a bunch of random nonsense to her, but she understood this other language perfectly.

    ¡°You confined me in here for months¡­¡± the voice continued.

    The demon looked around, all but one of the humans had fallen to their knees. The voice seemed to be too loud for their ears.

    ¡°You give me nothing to kill and yet now I hear the enticing sounds of battle outside my door. I shall not sit idle any longer. Your time is up. I am bored.¡±

    The voice stopped, and the humans slowly recovered, wobbling to their feet. The demoness started to feel the air around her heat up. The human with blue robes and long blonde hair quietly stepped away from the others, crouching down against the wall on the opposite side of the room. It hid behind a stack of boxes, covered its head, and became invisible. The other humans didn¡¯t seem to notice, they were focused on watching the metal door, and the small spot of red glow that was spreading across its surface.

    The other robed human, the one with black robes that hadn¡¯t hidden himself, screamed out something in human-language. The armored men immediately forgot about the crippled demon girl, and gathered around the glowing door, bracing themselves with their weapons readied. Sparks of magic shimmered from their fingertips as they prepared.

    The door suddenly burst apart. Molten metal splattered across the stone floor, and a wall of searing hellfire exploded out into the room. Two of the armored men stood inside bubbles of golden energy that kept the flames from reaching their bodies. The third man was too slow, he screamed and writhed on the ground as smoke poured out from the eye slits on his helmet. The human in the black robes had a similar barrier to the knights, but his shone with an orange light instead.

    The demoness had no magic barrier, but she felt pleasantly warm as the flames licked against her body. This demonic fire didn¡¯t burn like the golden weapons had, it felt nice and soothing.

    The stone frame where the molten door once stood buckled outwards, and a titanic demon wreathed in a torrent of flame crawled through the crumbling wall. He was big. Even hunched over like this, the titan still towered above the humans. The ceiling wasn¡¯t tall enough for him to stand. Even in the center of the massive domed room, the colossal demon would still need to slouch to avoid scraping his horns across the ceiling.

    The demoness did not feel afraid of this roaring titan. He felt familiar to her in a strange, intangible way. He also felt familiar in a more obvious way. Black horns sprouted from the sides of his head, and swept backwards into a pair of sharpened points, his fingertips ended in savage black spikes, perfect for tearing humans apart. The rest of the titan looked quite different from her: bestial, muscular, and covered in ridges of black bone that formed natural plated armor. The horns and claws, however, were just like the demon girl¡¯s own. They were completely identical, in fact, just scaled up to match the titan¡¯s enormous proportions.

    The two surviving armored men swung their glowing weapons at the monster, but before they reached him, they were both swatted away with a single sweep of the titan¡¯s claw. The two men flew over the demon girl, landing on the other side of the room before they rolled to a stop.

    The demon girl, forgotten in the chaos, looked at the dead, and lightly cooked body of the comfortable man. She was suddenly desperately hungry, she couldn¡¯t wait until later, she had to eat now. Dragging herself across the floor using her single remaining functional limb, she made her way over to the body. She climbed on top of the comfortable man once again and sunk her teeth into his flesh. After the first bite, the pain slowly started to fade away.

    The man in the black robes was now the only human standing next to the titan. A swirl of magical energy flowed around him in intricate patterns and a set of translucent shackles, formed out of crackling purple energy, pinned the titan¡¯s claws to the ground. He roared again, outraged by the interruption.

    Only one of the two armored men that were flung away stood up. The other one lost his barrier and was currently on fire. The surviving man¡¯s arm, where the titan had stuck him, was twisted the wrong way. The man tore off the bent armor plates, revealing a spear of shattered bone jutting out from the arm. Bright golden light enveloped his body, and the shattered arm mended itself. The bone slid inside the flesh, and the arm shifted back into a healthy looking position. The wound closed, not even leaving a scar behind. The freshly healed man raised his glowing sword and charged towards the titan again, completely ignoring the smaller demon that was quietly chomping away on a dead body, trying to stay out of the fight.

    Bite after bite of human meat disappeared down the demon girl¡¯s throat, and she was starting to feel a little bit better. A sudden shiver tickled the back of her skull, and she felt a strange popping sensation where her spine had been severed before. Her entire lower body twitched and everything below her navel started tingling. She looked down and wiggled her toes triumphantly. Her legs were back! She glanced towards her missing arm and saw that a shard of bone, wrapped in muscle, was slowly knitting itself together, growing out of the stump. The demoness grinned and continued eating with renewed enthusiasm.

    On the other side of the room, the battle continued. The titan grinned at the black robed man and strained against the magical shackles. The spell quickly shattered, and the titan charged towards the mage. The mage reached up a hand, and a blindingly bright bolt of green lightning struck the titan with a loud crack. The titan ignored the attack, it only managed to leave behind a small singe mark on its skin. The man, still catching his breath after casting the spell, looked on in horror as a giant claw slammed down from above, crushing him into the ground.

    A glowing sword stabbed into the titan¡¯s side, and the titan¡¯s eye twitched with annoyance. His attention turned to the opportunistic attacker.

    ¡°Annoying,¡± he grumbled. A claw wrapped around the armored man, and the titan squeezed until the man popped.

    The titan reclined back onto his haunches and the swirling maelstrom of fire dispersed. The room slowly started to cool. He pinched the glowing sword between two claws and pulled it out of his side. He casually flung it across the room, and it embedded itself, handle first, in the wall. The demoness continued to eat the body; she was over half finished at this point. The titan looked at the demoness, the only other inhabitant of the room that was still moving.

    ¡°Such a pitiful creature,¡± he grumbled, ¡°How could my powerful essence create such a weak little thing?¡±

    The demon girl supposed he was right. She¡¯d only managed to kill one armored man, while he killed three of them, and one black robe man too. She had no idea what to say to him about that though.

    ¡°Did you even fight? Or were you just going to let them kill you?¡± the titan grumbled.

    ¡°Killed one,¡± she said. Gesturing to the corpse of the mace wielder.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± the titan looked at the dead body appraisingly, ¡°perhaps you¡¯re not completely useless.¡± His gaze fell on the demon girl¡¯s arm, almost fully regrown, ¡°and I see you inherited that ugly flesh sack¡¯s regenerative abilities too.¡±

    The titan leaned back and ran his claws through his wiry beard, taking his time to think, ¡°I¡¯ll admit these humans are stronger than average. I doubt Nixxildraz over there would have fared any better against them than you.¡±

    The titan¡¯s eyes seemed to focus on an empty patch of floor. The demon girl turned to look too. The empty patch of floor coughed nervously, ¡°A fair fight in a confined space against four Inquisitors and a master demonologist? Yeah, no. Don¡¯t go pretending that¡¯s an easy battle to win.¡±

    The titan seemed to carefully consider the invisible probably-not-a-human¡¯s words. Finally, a sly smile crossed his lips, ¡°Do you have a name?¡± he asked the demon girl.

    She nervously shook her head, no.

    ¡°Good. I shall give you one. You are Lilizath VekxZ¡¯Kraugh!¡±

    Lilizath¡¯s eyes widened. Wow. She had a name. She didn¡¯t even realize she was missing one, but now that she had one, she felt like a person.

    ¡°It means, Lilizath, daughter of Z¡¯Kraugh,¡± the titan explained. ¡°You were created from the essences of multiple demons, including Nixxildraz and myself. You were not born, like humans are, but you were created from my essence. While you are a demon, you are also a creature of the mortal world, so I have given you a mortal¡¯s title. You are Daughter, I am Father.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Father,¡± said Lilizath, trying out the title.

    A tiny giggle escaped from the invisible demon in the corner.

    ¡°You carry my name, so your actions must bring me glory. You must go out into the world and slaughter your foes. Let all who witness your power know that you are the mighty daughter of Z¡¯Kraugh! You carry the essence of the Eternal Champion of the Endless Battlefield. I am the strongest Archfiend, undefeated by all challengers of the Abyss. You carry that name, and you must prove yourself worthy of it.¡±

    The large pair of steel doors at the side of the room seemed to open by themselves. ¡°I thought you were weird before, but you just keep getting weirder,¡± Nixxildraz muttered.

    ¡°Hey girl!¡± the invisible demon raised her voice, ¡°Some advice. Let the big guy go up first, there are another four stabby boys in the garrison up there and they also have Demonbane weapons, don¡¯t try to handle them yourself. Actually, don¡¯t fuck with Inquisitors in general, they¡¯re demon killers, and they¡¯re good at it. Oh, and don¡¯t listen to Z¡¯Kraugh too much, you¡¯re part succubus too. Take it from me as a fellow succubus, that thing between your legs is another kind of weapon. It can solve a lot of problems and open a lot of doors for you, so use it!¡±

    Lilizath, the newly named, nodded at the empty space where she assumed the succubus was standing. That last part didn¡¯t make much sense, she had no idea what the thing between her legs actually was, but it was too soft to be a good weapon and opening a door with it seemed like it would be unnecessarily difficult.

    The titan turned the Lilizath, ¡°We are both unbound now, we have no master to tell us what to do. That means we may do as we wish. I wish to kill mighty foes and slaughter those who dare stand before me, you might desire the same, but if you do, you must not follow me. If you stand in my shadow, you will not be seen. Go forth, fight your own battles, and earn your own glory.¡±

    The titan grinned, revealing his large fangs, and he charged out of the room. The titan reached the staircase landing and he smashed into the stone walls. His shoulders widened the passageway as he forced his way up the narrow stairs. Some small chunks of stone fell from the ceiling, but luckily, he didn¡¯t trigger a collapse. Lilizath watched him go, wondering if she¡¯d ever meet him again.

    She digested their words, as she digested her food. Neither of the other demons wanted to eat their kills, so there were still plenty of bodies down here. She took another bite of human flesh while she waited for the carnage upstairs to quiet down.

 2 - Walking Through The Woods

    As the sun slowly slipped down towards the horizon, the forest shadows grew long. As daylight dimmed and twilight approached, a pair of crimson eyes opened. A fearsome apex predator stirred from her slumber, ready to start the hunt again. Flakes of dried blood crumbled and fell off her shoulders as she flexed her claws and stretched her arms out lazily. The forest around her went eerily silent.

    A large, claw-sized black-shell-click, too stupid to know any better landed against a nearby tree. A burst of leaves and dirt were thrown into the air. A blur of white skin and black hair moved past the tree. Both the insect, and a splintered chunk of wood it was standing on vanished in an instant. Lilizath skidded to a stop a few feet away and swallowed her crunchy breakfast.

    The insect wasn¡¯t much, but it was a good start for the day. It had been 27 days since she emerged from the charred ruins of what was once a tower, and she was settling into a routine. Hunting, moving, and occasionally sleeping.

    She discovered sleeping four days after her escape. At the time, she didn¡¯t know why she felt so weak and exhausted, but she figured it out when she stumped upon a sleeping big-brown-growl-claw, resting in a cave. After she killed and ate it, she decided to try mimicking its behaviour, falling asleep in its former den. It worked amazingly well, and she felt much better afterwards.

    She enjoyed watching and learning about things as she ate them. As far as she could figure out, all her meals needed to eat and sleep regularly. She needed sleep, just like most of the things she ate, but they slept every night. She tried following their example, but it was hard to fall asleep, and she felt lethargic when she woke up. She settled into a routine of sleeping once every two days instead and that turned out to suit her physiology much better.

    Eating was different for her too. She¡¯d felt hungry after losing her arm, when she needed the energy to heal, but once she ate a few dozen meals in the wilderness, she didn¡¯t feel hungry anymore. She still found the act of eating to be pleasurable though. There was no such thing as too much food, and she didn¡¯t know when she was going to need the extra energy to regrow a missing limb or spine again. Her eating habits raised some serious questions though, specifically, she often wondered where all that food went.

    From what she understood of the world, the food had to go somewhere. That rule applied quite firmly to animals. With a bit of observation and her keen sense of smell, she quickly discovered the connection between animal food and animal poop. Apparently, that logic didn¡¯t apply to her. She had a butt, she checked very carefully, and she was absolutely sure it was there, but it was apparently just for show. The food went into her body, but nothing ever came out.

    She was starting to notice an interesting change in her body though, an unexpected side effect of eating two or three times her body weight on a daily basis. After 27 days of eating things, she was heavier than she was before. She wasn¡¯t sure at first, because it was hard to notice. Her body was exactly the same size, and she felt just as light as always, but by this point it was obvious that something was going on. Her footprints were noticeably deeper, sudden changes in direction while running tore up the ground more than it did before, and things she climbed on seemed a lot more fragile.

    At this point, despite her size, she was heavier and stronger than even the largest creatures she¡¯d encountered in the forest so far. Animal claws and fangs could still tear up her skin and draw blood, but they couldn¡¯t dig in as deeply as before. Her new denser muscles were very hard to pierce and chew through. She was mightier than before; Father would be proud if he knew.

    Lilizath decided to start walking again. Over the last 27 days, she¡¯d been following the sun during the day, and a specific group of stars during the night. They were her favorite ones, the ones that sparkled the most and felt the most beautiful to her. Her path probably wasn¡¯t a perfectly straight line, but it was mostly consistent, and she never passed by the same place twice. She was going somewhere¡­ she just hadn¡¯t arrived there yet.

    So far, it was just forest, forest, and more forest.

    Since leaving the recently destroyed tower, she¡¯d found nothing but empty wilderness. Nothing in this forest was as dangerous as those armored men. There were some predators of course, the big-grey-fur-growl-bites were the most dangerous creatures she¡¯d come across. They were big, Lilizath was only as tall as their shoulders, and they attacked in a large group while surrounding their prey. They also had a nasty habit of dragging her to the ground and tearing her face off if she wasn¡¯t careful around them. The first few days in the woods were nerve wracking, but now that she gained some extra mass and strength, even the big-grey-fur-growl-bites were easy to conquer. At this point, forest predators were simply meals that delivered themselves to her. She felt quite safe here.

    Safe, but bored.

    The gluttonous part of her was happy to eat and wander forever, but the rest of her was starting to feel somewhat unfulfilled by this feral lifestyle. The part of her that she had in common with Father screamed out for a challenge, something stronger than a mere animal to fight. The lazy part of her wanted her to stop wandering around so much and find somewhere cozy to rest.

    Another part of her wanted her to find humans, ones that smelled nice like that comfortable man from before, and¡­ cuddle with them? smell their hair? tear off their clothes and lick their abs? She didn¡¯t really know where these weird urges were coming from, none of them made any practical sense. Even so, it was a pretty strong craving, like being hungry, but not food-hungry. It likely had something to do with that squishy part between her legs that the succubus was talking about. It seemed to drool when she was hungry-but-not-food-hungry. She¡¯d have to capture a live human to experiment with at some point, if she ever found one.

    Lilizath heard an animal shuffling around nearby and chose to keep walking and ignore it. She was bored of just chasing and eating things. She had to hurry up and find humans as quickly as possible. There must be more of them somewhere. She needed to find strong and cunning humans to kill, and comfortable attractive humans to keep alive and lick or whatever. That was the only solution to her current malaise.

    The demoness let out a sigh, and quickly stepped to the side, to allow the black-fur-pounce-claw that tried to ambush her from behind to pass by her shoulder. She watched the pounce-claw land in front of her and turn around. It snarled at her. It was a little bit smaller than the orange pounce-claws, but a little bit better at hiding and ambushing. All pounce-claws regardless of color tasted good, so this interruption wasn¡¯t the worst thing ever, but she was still annoyed. She was busy moping about humans, and she didn¡¯t want another boring fight right now.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    The pounce-claw pounced again, and the demoness shifted a foot back to brace herself. She lazily reached out to the flying predator with an open hand and accepted the offered meal. If Lilizath was a human, the pounce-claw might have knocked her down with its weight, but the demon wasn¡¯t human. She barely moved as the creature impaled itself on her hand. Four clawed fingertips dug into the surprised animal¡¯s throat, and Lilizath closed her hand around the skull, twisted around, and casually flipped it over her shoulder, smashing it against the forest floor.

    Lilizath looked down at the corpse and frowned. It had a broken neck, but she didn¡¯t mange to cleanly rip this one¡¯s head off like she¡¯d been intending. She was still plenty strong, so this was a mental problem. This whole boredom thing must have been affecting her more than she realized. Her sour mood was starting to dull her vicious killing instincts.

    Devouring two hundred pounds of meat helped improve her mood at least.

    The sun finished setting and a well-fed Lilizath picked up the pace. Nighttime was the best time. She had perfect night vision. Everything was as clear in the dark as it was in the light. The only thing missing was color. Not even the black-fur-pounce-claws could boast the same. That, combined with her powerful sense of smell and sensitive hearing, meant that she could find unsuspecting snacks quite easily in the darkness.

    This time, she chose to ignore the snacks, and burst out into a full run. If she travelled far enough, she¡¯d find human-tracks eventually and they would probably be easy to follow. From what she remembered of the armored men, humans didn¡¯t seem like stealthy creatures.

    After four hours of crashing through the underbrush like a charging horns-impaler, she stopped to take a break and catch her breath. She found a fallen tree and took a seat. The rotten wood crumbled under her body weight, but it managed to support her once she let herself sink into the log a bit.

    She looked up at the night sky again, her favorite thing to look at. She could feel the scratches covering her legs and chest healing. By the time she saw the thorny bushes it was too late to stop, so she just charged through them. She had enough food energy to spare, healing a scratch or two wasn¡¯t even a noticeable inconvenience.

    Lilizath relaxed and watched the stars for a few more minutes. In the silence of the night, with nothing else to distract her, the demoness heard a faint sound.

    A scream. Terror and pain. That was a very human sound.

    The demon¡¯s eyes went wide, and she scrambled to her feet. The sound was quite a distance away, but it was unmistakeable. No animal sounded like that. She charged off into the underbrush again with a grin on her face.

    Bushes, brambles and even some smaller trees were smashed apart as Lilizath stampeded through the forest. The underbrush didn¡¯t even slow her down as she homed in towards the source of the sound in a perfectly straight line.

    It only took a few minutes of running at her full speed before she saw a tiny flickering fire in the distance. In the dark of night, the fire was like a shining beacon to the demon girl¡¯s sensitive eyes. Animals didn¡¯t use fire, so this was a human.

    It could be another demon too she supposed, her kind was fond of fire, but she couldn¡¯t feel any demonic magical auras nearby. The one and only magical aura she sensed was definitely not demonic in nature. It wasn¡¯t¡­ thirsty enough, and it was too¡­ honest? Magical auras were hard to describe with words.

    Lilizath could solve the magical mystery later. Fire was evidence of a human presence, that was all she needed to know. She charged towards the flickering firelight, only slowing down once she got closer.

    The screams were quite loud now. The screaming voice sounded more like Nixxildraz the succubus¡¯ voice than the voice of the humans she¡¯d encountered. There were deeper voices too, ones that sounded like she expected humans to sound like. These men were talking in their human nonsense language, but she could understand that they were laughing and enjoying themselves at the expense of their screaming victim.

    Lilizath smiled when she recognized what was happening. Sadism! Pleasure gained by inflicting pain on another. How demonic of them! This was apparently a trait these humans had in common with her kind. She still had to be cautious though. Just because they had some demonic traits didn¡¯t mean they would be friendly to their fellow monster. She didn¡¯t want to just stumble into a camp full of inquisitors and get cut apart with those horrible Demonbane weapons again.

    She crept towards the campsite, keeping herself light on her feet despite her weight. She was balancing on the balls of her feet, staying aware of leaves and twigs, keeping her body low to the ground and shrouded by shadow. It was just like stalking her unsuspecting prey before the kill, something she practiced quite a bit over the last few days. She crept up close enough to see.

    Yep, they were humans. Lilizath counted quickly. 12 humans, lightly armored with exposed faces and throats, various weapons at their hips, none of them glowing. Two victim-humans, bound with rope, tied to the side of a wooden¡­ thing with round things. A third victim was there, the screaming one, unbound but surrounded by the others. The victim was alive, mostly uninjured, but it was screaming like it was dying. The others seemed to be tearing the victim¡¯s clothes off.

    Oh¡­ that was interesting.

    Lilizath squeezed one of her own breasts for comparison. The victim looked like her. Well¡­ not exactly, she didn¡¯t have horns or claws, but she had breasts. The sensitive squishy thing that the succubus called a weapon might be similar too, but the angle was awkward, and it was hard to get a good look at the victim¡¯s anatomy from where the demon was hiding.

    Was it possible? She¡¯d looked at a few human bodies in detail while she ate them, but they were pretty well cooked thanks to Father¡¯s hellfire. Even so, Lilizath was pretty sure none of them had breasts. Their squishy bits had burned away too, but what few traces were left behind seemed quite different to the demoness¡¯ own set of squishy bits. Still, if humans could look like this too¡­ Perhaps Lilizath¡¯s anatomy was closer to that of a human than she¡¯d realized. It was certainly a plausible theory, there were male and female animals after all, she¡¯d eaten plenty of both. It would make sense if there were male and female humans as well.

    Lilizath watched the men hit the screaming woman until she gave up and stopped struggling. They finished taking off her clothes, and one of the men started taking his own clothes off too. Lilizath got a full view of the male human¡¯s squishy bits, undamaged by fire. Yep¡­ very different, worth investigating closely in the future. She watched the victim¡¯s despairing face, what was going to happen? The victim seemed to know, but Lilizath could only guess. This could be interesting¡­

    Oh wait, what if they mutilated the victim¡¯s body? Lilizath needed to investigate this screaming human up close before the men did too much damage to her. She had to confirm her theory. She might have to interrupt the fun, or at least get close enough to watch it happen with a better angle.

    Revealing herself was almost certainly going to lead to a fight. The only other humans she¡¯d met attacked her without provocation, so these ones might do that too. She was stronger than before, and these men didn¡¯t have armor or Demonbane weapons, so she had a decent chance of winning if they attacked. If they proved to be too much, then she could always run off into the woods and hide. It¡¯s not like she was cornered this time.

    With her decision made, Lilizath straightened herself up and openly walked towards the campsite. She was going to see how these humans reacted to her.

 3 - First Contact

    Lilizath crept towards the group of men and their screaming victim. She was surprised, but none of the men seemed to hear her approach. She wasn¡¯t being deliberately careless, but she also wasn¡¯t trying especially hard to stalk the humans anymore. She expected them to spot her by now. How could their senses be this dull? Maybe it was because they were distracted?

    She walked up to the nearest man, one that was standing at the edge of the camp. He had his back to the amusing cruelty, and his attention was focused outwards, watching the woods with a serious face. Despite appearing diligent, the man didn¡¯t see the demoness until she emerged from the forest shadows and allowed the firelight to fall across her body. She was only a few steps away from him when he finally saw her.

    She grinned at the man. Was he a kill-human? or cuddle-human? He wasn¡¯t as nice looking at the first comfortable human she met, but he wasn¡¯t bad. He had a sword on his hip, so he might make for a decent fight too. She couldn¡¯t decide which was better, so she would leave the decision up to him.

    The man decided to draw his sword while screaming in terror. Kill-human. It was almost the same pitch as the naked woman¡¯s screams. The other men in the camp turned and their reactions were similar. There were shouts, screams, and the drawing of blades. None of the humans kneeled or submitted to her. These were all kill-humans then.

    The naked man, interrupted while trying to position himself between the victim¡¯s legs, stopped whatever he was doing, and climbed to his feet, looking for a weapon. Even the victim herself started screaming again with renewed energy when she saw the smiling demon. Was she a kill-human too?

    The man in front of her took a swing with his sword. The demon dodged to the side and blinked at him in surprise. Slow. His attack was so slow! Was he only pretending to fight? No, he seemed serious. She¡¯d gotten used to fighting predatory animals, and she knew that she¡¯d honed her reflexes a bit, but not this much. The man was lightly armored, but he was still far slower than the inquisitors. His sword swing didn¡¯t look like it had much strength behind it either.

    The man wound up for a second, overly telegraphed, swing and the demoness let the disappointment show on her face. She casually stepped around the slow-moving blade and poked her sharp fingertips into his soft face, piercing his brain through his eye socket. The man¡¯s legs went limp and he fell down, gurgling out his last few breaths. Really? That was it?

    Slaughtering that man did absolutely nothing for her. There was no battle-lust, no fire in her veins, no tingling in her loins. It was just¡­ unsatisfying. Even the boring animals were more interesting opponents. The demon turned to the next closest human. Maybe he would be better?

    *squelch*

    Nope. Slow and predictable. Disappointing. Tearing out his throat wasn¡¯t even a challenge. This battle wasn¡¯t doing anything for her. It wasn¡¯t scratching her itch. Maybe she could make her own challenge instead? Of course! With her smile renewed, and her body winding itself up with excitement, the demoness started silently counting inside her head.

    The humans seemed a bit shaken after seeing two of their own die so easily. They weren¡¯t going to be very interesting as individual fights, but as a group, there was some potential fun to be had. The demoness roared, just like Father, and plunged into the middle of the group.

    The first one took three seconds to kill. Not bad, but she could do better. The next, she killed in only two seconds. Ow! What was that? an arrow? Oh well it didn¡¯t hurt that much. She killed the next two at the same time, one claw for each. Their leather armor was pierced quite easily, and it barely did anything to protect them. Was that even armor? Ooh¡­ this one was fast, he actually managed to stab her twice before he died¡­

    After 15 seconds, the three surviving men lost their courage and started running into the woods.

    The blood-drenched demoness pulled the arrow out of her shoulder and watched the flesh knit itself back together. She would give the fleeing men a five second head start.

    Five seconds later, with the arrow and stab wounds completely gone, the demoness burst into a sprint, kicking up a splash of bloody mud behind her. The cowardly men didn¡¯t take long to catch. They couldn¡¯t see in the dark, so they kept tripping on things. By the time the slaughter ended, she¡¯d counted to 31. The demoness casually strolled back to camp, dragging the three bodies behind her. The fire in her veins cooled, and the drooling anatomy between her legs throbbed. She had to admit, that was kind of fun. It was snack time now. There was an amazing feast waiting for her in the camp.

    Lilizath returned to the camp, pilling the cowards¡¯ bodies next to the others. She looked at a blank space on the ground, and realized she forgot about something¡­

    The demon found the ¡®something¡¯ quickly. The naked victim-woman had been caught in the middle of the carnage, so she was covered in blood. She was crouched next to the other two victims, desperately trying to untie one of them. When she saw the demon walking towards her, she gave up on life and hugged her knees, curling up into a quivering little ball.

    A bloody claw grabbed her face. The demoness wanted this one alive for now, so she only dug her claws in enough for the woman to feel them. No damage, just a warning. The demoness maintained her grip and gently led the naked woman away from the others. She got the hint and scrambled backwards obediently. Good¡­ she wasn¡¯t fighting or resisting, this one wasn¡¯t a kill-human.

    When she reached a suitable open space, a short distance from the others, the demon let go of the face, moved a clawed hand to the woman¡¯s chest, and firmly pushed her down onto her back. With the naked woman in position, flat on her back, she pulled her hand away and the obedient little thing stayed where she was, avoiding eye contact and trembling slightly.

    The blood-soaked monster loomed over the helpless woman, looking down at her prize. The naked woman was similar, but different. She had brown hair, rather than black. There weren¡¯t any sticks or leaves in this woman¡¯s hair, and while it was fluffy, it wasn¡¯t tangled and matted into clumps like the demon¡¯s hair. The woman¡¯s skin was pinkish, rather than ghostly white, and she wore strange, circular glass lenses over her eyes. They were crooked, the wire holding them in place was bent in strange places, likely damaged when the men beat her. When she dared make eye contact, the demon could see that the woman¡¯s eyes were brown, rather than red.

    Her body was different too. They were about the same height, but this human was softer and rounder near the chest and hips, with very little visible muscle under her skin. This one was clearly not a fighter, she looked pathetically weak. The demoness grabbed the human¡¯s breast in one claw, and her own in the other, ignoring the whimpering sound the human made. The demon¡¯s breasts were smaller, firmer, and denser than those of the human. These larger softer breasts looked comfy to rest on, but they¡¯d get in the way when dodging around and fighting. It was a good thing this pathetic creature wasn¡¯t a fighter then.

    The human woman said something in human language and a drop of water fell from her cheek. Weird.

    One more thing to check. The demon grabbed the woman¡¯s knees and pulled them apart. There was some resistance, the human was probably trying to keep her legs closed, but her feeble efforts were barely noticeable. With her legs spread, the human started making a lot more noise than usual. She was looking directly into the demon¡¯s eyes, water leaking down her cheeks, saying the same pattern of meaningless human-words over and over.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fight,¡± the demoness growled, in demon-language.

    The woman flinched and shrunk back at the sound of the demon¡¯s voice. Her body went limp and her protests stopped. The helpless woman stared into the sky, resigned to her fate. Perhaps she understood demon language? That was convenient.

    The investigation was over in seconds, it was obvious right away that the woman had the same equipment as the demon. The theory was confirmed. The demon didn¡¯t know why, but it was obvious that her body was very similar to that of a female human. The succubus was talking about female anatomy as well, so perhaps she had a humanlike body too? The demon considered checking to see if the human¡¯s anatomy was as sensitive as her own, or if it got wet when she got into a fight, but even a casual glance at the area seemed to distress the human more than she expected. Detailed pokey-proddy tests could wait, the human¡¯s reaction to being looked at was a more interesting question.

    The demon stood up, went to the body pile, and casually hacked off a dead man¡¯s arm to snack on while she watched the mysterious humans with newfound curiosity. Even though the demon was done with her, the naked one stayed where she was, eyes closed and trembling. That was weird, but she could stay there if she wanted. The other two were watching the demon eat, and the demon watched them back.

    These two humans had clothes that covered their features, but the demon knew what to look for now. The bumps on their chests betrayed the presence of breasts. They were female too. Their arms were tied behind their backs with rope, and that rope was also looped through the spokes of the wood-thing¡¯s circle-things. These two women weren¡¯t going anywhere.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    The bound human on the left had short black hair. She wore a plain, loose fitting white shirt, and simple brown pants. Her body was slim and wiry, almost like the demon¡¯s own body. This one was a fighter. She watched the demon eat the arm with a look of disgust and anger on her face. She was looking the demon straight in the eye. Even though she was helpless, she looked like she wanted to fight. Was this a kill-human? Would she be a less boring opponent than the others? The demoness decided that she was going to untie her and put a sword in her hands at some point before she died, just to see.

    The bound human on the right was strange. She had long blonde hair, and her blue eyes caught the light and seemed to sparkle. She was short and slender, lacking the muscles of the black haired one, and the softness of the brown haired one. Her tiny figure was buried in a long, loose fitting white robe. Her expression was nervous, but not panicked. She wasn¡¯t cowering like the brunette, and she wasn¡¯t defiant like the black haired one. She looked at the demon with worry but seemed to be completely in control of her own emotions, unlike most humans the demon girl had seen so far.

    The demon closed her eyes and felt the magic around her. That one¡­ the blonde one. She felt a magical aura earlier, and now she knew it was coming from this specific human. The demon opened her eyes to stare at the tiny little girl again. There was power in her¡­ but it wasn¡¯t an aggressive power. She felt as weak as she looked, she was no threat to the demon, but she seemed strong in other ways. Weird.

    There were too many questions. The demoness sat down next to the naked woman, and gently nudged her with a foot to get her attention.

    ¡°Why did you react like that? why did you not want me to open your legs?¡± the demon asked.

    The naked woman cringed and closed her eyes again. She frantically babbled some nonsense in the human language but didn¡¯t answer the question. From this angle, watching all three women, the demon noticed another interesting thing. The defiant black haired one cringed too, though she tried to hide it. Even more interesting, the small weak one with the robes and the magic was unaffected by her voice.

    Again. Weird. The demoness took another bite of arm and stared at her prisoners. She thought things would start making sense once she caught some live humans. Apparently, that wasn¡¯t the case.

    ¡°Do you know why?¡± the demon asked the black haired one. She was defiant but seemed to be more aware of her surroundings than the broken brunette who was still babbling helplessly on the ground.

    The black haired woman clenched her jaw, suppressing her discomfort. Nearby, the brunette writhed around, speaking more of the nonsense human-language at the demon while covering her ears.

    Ugh! Enough!

    These walking snacks were frustrating her! The demon growled and threw the remaining part of the severed arm at the pathetic brunette. She climbed to her feet again.

    The brown haired one was broken and useless, but the black haired one was clearly hiding something. The demon was running out of patience, so she stomped over to the bound woman and stabbed her claws through the wooden-thing behind her.

    ¡°Answer me!¡± the demon roared, ¡°Do you want to die that badly?¡±

    The black haired one broke. Her defiance melted away. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding back her tears, and bit her lip. Her breathing sped up and her body started trembling slightly. She clenched her muscles, trying to stifle her sobbing.

    Bah! This one was only pretending to be strong. She was as weak as all the other humans. She would be useless as an opponent, and she seemed to be useless as a prisoner too. Did she even understand the demon¡¯s words? Did any of them?

    ¡°Please stop, haven¡¯t you hurt her enough?¡± came a trembling voice, in perfectly understandable demon-language.

    Lilizath turned away from the useless black haired victim and moved over to the one in the white robe, the one who spoke.

    ¡°Hurt her? Explain,¡± demanded the demon. The two useless women hissed in pain.

    ¡°You mean you didn¡¯t know? When a demon speaks the Infernal tongue, it hurts any human that hears it,¡± whispered the blonde woman, ¡°You seem to be a stronger demon, so your words hurt them a lot.¡±

    Lilizath squatted down, getting face to face with the blonde woman. She kept her voice quiet, barely louder than a whisper, so as not to break the weakling humans.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it hurts you.¡±

    ¡°No, but I¡¯m different.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°I was¡­¡± the blonde paused for a moment, ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s a word for it in your language¡­ given a gift? from Verita, the¡­ Demon Lord? The Demon Lord of Truth.¡±

    Lilizath buried her head in her claws and groaned. Nothing about that answer made any sense at all. How can words hurt? The more she learned about humans, the less she seemed to understand them.

    ¡°Can you untie us and let us leave here alive please?¡± the blonde asked, with a hopeful smile.

    Lilizath backed away without answering and climbed to her feet. She picked up the remaining half an arm, still lying next to the whimpering brunette, and slowly finished eating it while pacing around the camp.

    There were basically two options¡­ eat them or let them go. If she ate them, she¡¯d have three more bodies to eat. That was worth something, more food meant denser muscles and faster regeneration. If she gave up on her meal and let them go, what did she gain from that? She thought things would make sense now that she caught some living humans, but she was no closer to understanding them now than she was yesterday. This whole understanding business might be futile, she was tempted to just give up and eat everyone.

    The demoness, having finished her arm while grumbling internally, went over to the body pile, and hacked off another arm to eat while she continued to pace around.

    If this tiny blonde thing wasn¡¯t lying, then only humans with ¡®gifts¡¯ or whatever could speak to her without being overwhelmed with pain. Were these gifts rare? If so, killing this human might be wasteful.

    With a severed arm in hand, Lilizath walked back to her prisoner, ¡°Are these gifts rare?¡±

    ¡°Each of this world¡¯s¡­ Demon Lords only have one gift to give, so only one human at a time carries their gift,¡± the blonde whispered, trying her hardest not to look at the bloody chunk of human meat in front of her face.

    So, they were rare then? The demoness walked away and continued her snack while pacing around.

    There probably weren¡¯t that many Demon Lords in this world. Some weird hereditary demon knowledge in the back of her mind told her that there were seven Demon Lords of the Abyss. Trying to find one of only seven special demons among the trillions of demons swarming through the fiery labyrinth would be a nearly impossible task.

    Applying that logic here, this blonde was clearly more valuable as a prisoner than as mere food. Could she truly use this chance to learn more about humans? To learn more about herself? That would take a while. If the blonde stayed tied up, she might starve or something before the demon could learn everything she wanted to know.

    Lilizath finished her last piece of arm, and came to a decision, returning to the human, ¡°If I let you go, I want to go with you. I want to learn more about humans.¡±

    The blonde¡¯s jaw dropped, and she stared at the demon, dumbfounded. ¡°You want to travel with us¡­ and learn from me?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°If we cooperate with you, will you promise not to hurt us anymore?¡±

    ¡°Anymore?¡± the demon asked, looking around in confusion. She lowered her voice even more, whispering into the tiny blonde¡¯s ear, ¡°Am I still talking too loud?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that, but¡­¡± the blonde looked towards the somewhat broken brunette, quietly sobbing on the ground, ¡°you hurt Danica when you touched her. You hurt her a lot.¡±

    The demoness gave the blonde a skeptical look. She held up her bloody claw and pointed at the girl, ¡°I only looked, I was gentle, her bruises were from before, from the men, see?¡±

    ¡°How should I explain this¡­¡± the blonde stopped to think, ¡°Invading that part of a person¡¯s body without their permission, is very bad.¡±

    The demoness squeezed her own breast skeptically, ¡°Doesn¡¯t hurt¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s like speaking Infernal,¡± the blonde explained, ¡°for most humans, someone touching their breasts or genitals without permission hurts their mind and soul.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± the demoness pondered, ¡°No wait I don¡¯t. That¡¯s doesn¡¯t make any sense at all.¡±

    ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s hard to explain, but uuh¡­¡± The blonde looked at the demon expectantly, and the demon realized she hadn¡¯t answered the blonde¡¯s question.

    ¡°Yes, yes, fine. I won¡¯t hurt you. I wasn¡¯t planning on it anyway, hurting people is only fun if they can fight back.¡±

    The blonde smiled and nodded, ¡°There¡¯s one more thing, we¡¯ll be travelling to a place where other humans live¡­ can you promise not to hurt them either?¡±

    The demon spread and flexed her claws warningly, ¡°No, definitely not. If humans challenge me, they die.¡±

    ¡°Can you promise not to attack unprovoked? Not kill anyone unless they intend to kill you first? Demons are¡­ You need to be seen as a friendly demon to enter a human town. If you attack an innocent human, you won¡¯t be welcome there anymore, and you won¡¯t be able to follow me.¡±

    Ugh¡­ this was going to be a pain. There were so many rules to remember. No speaking Infernal, no touching breasts¡­ Lillizath suddenly smirked. It was going to be difficult. A challenge! She was bored of the forest. Bored of mindless hunting and killing. This was a true challenge. It wasn¡¯t a glorious life-or-death battle per se, but it was still an interesting challenge she could conquer.

    ¡°I don¡¯t plan on dying. Against a real threat, I will show no mercy. If they¡¯re not a threat, but merely stupid enough to challenge me, then I¡¯ll try not to kill them if possible. If they¡¯re not challenging me, then I¡¯ll avoid hurting them entirely. That is all I can promise. So, I¡¯ll set you free and I¡¯ll follow you. Agree?¡±

    ¡°Yes. With Verita as my witness, if you set us free and agree not to hurt innocent people, then I promise to let you travel with me and learn from me.¡±

    The demon nodded, reached out a claw, and with a few gentle pokes, shredded the girl¡¯s bindings apart. She reached over and did the same for the black haired girl.

    The blonde woman started speaking the human language, probably telling the others about the deal. The demoness ignored the murmured human nonsense. She could wait for them to settle down and organize themselves, there were a lot of delicious bodies here, and it was finally time to eat.

 4 - The Chosen One

    Amelia¡¯s parents taught her not to lie, and she didn¡¯t. She was an honest and straightforward girl, and she didn¡¯t think that there was anything particularly special about that.

    She worked for the village blacksmith. She ran the shop, accepted the orders and handled the money. It was a simple job and a simple life, but she¡¯d always felt like she had a higher calling. Even so, she would have never dreamed that one day she¡¯d be declared a Saintess.

    Two weeks ago, she was a normal girl. Sure, she¡¯d always been an honest girl, but now she was Honesty itself. She was hand-picked by a literal goddess. Verita, the goddess of Truth, named her as her champion. She was the Chosen of Truth.

    She wasn¡¯t ready for this at all, it was happening too fast for her. After all the drastic changes, and frantic preparation, she was desperately missing her former boring life. Some part of her wished that this was all a big misunderstanding. But there was no mistake, she was Chosen. That was the Truth.

    She was going to be whisked away from her quiet little life in a tiny farming village, to be sent to the imperial capital of Dursten to study. That was the plan at least. Four people left the village alongside her yesterday¡­ but now only two of them were still alive.

    The bandits probably didn¡¯t know who they were kidnapping, by some cruel twist of fate they decided to attack the Saintess¡¯ caravan. Sir Thomas, a knight from the capital, assigned to be her protector, fell in battle against the bandits. Acolyte Joffery, a friendly old man, and a fellow servant of Verita who first told Amelia who she was, was stabbed through the heart, even though he surrendered.

    The bandits killed the men and took the women. Amelia feared the worst, and when they grabbed Danica and started tearing off her clothes¡­ she realized the worst was about to happen to them. It was going to happen to Danica first, but it would soon be her turn. She wasn¡¯t strong, she couldn¡¯t fight back against this horrible fate. She could only hope that, once the bandits were¡­ satisfied, they¡¯d let the girls go. She wasn¡¯t optimistic about that, these were cruel, cruel men.

    And then, a monster walked out of the forest.

    She looked like a young woman with horns, but she moved like a living nightmare, a whirlwind of sharp claws that shredded flesh. She was death and horror incarnate and killed with merciless efficiency. Without speaking a single word, without making any demands, she walked out of the darkness and butchered the entire bandit camp without warning.

    These were the men who killed Sir Thomas, a Holy Knight of Verita and a veteran soldier. He was a man who spent his entire adult life mastering the sword. He took quite a few of them down with him, but even he was eventually overwhelmed by the bandits¡¯ numbers and strength. This monster killed those same bandits in seconds, and she made it look effortless.

    At first, Amelia was hopeful, maybe this was a nice demon, here to rescue her. She stepped in right before Danica was about to be deflowered, that was almost divinely good timing. Perhaps she was sent by the goddess herself, a strange new champion to protect her chosen. That hope didn¡¯t last long. After killing the men, the monster picked up where the rapists left off, and resumed Danica¡¯s torment.

    Why? Was this also the will of the Goddess? She didn¡¯t know.

    Danica had been her friend since childhood. She was an intelligent, sweet, and sensitive girl who liked to read. She had a passion for magic, and had been teaching herself spells out of a book but had little success without a proper teacher. Poor Danica didn¡¯t deserve this cruelty. Mercifully, the demon eventually grew bored of molesting Danica¡¯s body, but unfortunately, she decided to torture the poor girl instead.

    To Amelia, it sounded like a normal language, but she knew that the goddess¡¯ gifts were protecting her mind from its effects. The Saintess saw how the voice affected her friends. When the infernal tongue was spoken by a human, it often made other nearby humans feel uncomfortable, like an itch inside their skull. When spoken from the mouth of a lesser demon, it was deeply unsettling, and listening for too long would result in a rather severe headache. When spoken by a greater demon, the pain and mental anguish was extreme. Every word the demon spoke was pure, agonizing, torture.

    Amelia had never experienced it for herself, but she¡¯d heard about it and the effect was horrifying to watch. Almost immediately after the first words left the demon¡¯s lips, Danica completely broke down. Tanya, the village delinquent and the toughest girl Amelia had ever met, weathered the pain at first, but even she started crying once the demon spoke to her directly. This was a very powerful demon indeed.

    Amelia didn¡¯t want anyone else to die, she needed to stop this, but she was powerless. The goddess of Truth was not the goddess of calling down lightning bolts or smiting evil with rays of holy light or anything like that.

    Eyes that saw the Truth, ears that heard the Truth, and a tongue that spoke the Truth. Those were the gifts. Amelia¡¯s options were limited. Her gifts let her speak and understand any language, because the Truth is an absolute that transcends language, and her ears could tell Truth from falsehood when she heard it. She had other abilities too, but they were even less useful in this situation.

    Talking was pretty much the only thing she could do. So, she did that. She begged the demon for mercy, and surprisingly, the demon listened.

    It stopped abusing Amelia¡¯s friends and it acted like it didn¡¯t even know it was torturing them. It asked questions. It was surprised to learn that rape was wrong, and it listened to the Saintess when she told her not to do it anymore. Then, the demon offered her a deal. She¡¯d spare their lives and set them free if she could travel with them. The demon didn¡¯t want their souls, or a sacrifice in blood, or the desecration of a holy site¡­ it only wanted to learn, and it even promised, in a roundabout way, not to kill any innocents.

    Two weeks ago, Amelia would not have believed the demon. She wasn¡¯t stupid enough to trust a demon¡¯s word. ¡®Everybody¡¯ knew they were cunning, deceitful, and cruel. If you made a deal with a demon and if you trusted them, you deserved it when they inevitably stabbed you in the back.

    But she would have been wrong because the demon was telling the Truth. She was completely sincere, and she meant every word she said. There was not even the tiniest shred of deceit in her heart, something that even the most devout worshippers of Verita struggle to achieve. From Verita¡¯s perspective, this murder-happy demon was almost worthy of reverence.

    Amelia rubbed her tender wrists. She was free now, and she wasn¡¯t going to be raped tonight. Amelia smiled and sighed with relief as she watched the blood-soaked monster viciously devour a human body in front of her. It was a horrifying sight, but it was far less horrifying than what would have happened if she hadn¡¯t shown up.

    Amelia looked to her friend, Tanya. Just like Danica, she was following her friend to the capital. Ever since she was young, she always aspired to be a knight. Now, she specifically wanted to be Holy Knight of Verita, and a member of Amelia¡¯s personal guard. The Saintess had the authority to make a Knight into a Holy Knight, that part was no issue. She just had to take advantage of her influence, pull a few strings, and try to make Tanya into a regular knight first.

    Tanya had been freed by the demon as well, and she looked confused. She didn¡¯t hear about the deal. She couldn¡¯t speak infernal after all. Technically, neither could Amelia, the goddess¡¯ gift handled it for her, merely translating her common-tongue thoughts into demonic-tongue words.

    Tanya looked around, getting her bearings, and then she started sizing up the demon with a telltale glint in her eye. Tanya was her childhood friend, so Amelia knew her well enough to recognize the ¡®Tanya is about to pick an ill-advised fight¡¯ expression on her face. Her tomboyish friend had a bad habit of starting fights with strong people she couldn¡¯t beat, and limping home covered in bruises. The delinquent caught sight of a sword lying discarded on the ground and grinned slyly. No Tanya, that was a bad idea, a very bad idea.

    ¡°Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± Amelia hissed. ¡°I made a deal with her. We¡¯re safe for now, but no matter what¡­ don¡¯t start a fight with her. Don¡¯t challenge her or make any aggressive movements at all. She could easily kill you if she wanted to.¡±

    Amelia ignored Tanya¡¯s dirty look. She climbed to her shaky feet and looked at her other friend. Danica was lying on her side, hugging her knees with a pleading look on her face. She saw that Amelia had been set free, but she didn¡¯t dare move. The demon was right behind her, loudly tearing apart a human body.

    ¡°H-help,¡± she whimpered.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok now, she won¡¯t attack,¡± The Saintess smiled and calmly started walking to her friend.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Tanya whispered, horrified by Amelia¡¯s lack of caution. Amelia ignored her.

    The demon was happily eating her meal, but she looked up as Amelia approached. Terrifying crimson eyes fell on Amelia¡¯s body. There was something overwhelming about being in the presence of a greater demon. It was different than just seeing a pale human with horns and claws. The creature radiated an aura that sent shivers down Amelia¡¯s spine. Here was something unnatural, a vicious killing machine, a perfect predator, but it was ok, Amelia knew she was safe.

    Well¡­ if Amelia was being honest with herself, which she obviously had to be, part of her doubted the Truth. She said it was safe. She literally could not lie, it was physically impossible, if she tried the words wouldn¡¯t come out. It came with the whole sainthood package. Danica didn¡¯t believe her though, and honestly, part of her didn¡¯t really believe herself either. That same part of her wanted to curl up into a ball and hide, just like her friend.

    She couldn¡¯t let herself do that. She wasn¡¯t Amelia Voss, the friendly girl who sold plows to farmers and axes to woodsmen, she was Saintess Amelia Voss, Chosen of Truth. Complete honesty also meant complete trust. The Saintess would disgrace her patron if she refused to believe the Truth when she heard it. She had to believe, with all her heart, that the monster had no desire to kill her.

    And it was True. Sure enough, the monster didn¡¯t attack. She watched Amelia approach with childlike curiosity. The demon watched Amelia reach down to her friend and grab her by the hand. Amelia forced herself to relax, to trust.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok Dani, you¡¯re more-or-less safe now. You¡¯re not in any immediate danger at least, so just follow me. Let¡¯s get you some clothes.¡± Amelia gave her friend a reassuring smile, urging her to trust as well.

    Amelia helped Danica to her feet and walked her back to the cart. No demons attacked them. When Danica¡¯s hand safely touched the wood of their cart, she was on the verge of tears. Amelia hugged her, letting the relieved girl bury her face in her chest.

    ¡°Amelia¡­¡± Tanya spoke through clenched teeth. Her voice was tense.

    Amelia kept Danica¡¯s relieved face buried in her chest, making sure she couldn¡¯t see. Not telling her friend that a blood-soaked murderbeast was right behind her, looming over her shoulder, wasn¡¯t technically dishonest. Staying silent wasn¡¯t against the rules. Yes, the demon followed her to the cart, but she wasn¡¯t specifically hiding this fact, she was simply choosing a more appropriate time talk about it.

    ¡°She is very afraid of you,¡± said Amelia softly, speaking Infernal, ¡°Please give her space. It¡¯s hard to make her feel better with you standing so close.¡±

    Danica went stiff in Amelia¡¯s arms. The words were coming from a human mouth, so they shouldn¡¯t have been painful, but Danica obviously realized who Amelia was talking to. The monster shrugged and walked back to her meal.

    With a bit of distance created again, Amelia let go of her traumatized friend. Danica quickly looked around and saw that the demon was a safe distance away.

    ¡°Holy shit that was scary,¡± said Tanya, who had been holding her breath, watching the whole scene.

    ¡°Yes, even if I know she doesn¡¯t intend to hurt us, she scares the crap out of me too,¡± Amelia admitted.

    Amelia rummaged through the cart. After they attacked the caravan, the bandits took the entire cart, the donkey, and the three women as their loot. Geronimo, the donkey, and the cart seemed to be intact. The bandits had been too preoccupied with the kidnapped women at the time to dive into their stuff. After a few seconds, Amelia found a new clean dress inside Danica¡¯s luggage. The old one was too shredded to bother recovering.

    ¡°Here we go.¡± she said cheerfully, handing the dress over to Danica.

    Tanya hesitantly approached the Saintess, ¡°Amelia¡­ you said you made a deal? What was the deal?¡±

    Amelia coughed nervously, ¡°I promised she could follow us if she didn¡¯t hurt any innocents. The demon will be joining us on our trip for a while.¡±

    ¡°You promised what?¡± Tanya shouted, the shock visible on her face.

    Danica stayed silent, but the horrified look on her face made her opinion clear. A short distance away, a startled demon suddenly sprang to her feet, hearing the shout, and wondering who was attacking.

    Amelia smiled at the demon, and spoke in Infernal, ¡°I just told them about our deal and they¡¯re a bit surprised.¡±

    The Saintess turned to her friends, and spoke cheerfully in common, ¡°Okay then! Let¡¯s get the cart ready. We can take some supplies from the bandits too. They clearly won¡¯t be needing them anymore. I think we¡¯ll all start feeling a bit better once we get away from this camp.¡±

    <hr>

    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    The three girls loaded up their cart with salvaged provisions and a small stash of gold they found while picking through the camp, deliberately ignoring the nightmarish carnage on the forest floor around them. The demon sat nearby, happily devouring some unlucky lowlife¡¯s head.

    Amelia helped Danica into the cart, buried the traumatized girl in a pile of blankets and clothes, and allowed her to sleep. There was no question that she was done for the day. The task of preparing the cart and Geronimo, the donkey, for travel fell to Tanya. Normally, that would lead to whining from the delinquent, she hated animals, but she didn¡¯t complain this time. She greatly preferred her task to the one Amelia gave herself.

    The Saintess walked up to the demon with a friendly smile.

    ¡°Hello,¡± Amelia said, in infernal.

    The monster made eye contact, nodded in acknowledgement, and kept eating.

    ¡°We¡¯re getting the cart ready, and then we¡¯re planning on leaving the camp and travelling east along the road.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll eat, then follow,¡± said the demon, she looked up, and pointed, ¡°Is that a cart?¡±

    The Saintess head turned to follow the gesture, ¡°Uuh¡­ yes, that¡¯s our cart.¡±

    The demon nodded and continued eating. Amelia looked down at the girl¡¯s naked bloodstained body. Amelia would offer her something to wear, but she didn¡¯t seem to be the least bit concerned about modesty. Did demons even wear clothes? It didn¡¯t matter, there were more important things to worry about.

    ¡°Do you have a name?¡± asked Amelia.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    There was an awkward pause as the demon took another bite of¡­ was it somebody¡¯s shoulder? Amelia tried not to think about it.

    ¡°My name is Amelia,¡± the Saintess volunteered, and pointed to the others, ¡°The black haired one is Tanya, and the brown haired one is Danica.¡±

    The demon looked at her and nodded silently.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Amelia finally asked.

    ¡°Lilizath VekxZ¡¯Kraugh¡±

    Lilizath, daughter of Z¡¯Kraugh? That was strange. Despite her recently acquired divine gifts, Amelia was no expert on gods, demons, or magic. Over the last week, she¡¯d been given a crash course on the subject by Acolyte Joffery. She was struggling to remember everything he said, but she knew that demons were creatures created from the raw chaotic energies of the hellish Abyss and given shape by the Demon Lords. They weren¡¯t born or hatched or anything, she didn¡¯t think demons could have parents.

    ¡°Who is Z¡¯Kraugh?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Father,¡± the demon replied nonchalantly, ¡°Big, very strong, clothed in hellfire, Archfiend. He gave me a name.¡±

    Archfiend. That tiny little word was buried in that sentence, spoken so casually as if it wasn¡¯t a big deal. The word sent chills down Amelia¡¯s spine.

    Lesser demons, like imps, lesser succubi, and slashers, weren¡¯t easy to handle, but they could at least be controlled by a skilled enough mage. If they became unbound, free of their summoner¡¯s control, they were dangerous, but not so powerful that a typical squad of town guardsmen couldn¡¯t handle them.

    Greater demons, like hell knights, shining ones, and mind eaters were bad news. They were extremely powerful, and devilishly cunning. Summoning one and attempting to bind it was unreliable and almost suicidally dangerous. Unbound greater demons were the stuff of nightmares, the subject of stories told around campfires to scare children. Amelia strongly suspected that Lilizath belonged in this category.

    But then there was Archfiends. One could technically call them a species of greater demon, but they were truly in a class all on their own. Outside of the seven demon lords themselves, they were, by far, the most powerful inhabitants of the Abyss. If a mage managed to somehow successfully call one of those legendary horrors into the world, then they would be able to witness a walking cataclysm reduce armies to ash and cities to rubble.

    ¡°Y-your father is an Archfiend?¡±

    ¡°I guess? He said I was created from his essence.¡±

    ¡°So, are you an Archfiend too?¡± Amelia¡¯s voice trailed off. Oh Goddess above¡­ what did she just agree to?

    The demoness scratched her head and shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what kind of demon you are? Are you a different type of wrath demon?¡± That was surprising. Amelia thought demons knew more about themselves than that.

    Lilizath held up her claws, and tapped them against her horns, ¡°My claws and horns came from Father, I know that much. His are very similar to mine. But he was a lot bigger than me. If I¡¯m an Archfiend, then I¡¯m a very small one, I think I¡¯m only part Archfiend.¡± The monster stopped to think, tapping a claw against her chin, ¡°Wait, what do you mean by wrath demon?¡±

    Amelia was uncertain, her current knowledge of demons was spotty at best. From what she¡¯d heard during her rushed lessons, every demon belonged to one of the seven demonic aspects, with each aspect being the domain of one of the seven Demon Lords. They were the seven deadly sins of man: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride.

    A demon¡¯s aspect was determined by which demon lord created them, and it affected their natural behaviours. A lust demon would pursue their own pleasure at the expense of others or use their sexuality to manipulate others, a gluttony demon simply devoured everything in its path, a greed demon would steal and hoard wealth or knowledge, and so on¡­ Archfiends were obviously demons of Wrath, craving battle above all else. Lilizath certainly fought like she was a wrath demon.

    Amelia explained what she knew to Lilizath, but she made sure to point out that she wasn¡¯t entirely confident in her knowledge. The demon wrinkled her brow and considered the words.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know which of those aspects I belong to. I don¡¯t remember being created by a demon lord. It might be wrath, it¡¯s true that I enjoy fighting, like Father, but that¡¯s only one of the things I like. I like eating, talking to you, sleeping on top of comfy humans, watching the stars, and plenty of other things too. If battle was all I craved, then I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to untie you.¡±

    Amelia thought about it as she watched the demon eat. She realized something fairly obvious, ¡°How many people have you just eaten?¡±

    The demoness seemed confused by the question, ¡°Seven, so far. Why? If you want to leave you can go, I know what you smell like, I can follow your scent after I finish.¡±

    ¡°You plan on eating all of them?¡± Demon biology was different, to say the least. Amelia honestly had no idea how this slender young lady could fit a dozen dead bodies inside her stomach. She should have exploded at least¡­ six dead bodies ago. That behaviour seemed very¡­ gluttonous.

    ¡°Gluttony demon?¡± Amelia suggested.

    ¡°Maybe? I eat a lot and I always have room to eat more. But again, I like more than just eating and fighting.¡±

    She was right, there goes that theory.

    ¡°What is a succubus?¡± the demon asked.

    ¡°A succubus? They¡¯re a lust demon. They uuh¡­ have sex with people, feed on their energy,¡± Amelia felt herself blush.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m a succubus too. That¡¯s what the other succubus said.¡±

    ¡°Other succubus?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she was invisible.¡±

    ¡°Uuh¡­ okay. Maybe we can ask somebody about your aspect,¡± said Amelia. ¡°Once we reach a large enough town, we can probably find a demonologist who will know more on the subject than me.¡±

    The demon took a bite, and shrugged, ¡°-uman language -irst,¡± she said, with her mouth full.

    Amelia looked confused, Lilizath swallowed, ¡°Teach me the human language first. I want to understand what you humans talk about. Finding out what kind of demon I am is less important. For now, I am me, that¡¯s all that really matters.¡±

    ¡°Ok, I can try to teach you the common tongue. Where should we start?¡±

    ¡°I have things to say to the others, start there, teach me the words, what they mean, and how to say them.¡±

    The demon explained what she wanted to say, and Amelia tried her best to teach her.

    <hr>

    Tanya squeezed back into her chainmail shirt. Those rapey bastards took off her armor when they captured her, but she managed to find it again, tucked away in one of the corners of the camp.

    She fastened her belt and felt the reassuring weight of her sword at her side again. It wasn¡¯t a very good sword, it was cheap and there was probably a better one buried in the blood-soaked mud somewhere, but she didn¡¯t plan on looting the bandits for more than just their gold. This had been a horrible fucking experience and she didn¡¯t want to keep any souvenirs that would remind her of it. She just wanted to move on, and let things go back to normal.

    That would be hard. She was pissed off. Pissed off at the rapists, pissed off at that negligent idiot of an Acolyte that didn¡¯t arrange for more than a single knight to protect their caravan, but she was mostly pissed off at herself. She¡¯d failed in her duties as her best friend¡¯s sworn protector. A young Amelia befriended an antisocial troublemaker that hated the world when nobody else would go near her and Tanya owed her for that. Amelia pulled her out of the darkness. She probably ended up saving her life. Tanya swore an oath to protect her friend, and she failed in that task almost immediately.

    She¡¯d been overpowered and humiliated. The men toyed with her, didn¡¯t take her seriously, didn¡¯t bother to kill her. Her sword was knocked out of her hand, and she was thrown to the ground. She was captured. Tanya was no innocent maiden; she knew all too well what was about to happen to her. She knew their type, they were going to make it hurt, there were going to be bruises in some very tender places by the morning, but she could handle it. She¡¯d been through worse.

    She knew she wasn¡¯t ready to watch that shit happen to Amelia though. Tanya would gladly receive an extra share of abuse, and she would even thank the bastards when they were done with her, if it meant sparing her friend from their cruelty as well. As far as Tanya knew, her innocent friend hadn¡¯t even had a real boyfriend yet. Tanya didn¡¯t want to watch the sparkle in Amelia¡¯s eyes die away.

    She glanced at the demon, chatting happily with Amelia. Tanya was obviously happy the rapists were dead, and that they died before they had a chance to force their dicks inside her friends, but now there was a new problem¡­

    This was ridiculous. It was going to follow them. Amelia seemed to trust that creature.

    Tanya could have tolerated Amelia befriending a normal human murderer or three, but this was too fucking reckless, even for an idealist like her. This was a fucking demon! An unbound and uncontrolled greater demon. There it was, sitting right next to Amelia, ready to snuff out her life the instant it got annoyed or bored with her.

    Amelia wasn¡¯t a good judge of character. She was always too innocent and trusting. When they were kids, Tanya made it her mission to make sure her only friend didn¡¯t go through the same shit she had to go through. Watching out for her was hard work, Tanya had to beat the shit out of more than a few assholes who abused her trust and tried to take advantage of her. Tanya¡¯s instincts were telling her that this demon would almost certainly turn out to be one of those assholes. The only reason Tanya wasn¡¯t charging at that monster with a sword in her hand was because of Amelia¡¯s mysterious new truthy-powers.

    Tanya didn¡¯t know how it worked, but her best friend basically became immune to bullshit. Amelia could tell if somebody was lying with the absolute certainty that only a divine gift could provide. That first week after she was Chosen had been very awkward. Amelia innocently asked some very inconvenient questions and Tanya was suddenly not able to properly lie to her about it anymore. She had been forced to come clean about a lot of shit from her past that she hadn¡¯t wanted her friend to know. The girl¡¯s powers almost worked too well. Tanya couldn¡¯t even lie to herself without triggering her friend¡¯s new abilities.

    Tanya still hadn¡¯t gotten used to the new Amelia, but that gift was real. If Amelia trusted this demon, it was because the demon honestly thought that it would not betray her. Or, perhaps it was just that the demon was sharp enough to fool Verita¡¯s divine lie detector. Tanya rested her hand on the pommel of her sword. If that demon betrayed Amelia, or hurt her in any way, then it didn¡¯t matter how strong it was, it would find Tanya¡¯s sword in its throat.

    The pair continued chatting as the demon finished the last of the human bodies. It must have eaten something like a dozen people, and somehow that didn¡¯t faze her friend at all. Tanya had to give Amelia credit for that, she had some guts, she certainly wasn¡¯t a child anymore. She had grown up a lot since she started working for the blacksmith. The conversation ended as Amelia and the demon stood up. Tanya watched them warily as they both walked up to her.

    ¡°Lily wants to say something.¡± her friend explained.

    The demon opened her mouth and spoke. This time, Tanya didn¡¯t feel a searing pain inside her skull, and the voice didn¡¯t conjure up vivid flashbacks from an extremely unpleasant childhood. It was just a normal voice, struggling with the words a bit, but speaking the common tongue.

    ¡°You are not a threat,¡± the demon said, ¡°and your meat is not needed. I will not attack you unless you force me to.¡±

    Tanya blinked. Not a threat? She was armed, and she knew how to handle herself. She¡¯d never been formally trained, but she was experienced as fuck! She¡¯d been getting into fights her entire life. She was fucking amazing with her fists, elbows, knees, and better with the sword then any of these poor dead bastards lying around her. She only lost against them because she was outnumbered.

    ¡°What if I am a threat?¡± Tanya said, tapping the hilt of her sword.

    The demon noticed the tapping, but only looked confused. Amelia whispered something into her ear, and the demon nodded.

    She walked away and kicked around the blood soaked debris until she found a dagger buried in the mud. She walked back to Tanya, blade in hand.

    Oh fuck, oh fuck. She¡¯d done it again. Her mouth had said something that the rest of her couldn¡¯t back up. This time¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be bruises or a broken arm. This bitch had claws, and Tanya wasn¡¯t completely confident in her chances of winning a direct one-on-one fight with a demon. She was so stupid. Why did she have to open her big mouth?

    Tanya was ready to draw her sword and die with dignity, but the demon stopped in front of her. She turned to the side and kept eye contact as she lined the dagger up with her own heart. Tanya¡¯s eyes went wide, and her jaw dropped as the demon stabbed herself. The tip pierced her skin but stopped at the bone. Instead of piercing further, the dagger itself wobbled and bowed in the middle before it snapped, sending a glittering shard of broken blade spinning off into the woods somewhere.

    The demon hadn¡¯t even blinked. Continuing her demonstration, she lined the remaining half of the broken dagger up with her throat. This time, there was no bone to stop the blade from sinking into her flesh. The dulled dagger pierced into her windpipe, all the way to the hilt.

    A smile crept onto the demon¡¯s face as she pulled the dagger out. A single spurt of black blood leaked out of the open wound. Tanya nervously watched the normally-lethal injury heal itself in front of her eyes. After only a few seconds, it was impossible to see any trace of the damage on her skin. Having proven her point, the demon casually tossed the broken dagger away.

    ¡°Not a threat.¡± she repeated with a smug grin. Tanya got the message. Her sword was useless, she was useless, the demon could do whatever it wanted to them, and all of them were completely at her mercy.

    Her stomach tied itself in a knot. Fuck.

    Amelia had been watching the demonstration too, and she seemed impressed by the monster¡¯s resilience. Didn¡¯t she realize the horror of the situation?

    The demon leaned over, bringing her man-eating jaws up to Amelia¡¯s ear. Tanya couldn¡¯t hear anything but the faintest whisper, but even that small trace of sound made her shiver. She watched her friend¡¯s reaction to whatever the demon was saying, it was clearly making her uncomfortable. The demon stepped back, and Amelia cleared her throat awkwardly.

    ¡°Lily wanted me to tell you that if you attack her with the sword, she¡¯ll rip your arm off. But she made a point of saying that, since you¡¯re my friend, she would try to do it without killing you, if possible.¡±

    Amelia gave Tanya a tense, awkward, smile.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t try it, Tanya. You¡¯re important to me and I don¡¯t want you to die, ok?¡±

    Tanya knew that Amelia was right, her words made sense, but the stupid, stubborn part of herself couldn¡¯t accept it. ¡°You¡¯re not showing a lot of faith in your protector, Amy.¡±

    Amelia leaned over and gave her a hug.

    ¡°You¡¯re strong Tanya, strong enough to become a knight some day, but¡­¡± Amelia broke the hug, gripped Tanya¡¯s shoulders firmly, and looked her dead in the eye, ¡°Lily didn¡¯t lie when she said she didn¡¯t want to attack us. I understand how you feel, but even if was possible for you to defeat her, keep in mind that I also made her a Promise. I can¡¯t go back on my word. Like it or not, this is the path we¡¯re going to follow. It¡¯s going to be¡­ a difficult path, but I still need you as my sworn protector while we follow it. Don¡¯t pick a fight with Lily, ok?¡±

    Tanya slumped her shoulders, ¡°ok¡± she said quietly.

    It was finally time to leave this cursed place. Tanya and her best friend climbed into the cart. The demon declined to follow. She kept her distance, intending to walk behind the cart instead of riding on it. That was a mercy, Danica wasn¡¯t doing so well, and Tanya was worried she might break completely if she had to share an enclosed space with ¡®Lily¡¯ for too long.

    The donkey, Tanya forgot his name, pulled the cart through the narrow hidden pathway in the woods, heading back to the road.

 5 - Road Trip

    Well¡­ that went surprisingly well. Much better than she expected at least. The humans didn¡¯t run away or try to kill her. They were actually doing what they said they would.

    As the sun rose, Lilizath continued to follow behind the agonizingly slow-moving cart. It was a decent idea, the cart. Whoever built this contraption was clever. It allowed the three women to rest while they travelled, and it allowed them to carry a hoard of food, clothes, and books with them at the same time. The slowness was an issue, but it could probably be solved if Lilizath herself pulled the cart instead of the grey-fur-lazy creature. She considered suggesting that idea to the humans, but she was content to keep her distance and quietly observe for now. The humans tensed up when the demon got near, and she wanted to watch how they behaved around each other in a natural environment.

    Danica seemed to be asleep for now. Lilizath still hadn¡¯t had a chance to tell her that she wasn¡¯t interested in eating her, but that could wait until later. She still didn¡¯t understand why being stripped naked and touched harmlessly was such a big issue, but she could clearly see that Danica¡¯s reaction to it was genuine. Lilizath didn¡¯t want to break the overly fragile human, and it was obvious to the demon that the girl was going to need a bit of quiet time to recover.

    Amelia rode in the cart too. She sat next Danica for the first few hours of travel, watching over her protectively, but now she was curled up next to the cowardly brunette, fast asleep. Amelia was the only human Lilizath had met so far that didn¡¯t seem to be scared of her. The petite human was nervous around her at first, but after a short conversation, Amelia seemed to have lost that fear completely.

    Lilizath, or ¡®Lily¡¯, as Amelia started calling her, knew that satisfying her desires meant seeking out and interacting with humans. She expected to have a violent relationship with them, to take what she wanted from them by force. Seeing a human relax, and genuinely let her guard down in the demon¡¯s presence, that was something that she¡¯d considered to be impossible. It felt good to be trusted. It satisfied a desire that Lily didn¡¯t even know she had. Sure, the others were still scared of her, but at least Amelia understood that Lily wouldn¡¯t attack her arbitrarily. Lily was trusted and she had no desire to ruin that. She wanted this warm fuzzy feeling to continue.

    Tanya was the only one of the three that was awake. She was sitting at the front of the cart, directing the grey-fur-lazy creature. Lily¡¯s interactions with Tanya were interesting. She liked Tanya. She was a very demonlike human. She was strong, suicidally aggressive and she smelled really good. Lily had a strange urge to wrestle her to the ground, pin her arms, and torment her by gently teasing a sharp claw over her vulnerable squirming body.

    The only thing that stopped her from acting on the urge was Amelia¡¯s haphazard warning about not touching someone without their permission. Lily didn¡¯t understand it yet, but Danica¡¯s distressed state proved it was true. Some touching seemed to be allowed, Lily closely watched the girls hug each other, and that involved pressing their chests together. Breasts were touched. Lily didn¡¯t know what was acceptable, was it ok because of the clothes? because hands weren¡¯t used? She needed to ask Amelia to clarify the touching/no-touching rules at some point.

    Lily sighed as she watched Tanya from behind. In retrospect, Lily shouldn¡¯t have threatened to rip off her arm. That was not a good way to convince the angry girl to let Lily claim her as a toy. She¡¯d followed her instincts and made that threat without thinking. What she really meant to say was that she wasn¡¯t going to let herself be killed, and that Tanya couldn¡¯t take advantage of their agreement to attack her without risk of retaliation.

    The threat didn¡¯t really need to be made. Sure, if Tanya got her hands on a Demonbane weapon and attacked her, then yes, her arm would be gone, along with the rest of her body. Against a normal sword, like the one she wore on her hip, the demon could risk subduing her gently. With a normal sword, Tanya would have to hack at Lily for hours before she ran out of stored energy and lost the ability to regenerate. As Lily told her before, Tanya was truly ¡®not a threat¡¯.

    The cart continued to follow the road until it reached a creek. The thin stream of water cut across the road, passing underneath a short wooden bridge. Tanya directed the grey-fur-lazy to stop and climbed down from her seat on the cart. She yawned, dug through the cart, and grabbed a bag full of lazy-creature food. Apparently, it was time for a rest stop.

    The grey-fur-lazy really was lazy. It had only been pulling the cart for a few hours and it was already tired? How feeble.

    The demon wanted to watch the feeding process, but the grey-fur-lazy made noises and tried to escape when Lily got too close. Yes, yes, she was scary, even the cart-pulling animal seemed to think so. While she enjoyed terrorizing the humans and watching them squirm around her, she was starting to get bored with it.

    Hmm¡­ should Lily warn Tanya?

    She seemed to be a fighter, so she could probably handle it herself. There were only five of them, and these weren¡¯t even the big ones. Still, Lily would be quite upset if either Tanya or Amelia died. The demon started walking closer, ready to step in if Tanya got overwhelmed.

    There was a growl. Tanya turned around, caught off guard. A small grey-fur-growl-bite, only as tall as Lily¡¯s hips, burst out of the woods and charged towards the human. Tanya reached for her sword, but the animal closed the distance before she could draw it. She screamed in pain as its fangs clamped down on her leg. The beast tugged at her, dragged her to the ground, and a second predator followed the first, lunging towards Tanya¡¯s face.

    Nope, she couldn¡¯t handle it on her own.

    Lily leapt into action, charging towards the creatures as fast as she could. She crossed the distance in a blur and a high speed demonic foot connected with the creature that was going for Tanya¡¯s face. There was a crunch, and the beast¡¯s body crumpled and flew away, colliding with a tree on the opposite side of the creek and sloughing off into a misshapen heap on the forest floor.

    The other predator let go of Tanya¡¯s leg, ready to attack the new aggressor. Two sets of clawed fingertips sunk their way into either side of its neck and hooked around the back of its skull. It received a knee to the face, which caused a savage cracking sound. The demon pinned its stunned body to the ground with her foot, and she pulled at the beast¡¯s head until she heard a tearing sound. The demon straightened up and let go of the severed head which hit the ground with a dull thump.

    Another beast was already charging out of the woods and Tanya finally decided to stop being useless. Ignoring her shredded leg, she grit her teeth, scrambled to her feet, and managed to draw her sword before the attacking creature reached her. Lily decided to leave this one to her and go for the two remaining growl-bites that were trying to sneak up on the others. The recently awoken, and extremely disoriented pair of women were still sitting in the cart, not fully aware of their surroundings.

    Lily leaped over the side of the cart, landing in between the two startled girls. The wood cracked and Lily¡¯s left foot punched through the floor of the cart. The demon lost her balance, teetering forward and her momentum carried her over the cart¡¯s opposite side. She landed awkwardly on the gravelly road, flat on her back, with two growling beasts looming over her, one on either side of her.

    Lily growled back at them, and the beasts lunged at her.

    Lily felt one set of jaws close around her face, and a second set of jaws dig into her side. The demon abandoned hope of an easy clean fight. As the beast tore at her face, she thrashed around blindly in the chaos, kicking, smashing, and digging her claws into anything and everything that felt squishy enough to be an animal.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Monstrous fangs raked across her face and sunk deeply into her eye. The other set of jaws tore free from her side, ripping out a chunk of demon flesh before biting into her again. Lily roared with the fury of an Archfiend. The delicious pain only sharpened her murderous instincts further. Her claws tore away at the beasts with unrestrained demonic fury.

    She managed to catch one of them with her flailing legs, pinning it between her thighs. The beast¡¯s fangs continued the tear at her belly, but the damage it could do was limited without the ability to twist its head and tear the flesh away. The second set of fangs, still digging into her eye socket, stopped moving, the beast finally succumbing to its injuries.

    Lily pried the dead animal off her face, reached down between her legs, and stabbed into the remaining beast with both her claws. The demon screamed and snarled, raking her claws across its body. Her feral growls twisted into sadistic laughter as Lily shredded the beast beyond recognition, continuing long after it was dead. When her rage and battle-lust finally simmered down, she looked at the bloody meat pulp between her claws with her one remaining eye. Yep, it was dead for sure. She flopped back down onto her back, panting heavily, and staring up into the sky.

    The battle was over. The world was silent. Her open wounds were throbbing with pain and itching as her body desperately tried to regrow all the flesh that had been torn away. Ouch. Fighting off an attack while defending three humans at the same time was a challenge. She lost one eye, but at least the beasts didn¡¯t get both of them. Complex organs like eyes took a lot longer to regrow than simple skin and muscle. She¡¯d made a mistake with the cart; she¡¯d forgotten how heavy she was compared to a normal human and it had cost her. The last time she¡¯d been hurt this badly was at least 16 or 17 days ago.

    A shock of blonde hair, and a pair of sparkling blue eyes poked out over the edge of the cart, looking down on Lily.

    ¡°A-are you okay?¡± Amelia asked.

    The corner of Lily¡¯s mouth curled into a grin. Yes! She was better than okay! The beasts managed to actually inflict some damage! It was a savage and brutal battle, with her life on the line. She hadn¡¯t gotten this worked up in weeks! Without bothering to wait for her wounds to close, the demon leapt to her feet and reached her arms to the sky in triumph.

    ¡°That was a good battle!¡± she cackled, in mind-destroyingly loud Infernal.

    Danica, still in the cart, fell over and collapsed into a quivering ball. Tanya, standing on the other side of the cart next to the beast she killed, dropped her sword and fell to her knees with her hands over her ears. Amelia stayed where she was, her look of concern turned into a look of annoyance. Oh. Whoops.

    ¡°Sorry,¡± the embarrassed demon whispered to the human.

    Lily¡¯s lips curled back into a grin. The euphoria of battle was still washing over her, and mere embarrassment could not spoil the feeling. She burst into maniacal laugher and ran off into the forest with her claws spread wide. She couldn¡¯t contain herself. Leaves and wood splinters scattered into the air as Lily revelled in the satisfying feeling of tearing the forest apart with her claws.

    <hr>

    The demon rampaged around the nearby woods in a cheerfully murderous frenzy, only returning occasionally to steal another wolf carcass and drag it away into the gloom of the trees for reasons unknown. Eating while running, Amelia assumed.

    Amelia and Danica ignored the monster and carried the injured Tanya into the cart. They laid her down on top of some blankets. Amelia removed her boot, and rolled up the injured warrior¡¯s pant leg, baring the horrible bite wound for inspection. It was pretty bad. The wolf¡¯s fangs punctured deep into her calf and tore up the flesh when it pulled Tanya to the ground.

    Amelia cringed. ¡°You fought like this?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± the exhausted fighter replied, ¡°It barely even hurts. It¡¯s not like a little nibble on my leg is going to slow me down. This will heal up in no time.¡±

    Amelia chose not to confront her about the blatant lie, ¡°We should be able to find you a healer in town. We¡¯re pretty close now. If we hurry, we can probably get you there before nightfall, can you hold out that long?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Tanya spoke icily and narrowed her eyes. ¡°Just get me some water to clean it and something to wrap it with, then I¡¯m good.¡±

    Amelia followed the dishonest girl¡¯s orders. She was right about the need to bandage the wound at least. She helped Tanya pour some clean drinking water over the wound and tore some strips of cloth from her least-favorite night shirt, one that was starting to get kind of old and ratty anyway. Tanya interrupted Amelia¡¯s attempt at wrapping the wound partway through, taking over and rewrapping everything more tightly.

    Right. Tanya got into a lot of fights. A lot of fights. Amelia should have realized that her friend would be an expert at dressing her own injuries by now. With the leg wrapped, Tanya sat up and reached for her sword.

    Amelia slapped her hand, ¡°Nope, lie back down.¡±

    ¡°What if there are more wolves, or bandits?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll feed them to the demon,¡± Amelia said, ¡°You haven¡¯t even slept yet, have you?¡±

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t trust her so easily.¡±

    ¡°She hasn¡¯t done anything bad yet. She even helped us with the wolves,¡± said Amelia.

    Tanya glowered at her friend. Amelia knew Tanya well enough to see the shame hidden behind the anger.

    ¡°You did a good job on that one,¡± Amelia pointed at the wolf. ¡°If they didn¡¯t surprise you, you could have probably taken on two or three of them.¡±

    ¡°Not five?¡± Tanya glared at Amelia murderously. Well, that attempt to console Tanya backfired. Tanya was strong, but not that strong, and Amelia couldn¡¯t lie to protect her feelings. The delinquent muttered to herself quietly, ¡°¡­first the fucking bandits and now¡­¡±

    ¡°Even Sir Thomas would have struggled to kill an entire pack of wolves by himself. They¡¯re smart, and they use teamwork.¡± Amelia tried again, ¡°You¡¯re strong by human standards but don¡¯t compare yourself to Lily, you¡¯ll only make yourself miserable. Even a lesser demon is stronger and tougher than any human. Without magic equipment or spells to make up the difference, us humans can¡¯t compete on their level.¡±

    Tanya stared at her injured leg in shame. Amelia leaned over to hug her.

    ¡°In any case, I¡¯m the Saintess, and you¡¯re the Saintess¡¯ protector. Technically, I¡¯m your boss, so if I have to order to you to get some rest, then I will. I need my protector to be healthy.¡±

    Amelia gently pushed down on Tanya¡¯s shoulders, and guided her back down. The delinquent obeyed her but gave her a sour look.

    The Saintess noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked over her shoulder and saw a horrible terrifying monster standing right behind her, still smiling like a lunatic. Lily¡¯s eye was back. She was completely healed, in fact. And also dripping wet for some reason. The monster girl must have gone for a swim at some point during her gleeful rampage.

    ¡°You¡¯re looking refreshed,¡± said Amelia.

    The demon nodded, and crept up to the side of the cart, looking down at Tanya. ¡°She¡¯s still hurt?¡± she whispered into Amelia¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Yep, from the wolf bite, humans don¡¯t heal as fast as you do. Not without using healing magic, at least.¡±

    ¡°Magic her then. She¡¯s no fun if she¡¯s broken.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t use magic¡­ I was supposed to learn but¡­ things happened. We¡¯ll find her a healer in town.¡± Amelia pointed up the road, ¡°we¡¯ll be there by the end of the day.¡±

    The demon nodded. She stared down at Tanya with a strange glint in her eye, ¡°I want to sleep on her,¡± said the demon.

    Amelia kept her face blank, as she processed what she just heard, ¡°On Tanya? Like, as a pillow?¡±

    The demon nodded, ¡°I slept on a man once. He was very comfy, but then the armored men killed him, and then I had to eat his body because they stabbed me through the spine and Tanya looks just as comfy as he did when he was alive, so I want to sleep on her too.¡±

    Amelia massaged her forehead as she tried to unpack that sentence. The demon didn¡¯t wait for her. With Amelia successfully distracted, the naked demon slowly crept over the side of the wagon. The wood creaked, but she stepped carefully and shifted her weight very slowly. She crept over to the injured warrior.

    Tanya looked at her friend nervously, as the demon crept up to her, ¡°Amelia? what-¡±

    ¡°She wants to cuddle, Tanya.¡± Amelia said, as the demon laid herself down next to Tanya.

    ¡°What? No. Tell her no.¡± It was already too late for Tanya. The demon wrapped an arm and a leg around her, and squeezed her like a living, complaining, hug pillow.

    Amelia was about to intervene, but then a slightly sadistic smile spread on her face, ¡°You know, Tanya¡­ if you¡¯re have trouble trusting Lily¡­ you two might just need some time to bond.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you fucking dare,¡± said Tanya, in the most murderous tone she could muster. The delinquent tried to squirm free from the demon¡¯s grasp, but her gentle grip was as unyielding as rope. Lily wasn¡¯t letting go, and Tanya was stuck.

    ¡°Amelia,¡± said Tanya in a pleading voice, ¡°this isn¡¯t funny anymore.¡±

    Amelia watched the ferocious hellbeast nestle her head into Tanya¡¯s chest and close her eyes with a relaxed smile on her face. ¡°Sorry Tanya,¡± she said, with a giggle, ¡°it¡¯s a little bit funny. I¡¯ll step in if she gets too weird. Have a good rest you two.¡±

    Amelia maneuvered to the front of the cart, getting ready to hit the road again. Lily let out a relaxed sigh. Tanya groaned.

 6 - Welcome To Befield

    ¡°Hey Tanya,¡± Amelia called out sweetly, ¡°can Lily borrow some of your clothes? she¡¯s about your size.¡±

    Amelia dug through the luggage in the cart and was rummaging through Tanya¡¯s packed clothes.

    ¡°If I say yes, will you pry her off me?¡±

    Six hours had passed since the wolves attacked. It was now late afternoon and Lily was still clinging on to Tanya happily. So far, Amelia had been ignoring Tanya¡¯s outraged complaints, but six hours of forced cuddling was a long time. Tanya was a tough girl, but the Saintess suspected that they might be nearing the physical endurance limits of the human bladder soon.

    ¡°Yes, I will figuratively pry her off, by asking her to let go.¡± replied Amelia, ¡°so what do you have that we could get her to wear.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care anymore Amy, just give her whatever.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give her your dress. You hate it. I know you only brought it along because Mrs. Marsh guilted you into it.¡± Amelia dug through the clothes and pulled out a thin, white, frilly little summer dress. Considering Tanya only wore pants, and preferred dark colors and slash resistant fabrics, this was definitely not her style.

    ¡°Oh, by the way, Mrs. Marsh¡¯s hurt expression when you said you weren¡¯t going to take this with you to the capital was one hundred percent fake. She played you like a fiddle. She knew you didn¡¯t like it and was just being stubborn about it because she thought you looked too boyish and she hoped to turn you into a proper lady some day.¡±

    ¡°Well fuck her then! let¡¯s see her try to beat the shit out of a guy twice her size while wearing a dress,¡± grumbled Tanya.

    The town of Befield was now in view on the horizon. The town was located on the border between the forest and a vast rolling plain. Tall mountains stood in the near distance, isolating this recently colonized region from the rest of the continent. The town was situated on either side of a river and surrounded by a wooden palisade wall designed to keep the fearsome forest predators away from the townsfolk.

    Compared to Amelia¡¯s tiny village of a hundred people, this town was absolutely massive. There must have been at least a thousand people here, living in hundreds of individual houses. Befield acted as sort of a trade hub for all the little villages in this remote little corner of the Aldmerian Empire. Raw materials were the only things of value out here. The mountain villages had a prosperous mining industry, and the forest villages, like Amelia¡¯s own town of Greenvale, harvested rich crops, rare mushrooms and medicinal herbs that only grew in the forest soil. They also took advantage of an abundant supply of wood and animal pelts.

    Danica stopped the cart and got out to tend to the very exhausted Geronimo. This was the last stop before they reached the town. Amelia gently nudged the sleeping cuddle monster awake, and Tanya squirmed free. Still grumbling about dresses, she limped off into the woods to pee.

    ¡°So, we¡¯ve almost reached the town,¡± Amelia held up the frilly little clothing article in front of Lily. ¡°I think it might be a good idea to wear some clothes.¡±

    The demon looked unconvinced, ¡°Humans care about clothes but I have no problem with being naked,¡± she whispered to Amelia.

    ¡°Wearing clothes in public, is sort of a social rule that humans follow. You¡¯re not exactly hurting anyone by being naked, but I would strongly suggest wearing clothes in public anyway.¡±

    ¡°Why would I follow human social rules if I¡¯m not a human?¡± she said. ¡°It sounds inconvenient.¡±

    ¡°Think of it this way. If you want humans to feel comfortable around you and not start trouble, then wearing clothes will help them accept you. If you follow the social rule about clothes, then they might find it easier to trust that you¡¯ll follow the social rule about not killing them too.¡±

    The demon sighed, ¡°Humans are complicated.¡±

    Amelia chuckled, ¡°I know, right? I¡¯ve been a human for 21 years, and even I find that we¡¯re too complicated to understand sometimes.¡±

    The demon took the offered dress, holding it delicately between her long claws. She tried to slide it over her head, but it got caught on her horns. Amelia scooted around behind her, and tugged at the dress, maneuvering it around the sharp spikes. Eventually, with a lot of patience, the vicious murderbeast was standing in front of Amelia, wearing a frilly little dress.

    Tanya limped her way back from the bushes and burst out laughing when she saw the frilly demon.

    Danica held back a giggle, ¡°I think it looks cute,¡± she said.

    When they were done stretching their legs, the four ladies got back on the cart and started moving again.

    <hr>

    Amelia sat next to Danica as they rolled up to the town gate. A pair of men watched them, bows in hand, from atop their perches on either side of the entrance. The gate itself was open, but another pair of guards, this time bearing spears, stood at the ready on either side.

    Amelia smiled at the men warmly, and the men smiled back. And then they saw the demon, and their smiles faded.

    ¡°Good afternoon,¡± one of the guards said politely, but with a threatening edge to his voice, ¡°You look like new faces, can I ask you who you are and what business you have in Befield?¡±

    ¡°Certainly,¡± Amelia smiled, ¡°I am Saintess Amelia Voss, Chosen of Truth. I was told that Lord Roland and Lady Claire Montagne were offering to lend us a room to stay in while we resupplied for our journey to the capital."

    Amelia gestured to Tanya, sitting inside the cart, ¡°One of us was also severely bitten by a wolf, so I would like to buy the services of a healer as well. As soon as possible.¡±

    The guard¡¯s posture relaxed but he eyed her skeptically, ¡°The name¡¯s Dean. Nobody told us that one of the Chosen was coming here. That¡¯s pretty suspicious. How do I know that you¡¯re even who you say you are?¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯re lying?¡± Amelia suggested, ¡°Your name isn¡¯t Dean, and you¡¯re definitely expecting me.¡±

    The guard, whose name wasn¡¯t Dean, smirked, ¡°Alright, sorry, I couldn¡¯t resist.¡±

    He waved over another soldier from somewhere inside the town, a younger one, likely a recruit.

    ¡°Go get Damien from the temple,¡± he ordered.

    Not-Dean¡¯s eyes glanced over the other people in the cart, and lingered a little bit longer on Lily, ¡°So, the lord was expecting five guests, and uuh¡­ no demonic servants.¡±

    ¡°Yes, we were five originally. Sir Thomas and Acolyte Joffrey were killed when bandits ambushed us.¡± Amelia turned and gestured to Lily, ¡°And Lily here is not a servant, she is an unbound de-¡±

    Immediately, all four guardsmen stiffened up. The two men on the ground took a step back and readied their spears. The two men with bows each took out an arrow, ready to shoot.

    ¡°Don¡¯t attack please,¡± Amelia held up a hand, ¡°She saved us from the bandits of her own volition, and in exchange, I have promised to allow her to travel with us. She has sincerely promised not to attack humans unprovoked, but she told me she will defend herself. I would like to ask that you treat her as a member of my entourage.¡±

    The four guards looked at each other, ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want you to feel unwelcome, Your Eminence, but we can¡¯t exactly allow an unbound demon to walk into the town. We already have one murderous demon on the loose, and we don¡¯t want any more.¡±

    ¡°Surely you can make an exception for me,¡± Amelia said, with an innocent smile, ¡°I need to honor my word, so I can¡¯t leave Lily behind. I suppose you could allow Danica and Tanya inside, and I can camp outside the city gates with Lily while they take care of business in town. That might work.¡±

    ¡°Fuck that, I¡¯m not leaving you alone out here,¡± interrupted Tanya.

    ¡°Right, so just Danica then,¡± said Amelia.

    The guards walked back and argued in whispered voices. After a few seconds, one of them returned to the cart, ¡°All right, we¡¯ve sent a runner to ask the captain about your situation. Just wait here for a bit.¡±

    Tanya¡¯s healer showed up first, twenty minutes after the running recruit left for the temple. An androgynous young gentleman in white robes jogged up to the gate.

    He gave Amelia a flirty smile, ¡°Helllo, Your Eminence, my name is Damien, Acolyte of Thule. I was told you needed a healer.¡±

    Amelia felt herself blush, ¡°Y-yes, that¡¯s right.¡±

    Amelia found him handsome, extremely handsome, but at the same time she received a small blow to her self esteem. This man was, without a doubt, prettier than she was. He had wavy blond hair, perfectly styled, sparkling green eyes with perfect eyelashes, a perfectly proportioned face, and not a single blemish on his skin. Men weren''t supposed to be prettier than women. It was unfair!

    The healer wore similar robes to Amelia¡¯s own. White robes or white armor indicated that a person was a servant of one of the gods and the only difference between their two robes was the pendants around their necks. His pendant bore the symbol of Thule, God of Love.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Amelia should be wearing something different. The robes and armor of those with authority were often trimmed with gold. As one of the Chosen, hand picked by the goddess directly, Amelia should rightly be wearing the shiniest of all robes, with all the golden embroidery and embellishments they could fit on it. She hated the idea of being forced to wear something pretentious like that. Like this healer, she wore the basic unadorned robes of a lower level divine servant and she was happier for it.

    ¡°My magic only works if I can touch your companion. Is she going to eat me if I try to get close?¡±

    Damien was glancing nervously at the curious demon girl. Amelia was secretly pleased that his perfect poise was thrown off by Lily¡¯s presence, ¡°No, it should be fine,¡± she replied.

    Just to be certain, she told Lily what the pretty man was going to do. She nodded in acknowledgement and watched him settle down next to Tanya. Amelia expected Lily to ignore him, or at least watch from a distance, but the demoness quietly snuck closer.

    ¡°Uuh, what¡¯s she doing?¡± the healer asked.

    ¡°I think she just wants to watch.¡± said Amelia.

    And Lily did. She watched closely as Tanya helped Damien unwrap her bandage. The young man touched a palm to her ankle, just below the calf where the bite was. A faint golden glow sparkled around his hand, and Tanya¡¯s bite wound started to close. Lily had a look of childlike wonder as the young man performed magic in front of her eyes.

    He was good at his job. The wound finished healing within a minute, and he didn¡¯t even leave behind a scar. The demon crept closer to the healer as he worked, and by the time he was finished, she was kneeling behind him with her claws gently resting on his shoulders, smelling his hair. Amelia was focused on her friend as well, she only noticed Lily once Damien gave her a terrified look.

    ¡°Your Eminence¡­¡± the healer began, ¡°she¡¯s uuh¡­ making me nervous.¡±

    Amelia realized that Lily likely found the man pretty as well.

    ¡°Sorry, I think she likes you.¡± Amelia explained, ¡°I¡¯m still teaching her about respecting boundaries.¡±

    Damien the healer squirmed as the demon lowered her head and opened her mouth. Starting from his collar, she slowly ran her tongue up the nervous gentleman¡¯s neck, stopping just behind his ear. The man stifled a gasp and shivered as the demon gently nibbled on his ear lobe. Amelia was nervous that she would take a bite out of him, but no, she seemed to know what she was doing. This was a sexy bite. The servant of the god of love¡¯s breathing went heavy and he started blushing. Amelia hated to interrupt the fun, but¡­

    ¡°Lily,¡± she said in the sweetest voice she could manage while speaking Infernal, ¡°did you remember to get his permission first?¡±

    The demon gave Amelia a pouty look and hugged the man possessively. She looked like a little kid, afraid that Amelia was going to confiscate this new toy she found.

    ¡°If he says it¡¯s ok, you can keep going, but if he says no you need to stop.¡± Amelia lectured.

    ¡°Mister Damien, sorry about this,¡± said Amelia, switching back to common-tongue, ¡°I can stop her if you want, just let me know.¡±

    ¡°Uuh¡­ yeah that would be good.¡± said Damien, ¡°She¡¯s lovely but uuh¡­ I¡¯m not comfortable with this.¡±

    ¡°Sorry Lily, he said to stop,¡± Amelia translated into infernal.

    Lily looked crushed. A variety of different expressions flashed across her face as she processed the newly discovered feeling of rejection, mostly flashing between despair and rage. She continued to hug Damien possessively. Her eyes scanned around, looking at the guards with a sinister predatory stare, assessing their weaknesses. Amelia noticed one of her claws creeping closer to Damien¡¯s throat, gently wrapping around, getting ready to kill. The ever-wary Tanya noticed too, but thankfully nobody else seemed to. Amelia gestured for Tanya not to do anything.

    With the man held hostage, Lily glared angrily at Amelia, baring her teeth slightly. Amelia simply maintained eye contact and smiled back at her. It was a bluff, her gift told her that. She wasn¡¯t really going to kill him. After almost a minute of tense staring, the demon finally gave up. She sighed, and pushed the man away from her, accidentally knocking him over. Throwing up her arms in defeat, she shuffled away from him and settled herself in the corner of the cart.

    ¡°Thank you, Lily, I know that wasn¡¯t easy.¡±

    The demon pouted at her and crossed her arms.

    A few minutes later, after the healer left, the demon was still pouting in the corner. Amelia saw a large group of armed men arrive at the gate. They all had matching chainmail and breastplates, and they carried spears and swords at their hip. An older man stood among the others. He was dressed in well worn armor, covered with a patina of dents and scratches. Despite the wear, his armor seemed to be of higher quality than that of the other guardsmen. He was also wearing a red cape that set him apart from the others at a glance. The older man walked up to Amelia¡¯s cart.

    ¡°Greetings, Your Eminence, I am the captain of the town guard, Sir Richter.¡±

    ¡°Nice to meet you, Captain,¡± said Amelia with a smile.

    ¡°At the request of the Lord and Lady Montagne, we¡¯re here to escort you and your¡­ entourage to their estate.¡±

    ¡°My entire entourage, correct?¡± Amelia asked, gesturing behind herself to the recently rebuffed demon sitting in the cart.

    ¡°Yes,¡± the Captain said, keeping eye contact with the pouty demon. His polite demeanor, which was fake to begin with, crumbled, and his real voice was tinged with annoyance, ¡°Why are you bringing another unbound demon into my town?¡±

    ¡°Another?¡±

    ¡°Yes, another,¡± the Captain¡¯s grouchy glare turned to Amelia, ¡°For the last two weeks we¡¯ve had a demon sneaking around and killing people at night. It¡¯s a crisis, and you¡¯ve just doubled our problem.¡±

    It was Amelia¡¯s turn to get annoyed, ¡°Lily isn¡¯t the same. I¡¯m mostly confident she won¡¯t be trouble. I''m certain she has no intention to sneak around and murder people at night.¡±

    The captain leaned in, so that only Amelia could hear, ¡°Inquisitors are expensive. Our town doesn¡¯t have one, so we don¡¯t have the luxury of allowing the two demons to meet up and plot against us. One is hard enough to handle, if the two demons teamed up, we''re screwed. I¡¯ll be frank with you. She has one chance, and if she makes trouble, we¡¯re putting her down.¡±

    ¡°Understood, Captain,¡± said Amelia.

    The Captain walked away, and Amelia tried to perk herself up. She did not like that man. In the words of her blacksmith mentor, he seemed like a ¡®cockhat¡¯. In any case, Amelia had no need to start a fight. She got what she wanted. They were allowed inside the town, and they even had an escort to show them the way to their accommodations.

    <hr>

    Amelia had only been to Befield once before, when she went to meet some traders and arrange for periodic ore shipments for the village smithy. Back then, there hadn¡¯t been a parade for her.

    Well, technically the parade was for Lily. And it wasn¡¯t really a parade, it was an escort to keep her from going on a rampage and eating everybody. Still, the townsfolk thought it was a parade and they were cheering for the newly Chosen Saintess.

    There were seven gods of the mortal world, just like there were seven demon lords of the Abyss. Each god had only one chosen, and when that chosen died, a new mortal was chosen somewhere in the world to replace them. There were two other Chosen known to be within the Aldmerian Empire¡¯s borders, the Chosen of Love and the Chosen of Valor. Neither of them had much reason to visit a remote little town like this. Even though she didn¡¯t feel like she was anything special, Amelia¡¯s visit seemed to be a momentous occasion to the townsfolk.

    Amelia sat at the front of the cart, right next to Danica who still held the reins. She waved at people as she passed, and many of them waved back. Tanya just laid down in the cart, hiding behind the side wall, not wanting to bother with the crowd. Lily poked her nose over the edge and watched the people with crimson eyes. The horns were a dead giveaway as to her nature, but she didn¡¯t seem to alarm the townsfolk as much as she did the guards. Most of them probably assumed Lily was being controlled via a summoning geas like most demonic servants. Amelia resolved not to explicitly mention that she wasn¡¯t, unless someone asked, or it became important for some reason.

    The procession of guards, ladies, a demon and a donkey travelled towards their destination. The Montagne estate was the largest house in town. It was a massive mansion, surrounded by beautiful gardens situated on a small hill overlooking the rest of the town. The late Acolyte Joffrey apparently knew the lord and lady of this fiefdom and arranged for Amelia to stay here. Apparently, getting a room at the inn was unsuitable for someone of Amelia¡¯s status. Amelia disagreed, but by the time she found out about it, Joffrey had already made the plans.

    The wagon and guards passed through a wrought iron gate and along a private cart path through the pristinely kept estate grounds. Finally, they brought the cart up to the front entrance of the mansion. Three maids waited there to greet them. One of them, an older maid, looked like the leader, and she stood at the center of the three.

    ¡°Welcome to our humble home, Your Eminence.¡±

    The three maids wore traditional black and white uniforms. There was a black dress, worn under a frilly white apron and matching headpiece. Amelia noticed that the uniforms varied greatly from person to person. The younger maids, around courting age, seemed to favor a shorter skirt.

    What followed was an impressively organized flurry of activity. Amelia got up and spoke to the head maid, giving her the details of their journey. Tanya was invited inside, taken to the drawing room, and served tea. Danica rejected the tea and was busy directing the other maids. They were all going to get separate rooms, so she was explaining whose stuff belonged to who, what clothes needed to be laundered, and reminded them to be careful with her expensive collection of books. Yes, she brought all of them with her, and each chest full of books weighed more than the three girls combined. At the same time, Geronimo, the donkey, was taken from the cart and brought to the stables for a well-deserved rest. All of that happened within two minutes.

    Lily watched everything closely. When the maids surrounded the cart to start unpacking, Lily hopped off the side, and scurried a short distance away so she could watch everyone without being surrounded. Her eyes darted around as she tracked the individual movements of every single person moving around. Amelia was relieved she didn¡¯t feel threatened. She seemed wary of all the humans running around, but not wary enough to turn murderous.

    ¡°Will we need any special accommodations for... Lily, was it?¡± the head maid asked. ¡°This would be the first time we¡¯ve hosted an unbound demon as a guest.¡±

    ¡°Let me ask,¡± Amelia waved at the demon and gestured for her to come closer. She explained what a guest was, what an accommodation was, how she was going to be treated as a guest, why treating guests nicely was considered polite, why being polite was important to humans, and finally had a chance to ask her about how the maids could make her feel comfortable and what sort of foods she ate.

    ¡°Meat. Any meat. Pounce-claw is the second tastiest, after human, but I wouldn¡¯t mind trying some normal human food to see what your kind eats,¡± the demon whispered into Amelia¡¯s ear, ¡°I don¡¯t care if they bow or whatever, that¡¯s a human thing. Just tell them not to attack me, I¡¯ll fight back if they do. I¡¯ll still try not to kill them unless they¡¯re using glowing swords. If they have glowing swords, then they die immediately.¡±

    ¡°Glowing swords?¡±

    ¡°I think the succubus called them Demonbane? The armored men used them. They hurt¡­ and the pain was different. It wasn¡¯t the good kind of pain.¡±

    Amelia was getting an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach, ¡°Armored men with Demonbane weapons? they attacked you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, they were called Inquisitors I think, I only managed to kill one. Father killed the rest.¡±

    ¡°You killed an inquisitor. I see,¡± Amelia carefully kept her face blank, only freaking out on the inside. ¡°And your father the Archfiend, he killed some too? in the mortal world? is he still here?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d see him if he was nearby, he¡¯s taller than the trees.¡± the demon explained, ¡°No, he ran off in a different direction when we left the tower. He said that he was free and that he wanted to go battle things.¡±

    Right then. Lily wasn''t just a greater demon, she was greater demon dangerous enough to kill an Inquisitor on her own. And, oh yeah, there was an unbound Archfiend on the loose somewhere on the continent. Those were two pieces of information that Amelia would have been much happier not knowing. She was going to have trouble sleeping now.

    ¡°Is everything alright, Your Eminence?¡± asked the maid.

    ¡°No not really, I just heard something scary that I need to process.¡±

    The head maid was curious to know more, but Amelia decided to stay quiet on the subject for now. Instead, she passed on Lily¡¯s requests. She doubted that maids would be wandering around with expensive enchanted weapons worth more than a castle, but just in case she made sure to specifically warn them about Lily¡¯s Demonbane threat as well.

    Amelia, Lily, and the head maid left Danica behind, still fussing over her books, and entered the mansion.

 7 - Welcome To Befield II

    As Amelia and the others entered the mansion, Lily stepped carefully on the wooden floor. Maybe she wasn¡¯t used to hardwood flooring? As they were led upstairs, there was an ominous creaking sound beneath their feet. Their combined weight was stressing the stairs to their limit. Amelia finally figured something out.

    ¡°Lily, how heavy are you exactly?¡±

    The demon shrugged, and whispered in Amelia¡¯s ear, ¡°Very heavy I think.¡±

    Right¡­ Yet another mystery to uncover later. There were probably some weigh scales for livestock in the town¡¯s market. It would be an easier mystery to solve than the question of what type of demon she was.

    Amelia was shown her room and it was magnificent. From the animal fur rugs lining the floor, to the ornately detailed wood panelled walls and ceiling, it was probably the single nicest room Amelia had ever entered. The room, by itself, probably had the same sized footprint as Amelia¡¯s old house. It featured an armoire, a vanity, and a private bathroom with a large metal tub that the maids could fill up for her if she requested it.

    The crowning feature of the room was a gloriously soft looking canopy bed that Lily immediately dove into and rolled around on. The bed creaked under her weight, but miraculously, it seemed to support her. Amelia was tempted to join her, it looked so soft¡­ Was this a feather bed? Amelia had never slept on something this fancy. The Montagne family obviously invested in quality furniture.

    Amelia decided to take advantage of the bathtub right away and called for a maid. She¡¯d been travelling through the woods for three days, so she was probably a bit ripe. The bed was now in total disarray, Lily was lost inside the chaos, peering out from the inside of a blanket cave she made for herself.

    When the maid arrived, Lily and Amelia watched her walk to the empty bathtub holding a focusing crystal. This one was in the shape of a small gemstone set on the tip of a wooden wand. Usually, these were used by arcane mages to improve the efficiency of their spellcasting. They weren¡¯t always required, but almost all mages used them.

    The maid closed her eyes and concentrated. A floating blob of water sprang into existence and poured itself into the bathtub. Conjuring that much water took a few minutes, and the maid looked a little bit woozy by the end of it, likely because she consumed too much mana.

    Amelia was supposed to learn how to use magic from Acolyte Joffrey during the trip. Apparently, thanks to her blessing and connection with Verita, she would have a natural talent for channeling the goddess¡¯ power through divine magic.

    The maid wasn¡¯t using divine magic of course. This was arcane magic. The results were similar to divine magic, but the actual mechanics of casting the spells were very different. Instead of coming from a divine source, arcane magic used the mana in the air and inside the spell caster¡¯s body to fuel its spells. No gods were involved. Amelia would eventually learn to wield divine magic, and Danica was studying hard, hoping to someday learn arcane magic. Once they found proper teachers, they would compliment each other pretty well.

    With the bathtub filled with cold water, the maid activated a fire rune on the side of the tub. She told Amelia how to adjust the rune¡¯s output and set the bath temperature to whatever she wished.

    After the maid left, Amelia set out a new change of clothes for herself while she waited for the bath to warm itself up. She was about to strip down and get in the tub when she remembered she was being watched.

    ¡°You know you have your own room,¡± Amelia said to the pile of blankets, ¡°you can get comfy there.¡±

    Lily didn¡¯t take the hint. Amelia received a rebellious stare from the crimson eyes inside the blanket cave. The monster would not give up her new nest easily. Oh whatever, she¡¯d already spoiled Lily¡¯s fun once today by stopping her from sexually assaulting someone, she didn¡¯t want to be the bad guy all the time and she had to pick her battles. Plus, she¡¯d seen Lily naked plenty of times, the demon clearly didn¡¯t view nudity through the same cultural lens Amelia did. Amelia stripped off her clothes and climbed into a nice warm bath.

    The Saintess made use of the extremely expensive scented soaps the nobles provided her and scrubbed herself clean. She then relaxed in the bath, and saw a demon squatting immediately next to the tub, peering over the side. Lily leaned forward and smelled the perfumed soap that Amelia had just rinsed out of her hair.

    ¡°Smells good doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    The demon shrugged, ¡°You smelled better before.¡±

    Amelia must have shown her confusion on her face because Lily explained, ¡°The sweat. Human sweat smells amazing, yours included. It¡¯s much nicer than the smell of flowers.¡±

    ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Amelia was about to disagree but then she remembered the blacksmith¡¯s young apprentice, working away on a piece of hot iron, wearing no shirt under his apron, his muscular body completely drenched in sweat. Amelia subconsciously bit her lip.

    ¡°You might have a point there,¡± Amelia admitted, ¡°at least, if the sweat is fresh. At some point it goes from sexy to gross.¡±

    ¡°Sexy?¡± The demon asked.

    Ok¡­ how was she going to explain the concept of sexiness to a murderous hellbeast. Did she even have a sex drive? Of course she did, she was climbing all over Damien the healer like a cat in heat. If that¡¯s the case, she might already be aware of the concept, just not the word.

    ¡°It¡¯s like¡­ things that turn you on, make you aroused, horny, wet? In my case, muscular men covered in fresh sweat after a hard day¡¯s work is one example of sexy. Different people find different things sexy though.¡±

    ¡°Wet down here?¡± Lily asked, standing and lifting the hem of her skirt shamelessly.

    Amelia averted her eyes and buried her face in her hand, ¡°Yep. Down there.¡±

    Lily covered up, crouched back down, and carefully considered the concept of sexiness. Almost half a minute later, she came to her conclusion. ¡°Fighting,¡± she decided.

    Amelia looked at the demoness with incredulity, did she misunderstand the concept of sexy?

    The demoness explained, ¡°Close fights, against a powerful opponent. Either of us could win. Ideally, they would also be intelligent and cruel, fighting dirty, attacking with claws, fists and teeth. Fighting for dominance, inflicting delicious pain, and having that pain be returned to you, the excitement of battle, the closeness of bodies, the winner pins down the loser, and then¡­¡±

    It was at this point that Lily¡¯s words trailed off and she flopped backwards, staring at the ceiling and giggling with a perverted grin and a distant look in her eye. Alright then, Lily had a weird kink, but she definitely seemed to understand the concept of sexiness.

    ¡°I think I¡¯m done,¡± said Amelia, climbing out of the tub and wrapping herself in a towel, ¡°You should take a turn and use the water too, I think you could use a bath.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I smell gross,¡± Lily said, sniffing her arm, ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®old sweat¡¯ smell because I don¡¯t sweat.¡±

    ¡°I can still see traces of blood on your shoulders there, and your hair is greasy and tangled. Actually, I think it¡¯s matted in parts, we might have to cut those clumps out. I should teach you about hairbrushes.¡±

    What followed was a long, frustrating 30 minutes where Amelia tried to move a reluctant greater demon into a bathtub. At first, Amelia just tried to pick her up, but Lily went limp and grinned rebelliously as Amelia failed to even lift one of her legs off the floor. Goddess above, how heavy was she? Next, she tried tickling. The demon squirmed a bit but remained steadfast. Amelia tried poking, splashing her with water from the tub and blowing in her ear. The demon remained completely unfazed, not losing her smug victorious grin even once.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you how to adjust the fire rune?¡± Amelia tried. She was out of ideas. Out of desperation she was trying to appeal to the demon¡¯s sense of curiosity. It worked.

    The demon hesitantly sat up, and watched Amelia explain how to adjust the water¡¯s temperature. When Amelia was done her explanation, Lily immediately set the rune to a horrendously unsafe temperature and hopped in the tub.

    Amelia got to work. She handed Lily a block of soap for her body and told her to handle things below her neck. She carefully kneeled behind the demon, making sure not to get stabbed by her horns, and lathered up some more soap to wash her hair for her.

    She ended up washing and rinsing the demon girl¡¯s hair three times, each rinse turning the bathwater a darker shade of rusty orange. Apparently, Lily¡¯s hair soaked up blood like a sponge. If she had lighter hair, she¡¯d have turned into a redhead. The knots and tangles took a lot of work to unravel, but Amelia managed to save most of the hair. In the end, she only had to cut out one small clump near Lily¡¯s neck that refused to yield to her efforts.

    By the time Amelia was finished with Lily¡¯s hair, she couldn¡¯t touch the bathwater anymore. It was scalding hot, and still getting hotter. Amelia, concerned for the girl, moved around the side, and spotted a twisted look of demonic satisfaction on her face.

    ¡°So warm,¡± the demon moaned, ¡°this is the best.¡±

    Amelia shook her head, ¡°Don¡¯t stay in there too long, they¡¯ll call us for dinner soon.¡±

    The Saintess dressed herself in a clean robe and brushed her own hair. By the time she was dressed, the demon¡¯s bathwater was starting to bubble and simmer. Coaxing the demon out her boiling demon-soup was almost as hard as getting her in the bath in the first place. She ended up telling the demon how human foods tasted and how different they were from her usual diet of raw meat.

    Once again, appealing to curiosity seemed to be the trick. Lily excitedly jumped out of the bath, leaving a trail of boiling water on the floor. Amelia hastily turned down the fire rune¡¯s temperature and raced after Lily before she could walk out into the hallway naked.

    ¡°Clothes.¡± she reminded the demon.

    The demon rolled her eyes, wrung the water from her hair onto the floor, and awkwardly squeezed back into Tanya¡¯s white dress.

    ¡°A maid should come by and tell us when dinner is ready,¡± Amelia explained while brushing Lily¡¯s hair.

    Lily frowned and tapped her foot. She managed to wait a whole entire minute before she burst out into the hallway, with Amelia chasing after her.

    ¡°Wait Lily, even if you get there faster, the food won¡¯t be ready any sooner.¡±

    Amelia called after the vicious hell-monster as she walked quickly and purposefully down the hallway. A hapless maid froze in terror as the hungry demon approached her. At the last second, she dodged out of the way, dropping an arm full of freshly washed clothing and narrowly avoiding getting trampled. The demon followed the smell of food all the way to the kitchen, and Amelia gently steered her into the nearby dining room instead.

    Immediately, Lily sat at the head of the table, and Amelia had to explain that, for fancy people, the ends of the table were usually reserved for the hosts, in this case, Lord and Lady Montagne. After flagging down a servant, she was pointed towards the correct seats. Apparently, Amelia was meant to be seated to the right of Lady Montagne, as the guest of honor. Her husband would sit next to her, if she had one. Amelia decided that it was going to be Lily¡¯s spot instead. The maid told her that dinner was at least 20 minutes away, and they weren¡¯t going to start seating people for another 15 minutes.

    To help manage the demon¡¯s expectations, Amelia explained that the portion was going to be human sized, in other words, one or two of Lily¡¯s normal bites. So, if Lily wanted to enjoy it, she should take smaller bites, eat slowly and try to savor the taste. Rich people usually had good food.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Amelia also explained that eating with one¡¯s hands (or claws) was generally considered bad manners. She picked up a knife and fork and tried to show the demon how to use them. Amelia didn¡¯t realize it before but grabbing anything as small as a fork or table knife was actually quite difficult for Lily¡¯s long and stiff claws. She was not created by the gods to be a tool user like humans, she couldn¡¯t even close her hand into a fist without stabbing her own palm. Her ¡®hands¡¯ were only meant to be weapons. The hard black claw tips didn¡¯t have grippy pads like human fingertips either, it was like trying to pick up a fork by pinching it between two knives. She eventually managed to grip her fork between two claw tips and squeezed it firmly enough to bend the metal slightly. She lifted it into the air, inspected the fork, grimaced, and dropped it back on the table.

    ¡°Bleh! I don¡¯t like it,¡± said the demoness, eyeing the fork warily, ¡°this metal feels wrong.¡±

    Amelia glanced down at the fork with surprise. Hers didn¡¯t feel wrong¡­

    ¡°It¡¯s like Demonbane. The same wrongness, but it doesn¡¯t burn.¡±

    Oh no! How could she have forgotten? Silver!

    ¡°Sorry. I think our hosts are using silver cutlery. I only remembered now, but I heard someone say that silver weapons were used by monster hunters. Apparently, they were more effective than steel against things like werewolves, vampires, undead, and¡­ demons. Something about piercing through magical defenses? It was just something I overheard in a tavern, and I was very drunk at the time, so I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true.¡±

    Intrigued, the demon awkwardly grabbed the fork once again. She rested one end on the table and pointed the spikey tines upwards. Holding it in place, she slammed her other hand down on it, piercing her palm.

    Lily bit back a scream that twisted into a snarling growl. It was bestial, and vicious enough that Amelia nearly fell out of her chair in surprise. Lily tossed the severely bent fork, the tips of which were now coated in black demon blood, onto her plate and licked her palm.

    ¡°That hurt more than it should. A lot more¡­¡± she said, examining her palm. ¡°Not as bad as Demonbane, but still pretty bad. It¡¯s also healing slowly. A wound this size should close in seconds, but its still bleeding.¡±

    ¡°That was really dangerous,¡± Amelia scolded, ¡°what if it poisoned you?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m hard to poison. Also, I¡¯d rather find this out now, with the help of a fork, than in the middle of a fight, with the help of a silver sword. Now I know to watch out for those too, not just golden glowy Demonbane blades.¡±

    Amelia let the demon lick her wounds. She left the table to go tell the kitchen staff about Lily¡¯s incompatibility with silver. They sheepishly offered to give her some steel cutlery. They were worried about insulting the demon, steel cutlery was meant for the servants, not guests. Amelia reassured them that it would be fine, she didn¡¯t think Lily would care about that too much.

    Upon returning to the dining hall, she noticed that Lily¡¯s hand stopped bleeding, but four little poke marks was still visible on her palm. A servant arrived, took away the bent and bloody fork, along with all the other silverware, and made a new table setting for the demon. Lily touched the steel fork and nodded in satisfaction.

    Just because the metal didn¡¯t feel wrong anymore, didn¡¯t mean that Lily could suddenly manipulate the fork with her claws though. She spent the next few minutes practicing in vain, seeing almost no improvement before the others began to arrive.

    Tanya and Danica were first to show up, and they were seated across from Amelia. The Lord and Lady Montagne were the next to arrive. Amelia and Danica stood when they entered the room, as proper etiquette demanded. Tanya and Lily stayed seated and looked around, confused.

    Roland Montagne, lord of Befield, the surrounding villages, and pretty much all the empty wilderness on this side of the mountains, was a hardy looking gentleman with rough hands. He had shoulder-length auburn hair, colored with streaks of grey, tied back behind his neck. The thick beard on his chin was completely grey and trimmed neatly. His outfit was causal, by noble standards, a burgundy red tunic embroidered with gold and simple black trousers.

    Claire Montagne, wife to Roland, looked somewhat younger than her husband, with fair skin and long raven black hair. Amelia thought she looked like a more mature version of Lily, minus the horns and claws, and with bit more bust and hips added in to replace them. She wore a long, forest green gown, and her ears, neck, and fingers were all adored with impressive glittering jewelry.

    As they exchanged pleasantries, the last of the dinner guests showed up. The young man wore a plain brown shirt, and black trousers. He looked somewhat like a commoner, with his work-tanned skin and messy brown hair. He introduced himself as the lord¡¯s son, Caiden Montagne. Amelia could see the family resemblance. He was like a younger version of his father, without the beard.

    ¡°No groping this one,¡± she whispered to the demon, ¡°he¡¯s the son of the important people that own this house, and if you offend them, we don¡¯t get to sleep on the comfy beds anymore.¡±

    Lily¡¯s eyes widened with worry. She gave a serious nod of determination. Losing access to her blanket fort was a fate she desperately wanted to avoid.

    They exchanged pleasantries and the young man sat down next to Danica. Danica blushed and desperately avoided eye contact with the man next to her. Amelia smiled.

    Lily leaned over and whispered in Amelia¡¯s ear, ¡°Why is Danica afraid? she smells like fear.¡±

    ¡°I think she likes him,¡± Amelia whispered back, even though she didn¡¯t need to. Nobody else knew infernal.

    ¡°Are they going to fight?¡±

    Amelia snorted, and tried to hide the grin that flashed across her face.

    ¡°What?¡± Danica asked.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you later,¡± said Amelia.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ Okay.¡±

    As everyone settled into their seats, Amelia retold to story of their harrowing journey to the lord and lady. She described leaving Greenvale, being ambushed by bandits, Sir Thomas falling in battle, the rest of them getting captured, Acolyte Joffrey¡¯s merciless execution, and Lily¡¯s intervention. Amelia skipped over the part where they stripped Danica, molested her, and almost raped her. They didn¡¯t need to hear that specific detail. News of the respected old Acolyte¡¯s demise, and that of the holy knight, cast a dark mood over the table.

    The mood thankfully lightened when the first appetizer arrived, a small garden salad. It was a blend of fresh vegetables and lettuce, served with oil and vinegar. Some of the vegetables were out of season, and hard to find fresh. Amelia assumed the Montagne family was trying to show off.

    Lily abandoned the fork, deciding to use her index finger-claw to spear through the lettuce leaves and bring them to her mouth. Just as planned, she took the time to savour the food, staring up at the ceiling in contemplation. Finally, she gave Amelia her verdict.

    ¡°Boring¡­ but less boring than I expected. I like the sour.¡±

    After the salads were done, a small cup of soup was brought out. It was a darkly colored onion soup, with a bread crouton and cheese floating on top. The bowls themselves were quite hot, fresh out of the oven. Amelia ate carefully.

    Lily, on the other hand, realized that her claws weren¡¯t going to be any help with this dish, so she picked up the burning hot ceramic bowl, brought it directly to her lips and drank. The nearby nobles looked on in horror, worried that their guest was going to hurt herself. They needn¡¯t have worried. The soup wasn¡¯t as hot as Lily¡¯s earlier boiling bathwater. Amelia was pretty sure Lily was fireproof. The demon lowered the empty soup cup and gave Amelia her review.

    ¡°White stuff on the top¡­ cheese? It was really good. The burnt flavor is good too, and the saltiness. I like this one more than the leaves.¡±

    The main course was roast beef, with a side of potatoes with garlic and butter. It smelled heavenly. Amelia also noticed that Lily got a double portion, and her slices of the roast were lightly cooked, seared on the outside, but almost raw on the inside. The rest of the table¡¯s roast was mostly cooked, and only slightly pink in the center. Amelia smiled at the considerate gesture.

    Lily tried. She really did. But she only managed to take two small bites before she abandoned all attempts at table manners. She lifted the entire chunk of meat to her mouth and tore into it voraciously. She ended up finishing her entire portion in only a few seconds. With juices dribbling down her chin, she smiled blissfully.

    ¡°I take it she liked the roast?¡± Lady Claire commented with a smile. Amelia translated the comment, and the demon nodded at her happily.

    ¡°That was the best thing I¡¯ve ever eaten. Even tastier than human,¡± she whispered into Amelia¡¯s ear.

    ¡°She said that was the best thing she¡¯s ever eaten.¡± Amelia translated, selectively.

    ¡°I must say, Lily is rather well behaved for a demon. I¡¯ve never heard of a demon coexisting peacefully with any of the mortal races before. What makes Lily so different?¡±

    Amelia was about to answer, but she realized the didn¡¯t know. She translated the question for Lily to answer herself.

    ¡°Killing humans is fun, but I¡¯d much rather eat dinner with you than slaughter you all, even if it means I have to tolerate annoying things like wearing clothes. I don¡¯t think other demons like Father would be as interested in following humans around and interacting with them, he¡¯d probably just burn you all. I also like Amelia, she trusts me and doesn¡¯t try to run away.¡±

    Amelia translated Lily¡¯s words back into common. She smiled proudly when she told everyone that Lily liked her.

    ¡°Who¡¯s Father?¡± Caiden asked.

    Amelia answered the question in her own words, ¡°I wanted to warn you about this actually. Lily told me her father is an Archfiend, she¡¯s apparently made from his essence and shares her horns and claws with him. I don¡¯t know how that works, we¡¯d have to find a demonologist to find out. The Archfiend¡¯s name is Z¡¯Kraugh, and today I found out that he¡¯s currently rampaging unbound somewhere on this continent. I¡¯d keep an eye out for forest fires if I was you.¡±

    The entire table, Amelia¡¯s friends included, went completely silent. Lily poked Amelia in the arm and asked what she said. Amelia translated the question and her own answer. She asked if Lily had any advice to give to the humans in the town.

    ¡°He¡¯ll probably wipe out the town if it¡¯s convenient, but I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll go out of his way to kill you, you¡¯re not enough of a challenge for him. He said that he¡¯s the strongest Archfiend in the Abyss, so I think he¡¯s going to seek out powerful humans or large armies. If you see him coming, you should run away. He has fire.¡±

    Amelia translated, and the table continued sitting in terrified silence.

    ¡°We¡¯ll send a message to warn Dursten,¡± Lord Roland said.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it now,¡± said Lady Claire. ¡°I¡¯ll send messengers to the villages too.¡±

    Lord Roland nodded approvingly at his wife. After a few more minutes of silence, the topic turned to Amelia¡¯s short term plans.

    ¡°It was my understanding that Joffrey and Sir Thomas were supposed to guide you to the capital. What do you plan on doing now? The road through the mountains are treacherous to small groups, even worse than the forest. You¡¯re welcome to stay here for a while if you need time to get organized,¡± said Lord Roland.

    What was she going to do now that her plan-maker and primary protector were gone? That was a good question, one that Amelia hadn¡¯t thought much about yet.

    ¡°The first step for me would be to send a letter to the temple in Dursten explaining what happened. They might have some advice. The road through the mountains is dangerous but I still have Tanya as a protector. She¡¯s quite capable, despite not having earned a knighthood yet. Lily might choose to help out too. She¡¯s not obligated to protect me, but I suspect she enjoys my company enough to want me alive.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure the temple of Verita would be willing dispatch a squad of holy knights to escort you,¡± suggested Lord Roland.

    Amelia considered it. She couldn¡¯t ask for a better escort than a squad of holy knights, they might even send one of their elites, but the capital was something like a month away. They would be waiting for a long time for that squad to organize themselves and show up.

    Honestly, Amelia also didn¡¯t like the idea of commandeering an entire squad of knights for herself. Despite all the ¡®Your Eminence¡¯ business, she didn¡¯t feel any different than before. The old, practical, Amelia would consider that much excessive protection a waste of good gold.

    After a short silence, Caiden had a suggestion, ¡°You could take the caravan with us.¡±

    Amelia looked over to him. Danica, still avoiding eye contact with the man, had a very lewd grin on her face. That was definitely one vote for ¡®yes¡¯.

    He continued, ¡°It¡¯s a merchant caravan, with guards. They¡¯re not knights, but they¡¯ll be enough to deter bandits and the like.¡±

    Roland gave his son a disparaging glare, ¡°Caiden, a caravan might be fine for us, but it¡¯s no royal carriage. It¡¯s not the way someone like the Saintess should travel-¡±

    ¡°Actually, I like that idea.¡± Amelia interrupted, ¡°When do we leave?¡±

    Caiden looked at his dad nervously, but answered, ¡°Four days time, Your Eminence.¡±

    ¡°Tanya, Danica, and Lily will be coming too. You should probably warn them about Lily, they can talk to me if they have concerns.¡±

    Caiden eyed the monster nervously, ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll do that.¡±

    For dessert, the Montagne family provided coffee, with fresh milk. Amelia drank hers slowly and questioned the wisdom of giving a stimulant to the fiend next to her. It was probably ok¡­ right? She¡¯d been keeping out of trouble so far.

    "Delicious!" Lily commented, "It tastes like the crushed guts of a black-shell-click."

    "Is that a good thing?" Amelia asked.

    Lily nodded. Amelia looked down at the murky depths of her own cup of coffee, hesitant to take another sip.

    Pushing thoughts of crushed insect guts out of her mind, Amelia looked up as Danica reached towards the centre of the table to get some cream for her coffee. She¡®accidentally¡¯ pressed her boobs against Caiden¡¯s shoulder as she did so. Caiden¡¯s eyes glanced down at Danica¡¯s cleavage for an instant before he caught himself and pretended to act innocent. He had a better poker face than Danica did, but not even the son of a nobleman could withstand the call of the boobs. Danica took it another step further by ¡®accidentally¡¯ losing her balance, tipping forwards and touching his chest to steady herself while squishing her boobs into him even further.

    ¡°Oh sorry,¡± she said. She wasn¡¯t sorry at all. Amelia saw Caiden blush. Good job Danica!

    Amelia might need to revise her opinion on Danica. She thought Danica was shy and innocent. Danica acted shy and innocent most of the time, but Amelia suspected her friend knew more about the art of seduction than she¡¯d originally assumed. Danica certainly knew how to use her cleavage to her advantage. Amelia wouldn¡¯t call herself shy, but she¡¯d also never be this forward with a man she fancied. She¡¯d never be able to do what Danica just did, even if she had the boobs for it.

    Amelia let her eyes glance downward. She wasn¡¯t ¡®flat¡¯, she was ¡®petite¡¯. That was a thing, right? Some guys liked that, right? Amelia sighed. This was the second blow to Amelia¡¯s ego today. She was bested by a man in overall prettiness and bested by Danica in the boobs department. That left¡­ butt? Amelia thought she had a nice butt, nicer than a pretty man for sure. Wait¡­ Tanya worked out¡­ Lots of squats and core exercises¡­ If she had better butt than Amelia¡­

    No, that''s not a good train of thought to follow. This way leads to madness.

    When the dinner was over, Danica and Caiden, who had started a conversation about different coffee types, moved over to the drawing room to chat. Amelia silently wished her the best. She was going to have to interrogate her friend later. Tanya was less interested in Danica¡¯s love life. She excused herself and did training exercises in the rear gardens.

    Lily didn¡¯t care much either. She returned to her blanket fort before Amelia realized it, and by then it was too late. Amelia tried to negotiate with the demon to get her room back without success. Eventually, she gave up and just traded rooms with Lily. The demon¡¯s room was furnished similarly to the Saintess¡¯ room, so it wasn¡¯t a big bother to move over.

    Eventually night fell, Amelia and the others went to sleep. Two red eyes peered out from the depths of the blanket fort.

    Lily remained awake in the darkness, and she started getting bored¡­

 8 - Stargazing

    Bored.

    Bored, bored, bored. Boredboredboredboredboredbored¡­

    Lily had an extremely exciting day. Amelia might have taken away the man she claimed, but despite that, it was still a good day overall. There were plenty of humans, she could always catch another one later and bully him or her into giving ¡®permission to touch them¡¯ like Amelia wanted.

    Everyone was asleep. It seemed humans were like the other animals, sleeping every night. Unfortunately, Lily wasn¡¯t like that. She slept on Tanya during the cart ride into town, so she wasn¡¯t going to be tired for another day and a half at least.

    Lily dug herself out of her pillow fort and paced around. She had too much energy. She was used to marching through the woods, she¡¯d never been idle this long. She needed to wander and explore.

    So, she decided to wander and explore the fancy human house. The upstairs was first. Using her prey stalking skills, she snuck along the hallway. The floorboards creaked underneath her weight, but after a bit of trial and error, she discovered that she could solve that problem by walking closer to the walls. The hall was mostly empty, there wasn¡¯t much to see up here other than closed doors. It was just bedrooms. That said, there was plenty to see inside the bedrooms.

    Lily snuck into Amelia¡¯s room first. As expected, she was fast asleep, tucked underneath the covers. Lily crept closer and carefully lifted a corner of the blankets, peeking underneath them. She wasn¡¯t wearing her usual white robes this time. Her sleeping clothes were closer to a dress, or a long shirt that reached down to her knees. It was much lighter than the robe, and Lily could see more of her figure. She¡¯d already gotten a good look at her while she was bathing, so there wasn¡¯t much new to see.

    Lily covered the sleeping girl with her blanket again and decided to dig through Amelia¡¯s stuff. The girl had her clothes neatly organized. She had three different sets of those white robes she always wore, along with two more long sleeping shirts. She also had a few pairs of what looked like tiny pants. These delicate looking things covered the crotch and butt, and that was it. For a girl that liked to cover up so much, Lily wondered why Amelia had something that showed this much of her legs. She had quite a few of these tiny pants, Lily wondered why. This was another mystery to solve later, Lily crept back out of the room.

    Danica¡¯s room was next. The girl was tossing and turning in her sleep. She was sleeping too lightly to investigate closely, so the state of her sleepwear would have to remain a mystery. She wasn¡¯t wearing her glass eye things while she slept. They were folded up on top of the dresser next to a book. It seemed all the books that were in the cart belonged to Danica. She had two large chests full of them.

    Her clothes were more varied than Amelia¡¯s. She had several dresses, all in different colors. There were also several more of those tiny pants. Amelia¡¯s tiny pants had been all the same shape, and all made from the same soft white cloth. Danica¡¯s pants seemed to come in a variety of colors and shapes, all of which covered less of the butt than Amelia¡¯s selections. There were some that looked like a similar soft fabric, and other that seemed to be made from a lacy material. Lily noticed one pair of tiny pants that were extra tiny, little more than a bunch of strings. Why did she have this? It was basically the same as being naked. Was it damaged? As Lily dug through Danica¡¯s underwear, a small hard object, hidden within the clothes fell out and landed on the floor with a thud.

    Lily ducked down, immersed herself in a shadowy patch of floor, and held her breath, ready to flee if Danica woke up. Luckily, the timid girl just mumbled the word ¡°Caiden,¡± and rolled over. Lily assumed that meant something in human-language, but she didn¡¯t know what.

    The demon looked down at the noisy item she dropped. Hmm¡­ Lily didn¡¯t know what it was. It was a sculpture of some kind, smoothly carved out of some creature¡¯s horn. It was sort of shaped like a long, slightly curved mushroom. It almost looked like a man¡¯s¡­ No, that was probably just Lily¡¯s imagination. It smelled strange, a bit like Lily¡¯s squishy bits after she¡¯d been fighting. That raised a lot of questions for the demon. She would need to ask Amelia about the mysterious connection between mushroom statues and female squishy bits. This was yet another mystery to solve later. Lily left the mystery mushroom on top of Danica¡¯s clothing pile and left the room.

    Tanya¡¯s room was next. Lily didn¡¯t know what she was expecting, but what she saw seemed appropriate. The other two girls were nicely tucked into their blankets. Tanya, on the other hand, seemed to be a fighting with hers. Half of her blanket was crumpled into a ball, and the other half was on the floor, leaving most of her body exposed. She was flat on her back and sprawled out. The fighty-girl was clad only in tiny-pants, similar to the ones the other two girls had, and had nothing covering her chest. Lily got a good look at her toned body outlined in the moonlight and drooled a little bit.

    No. There was a right way to do things. Licking Tanya¡¯s thighs right now would be fun, but it would turn out just like the earlier incident with the pretty healer man. Get permission first, that¡¯s how humans did things. She had to keep reminding herself of that.

    Lily half-heartedly rifled through Tanya¡¯s stuff. She had some pants, some shirts, a sword, and no dresses. The stuff wasn¡¯t nearly as interesting as Tanya herself. Lily was too distracted and decided she needed to leave the room before she lost control of herself and pounced on the sleeping woman.

    The last room in this particular wing of the fancy house had set of double doors as its entrance. Lily approached, but she heard humans on the other side of the door. There were two voices, panting heavily, and speaking to each other in human-tongue. Lily recognized them as Roland and Claire, the owners of the house. There was also the sound of flesh hitting flesh coming from inside the room. They must be fighting, Lily concluded. If so, it was best not to disturb them.

    The remaining bedrooms were empty and boring. Having finished with this particular section of the house, Lily snuck back down the hallway. There was another wing on the second floor of the house, from a distance it seemed to be full of bedrooms too. Lily was bored of spying on sleeping people, so she went downstairs.

    There were a variety of different rooms downstairs, none of which were bedrooms, and most of which Lily knew nothing about. She wandered aimlessly until she walked by a suit of armor set in an alcove for decoration. She stopped, and doubled back, glaring at the armor hatefully. Stupid armored men, cutting off her arm. With a devious grin on her face, she held out a claw and thrust it into the armored chestpiece, piercing the imaginary armored man¡¯s heart. With a splendid sense of accomplishment, she withdrew her finger, and inspected the hole she left. The armored man was dead. She won.

    The demon continued into a large room that featured a wide open space and a row of chairs along the walls. A strange device was in one of the corners. It was a flat and wide black box standing on three legs like a misshapen table. One side of the table had a long row of white and black pieces of wood. Lily reached out a claw and poked one of the wood pieces, a white one. The table produced a loud sound, a single musical tone that pierced the nighttime silence inside the house.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    It was a trap! Lily ran away.

    The panicked demon ran at full speed through the house¡¯s twisting halls. While turning a corner, she lost her grip on the smooth wooden floor and slid into a wall, tangling herself in one of the curtains. Lily flailed with her claws and managed to free herself from the dangerous assailant¡¯s grip, tearing it to shreds in the process. She stepped away from her defeated enemy, stood in the hall, and listened. Good. No humans seemed to be coming for her.

    With her composure regained, Lily casually walked away from the shredded upholstery. Who did that? She didn¡¯t do that. It must have been another demon.

    Lily continued through the house and found herself next to a set of doors that opened out onto a patio in the rear gardens. Still nervous about the noisy table and the curtains, the demon decided that it was safer to explore outside for now.

    Lily emerged into the cool night air and immediately smelled something burning. She looked around and spotted a human, sitting on one of the patio chairs with a small roll of burning leaves in her hand. Was it a human? She was one of the maids, with white hair tied back in a ponytail, pale golden eyes, and a grey-violet skin tone. Unlike the other humans, her ears were long and pointy. She still looked mostly human despite the weird color. She didn¡¯t feel like a demon at least.

    The mystery maid turned and waved casually at Lily, ¡°Hey,¡± she said. Lily recalled that this was a greeting in human.

    ¡°Hey,¡± Lily repeated.

    The maid raised the roll of burning leaves to her mouth and breathed through it. The embers at the end glowed for a second, and then the maid breathed out a cloud of smoke. Strange.

    Lily approached and sat in a sturdy looking chair next to the maid. Like Amelia, this human didn¡¯t seem very scared of her. She mostly looked bored. The maid said something incomprehensible in human-language and offered the roll of leaves to Lily. The demon carefully took the roll of leaves from her, slowly brought it up to her lips, and ate it.

    It didn¡¯t taste half bad. The maid gave the demon a startled look as she chewed the burning treat. Wait¡­ was she not supposed to do that? The maid shrugged, said something else in human-language, and took another roll of leaves out from inside her pockets somewhere. She held her thumb up to the end of it, and a small magical flame appeared above her finger. She lit the end of this new roll of leaves and breathed out another puff of smoke.

    ¡°Patricia,¡± she said, and pointed to herself.

    Was she introducing herself? Probably. Lily pointed to herself, ¡°Lilizath.¡±

    Patricia relaxed back in her chair and looked up at the stars. Lily did the same. The night sky was pretty, and with no trees to block her view, she got to see the stars in their entirety. The two of them sat in silence for a while, looking at the sky. After Patricia burned through most of the leaf roll, she handed the end to Lily. Lily ate it too.

    Patricia pointed up at the sky, ¡°Thule,¡± she said.

    Lily moved her head closer, looking down Patricia¡¯s arm. She was pointing at a group of stars. Was ¡®Thule¡¯ the human word for stars?

    Patricia moved her hand, pointing at another group of stars, ¡°Lyra,¡± she said.

    Ahh, so these groups all had different names. Lily pointed at Thule, and Lyra, and repeated both of their names. Patricia smiled, and moved her hand again.

    ¡°Judicast¡­ Sylene¡­ Karth¡­ Lott¡­¡± Patricia pointed and named all the different star groups, Lily repeated them.

    Finally, her finger settled on a familiar group of stars. When Lily first emerged from the demolished tower and saw the night sky, these were the first stars she saw. These were Lily¡¯s favorite stars, the ones she followed at night in the forest. These were the stars that led her to Amelia.

    ¡°Verita.¡±

    Lily repeated the name, and remembered Amelia, ¡°Truth.¡± she said in human-tongue. She¡¯d heard Amelia introduce herself a few times by now.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Patricia said, smiling.

    The maid then moved her finger around, naming all the star groups again, and saying a word in common connected with each of them. Lily didn¡¯t know any of these words, but she repeated them anyway.

    Lily pointed to one of the chairs on the patio. ¡°Chair,¡± the maid said.

    Lily pointed to one of the tables. ¡°Table,¡± the maid said.

    Lily and Patricia spent the next few hours pointing and naming things. When they ran out of furniture on the patio, and plants in the garden, the maid went inside and carried out a thick book full of pictures. She showed picture after picture to the demon and named everything in them. There were words written in human language too, next to the pictures. Patricia read those out too, and Lily started to see some patterns in the letters.

    By the time the sun came up, Lily still couldn¡¯t speak common, but she was able to understand quite a few individual words.

    ¡°Morning,¡± Patricia said, with a yawn, ¡°Sleep now.¡±

    With that, the strange looking not-a-human stood and walked back inside the house. She wasn¡¯t a human, Lily learned. She called herself a ¡®Darkelf¡¯ but Lily didn¡¯t know the equivalent word in Infernal. Apparently, Lily was called a ¡®Demon¡¯ in common. She¡¯d heard the panicked humans say that word quite a few times. She thought it meant claws at first, but no, it was her species.

    When Lily entered the house, Amelia and the other women were awake. Lily joined the groggy humans at the dining table, and they were all served coffee and fresh fruits. Lily liked the melon slices the best, even though they were cold and tasted too sweet, their juiciness reminded her of blood.

    ¡°Lily,¡± Amelia said with a warm smile and a dangerous look in her eye, ¡°Did you go in our rooms last night?¡±

    ¡°No¡­¡± Lily lied.

    ¡°Lily, I serve the Demon Lord of Truth, I know when you¡¯re lying.¡±

    Lily stayed quiet, avoided eye contact, and focused on eating another slice of melon.

    As Lily ate, Amelia took some time to explain the concept of privacy to the demon, why it was rude to dig through people''s stuff, why it was creepy to watch them while they were sleeping, why panties in particular were extra-creepy to dig through, and finally, what exactly panties were and the concept of underwear in general.

    ¡°Why bother?¡± the demon asked, ¡°Your robe covers everything.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s still kind of open from the bottom and¡­¡± Amelia blushed, ¡°going without panties would be¡­ immodest.¡±

    The demon scratched her head. Modesty, that was another concept she had trouble understanding.

    ¡°Don¡¯t want any,¡± the demon said. ¡°The dress is already too much to wear.¡±

    ¡°You go right ahead and do that, Lily.¡± said Amelia, ¡°Humans aren¡¯t going to check, and if they do, its acceptable to slap them non-lethally.¡±

    Lily remembered something else from last night, ¡°Why does Danica have a mushroom statue?¡±

    Amelia blinked in confusion, ¡°A what?¡±

    Lily described the statue, using hand gestures to explain the shape.

    ¡°I¡­ didn¡¯t know Danica had one of those,¡± said Amelia, with her face turning completely red, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s a¡­ thing¡­¡±

    Amelia¡¯s voice trailed off into silence. No further answers were given. Lily was really curious now, but it didn¡¯t look like Amelia was going to offer an explanation. Oh well, she¡¯d just have to finish learning common and ask Danica about it directly.

    When breakfast was over, the rest of the morning was spent on language lessons with Amelia. Lily had made a lot of progress last night with Patricia, but Amelia¡¯s ability to directly translate to and from infernal made a lot of ambiguous things clear. Words like ¡®time¡¯ or ¡®thirst¡¯ were very hard to explain with pictures. After a few hours, partway through the afternoon, Lily was more or less able to understand someone speaking common if they talked slowly enough and didn¡¯t use any hard words.

    She was quite proud of her progress.

    After six hours of uninterrupted teaching, Amelia was starting to get burnt out, and Lily was starting to get restless from staying still for too long. Lily stood up, stretched, and noticed Tanya walking down the stairs from her room. She was carrying her sword.

    ¡°Amelia,¡± she called out, ¡°¡­going¡­ training yard¡­¡±

    Lily caught only a few of the words, but she understood that Tanya was going somewhere, and she was either going to pull a long line of wagons, or she was going to practice with her sword. Either one of those looked like fun to watch.

    ¡°Me¡­ go too.¡± Lily tried, in common.

    Tanya gave Amelia a pleading look, but Amelia seemed to be on the demon¡¯s side. In fact, she wanted to come too. The two women and the demon left the house together.

 9 - Training Yard

    Oh sure, bring the cuddle-murderer to the city garrison. How could that go wrong? Lily was behaving herself for now, but Tanya could see a disaster on the horizon. It wasn¡¯t a question of if, it was a question of when.

    The town had a single large garrison for the guardsmen. It was enough space to rest and feed the entire town guard. There were 52 men and 3 women to look after a town of a thousand people. Tanya had a lot of respect for those three women, it takes a very special kind of bitch to thrive in this kind of macho environment.

    The barracks itself was what Tanya would describe as a ¡®mini-castle¡¯. A large stone block of a building formed one corner of the perimeter wall that surrounded the compound. The other three corners had smaller square towers with crenellations and good line of sight for archers. What the wall surrounded, was the training yard.

    One side of the yard had a row of archery targets set up, and the other side had several large circular fighting rings. Various types of wooden practice weaponry sat on racks against the wall, and in the center of one of the rings, two men were sparring.

    ¡°Oh, so the Saintess¡¯s sworn protector has finally decided to grace us with her presence.¡±

    The man¡¯s voice was mocking, but the smarmy grin was wiped off his face once he saw that the Saintess herself had followed Tanya, giving the man a disapproving look. This pissed her off, Tanya wanted to wipe that stupid fucking smirk off his face by herself.

    ¡°Where do you want me to kick your ass?¡± asked Tanya.

    This was all set up ahead of time. One of the guards yesterday made an unsolicited comment about Tanya¡¯s ass, so she challenged him to a fight, and here they were. Anton was his name, and this wasn¡¯t him. Tanya didn¡¯t see him yet.

    There was a method to this madness. Tanya had been overconfident, she was the undisputed ¡®Meanest Bitch in Greenvale,¡¯ and she used to think she was tough. The bandits proved her wrong once, and Lily proved her wrong a second time. She was tired of just doing muscle training and sword drills in the garden, she needed to improve her skills with real combat. She was a fucking amazing unarmed fighter, but actual swordfighting experience against a competent opponent was something she was sorely lacking.

    Tanya looked back at Amelia, double-checking on her ward. The Saintess found a place to stand near the wall and kept a hand on Lily¡¯s shoulder to keep her from charging into one of the sparring matches. Yeah, that was pretty smart.

    ¡°Shortsword? Rapier? I¡¯m sure we have something appropriate for someone with your build,¡± the man tried to make his words sound reasonable, but there was a taunting edge to his voice as he led them both to the wooden weapon rack.

    ¡°Longsword. And fuck you.¡±

    ¡°Really? You¡¯ve got a single handed sword on your hip.¡±

    ¡°Thanks for pointing that out dumbass, I hadn¡¯t noticed,¡± Tanya snarked, ¡°I could kick your ass with an arming sword too, but you asked me what I wanted, and I want a longsword.¡±

    Tanya was actually better with a longsword. Two hands let her parry faster and hit harder, but a single handed arming sword was all she could afford with her meager savings before she left Greenvale.

    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± the man replied, grabbing a pair of two handed longswords from the rack, ¡°What¡¯s with the attitude? Are you getting your monthly blood or something?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll give you your monthly blood¡­¡± Tanya grumbled underneath her breath.

    ¡°Here you go¡­¡± came another male voice from behind her.

    It was Anton. He was holding a padded gambeson, thick cloth armor used by the practicing men to absorb the wooden sword blows. It was just like all the other ones the guards were training with¡­ except theirs were blue and had the town¡¯s crest stitched onto the chest. This one was pink, pink with a pretty flower embroidered on the front.

    ¡°¡­Princess sized,¡± he said.

    Tanya smiled at the two horsefuckers. A decade¡¯s worth of painful old memories and unresolved anger issues simmered up to the surface, ready to explode at any moment. She smiled and slipped into the fucking princess gambeson and grabbed a wooden longsword. This was going to be so much fun.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take on both of you cunts at the same time.¡±

    <hr>

    Lily watched Tanya walk into the fighting circle with two men. They each positioned themselves on opposite sides of her and stood casually. The contemptuous looks on their faces meant that they didn¡¯t seem to find their target worth their full efforts. Tanya, on the other claw, had a very demonlike smile on her face. Lily recognized the bloodthirst and anticipation immediately. This was the moment of silence before the predator attacked. Lily already knew who would win this fight.

    ¡°Fight!¡± one of the men shouted.

    The man didn¡¯t even have time to raise his sword before Tanya closed the distance to him. She swung low and wide, striking the surprised man¡¯s ankles, knocking him cleanly off his feet.

    The second man charged up from behind. Tanya spun around and carried the sword¡¯s momentum into a second wide swing, this time, striking towards the core. The move was far too obvious, and the man was already in position to block the strike. Tanya suddenly abandoned the swing, let go with one hand, and stepped forwards around the blocking blade. She forcefully introduced the wooden sword¡¯s pommel to the man¡¯s face with the back of her hand.

    Lily appreciated the move. It was dirty and unpredictable, which was exactly what you wanted to do in a real fight. The other sparring guards were fighting far too cleanly in Lily¡¯s opinion. Where was the biting? The kicking? The headbutts? They were focusing on pretty, but mostly useless sword movements, fighting like they didn¡¯t want to hurt the other person.

    The man recoiled from the pommel strike and was too stunned to prevent a second pommel strike from coming in and crushing his nose. Next came a knee to the balls, and finally, as the man collapsed forward, Tanya stepped back and struck him with a brutal spinning kick to the side of the head. He was unconscious before he hit the ground. Lily smiled with glee. Tanya was now, officially, her favorite human.

    The first human had climbed up off the ground and was trying to rise to his feet when Tanya spun around and focused her attention on him. Tanya¡¯s overhand swing clashed against his blocking blade and forced the man back down to his knees. Tanya reeled back and repeated the attack. She was brutal and inelegant, there was no technique to this. She was just bashing the man over the head again and again with heavy two-handed sword strikes. He blocked the first five strikes. The sixth blow caused his sword to slip from his grip slightly, and then the seventh hit him across the head knocking him unconscious too.

    Tanya screamed the entire time. There were a whole lot of human-language words and they were coming too fast for Lily to understand it all. She heard the word ¡®fuck¡¯ repeated quite a few times. Tanya also mentioned a ¡®bloody bitch princess¡¯ three separate times for some reason. Without the proper context, Lily could only guess what she was talking about.

    Tanya raised her sword to finish off the unconscious men, but Amelia reached her in time to stop her. Lily frowned. Why was Amelia interfering? The fight wasn¡¯t over, both the men were clearly still alive. Unfortunately, Tanya seemed to agree with whatever Amelia had to say and walked away from the fight.

    A man in white robes, not the pretty one, rushed to the unconscious men. Lily watched him drag the men away to the side of the ring. There was a golden flash of healing magic as one man¡¯s nose gradually became nose-shaped again.

    ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± Tanya shouted out to the rest of the training yard, still panting heavily.

    The five remaining conscious men who had been sparring each took a step back from Tanya. For once, Lily didn¡¯t seem to be the scariest thing in sight. The potential victims remained silent, hesitant to call attention to themselves. Tanya looked from face to face, issuing a wordless challenge to each of them. Lily couldn¡¯t hold herself back anymore.

    ¡°Me,¡± said the demon, in Common.

    Amelia, who had been helping the healers tend to the men spun around to look at Lily. Her worried expression was plain to see. Her gaze travelled between Tanya and Lily as the two women stared off. Tanya¡¯s previous anger cooled a bit, but she still wore a confident bloodthirsty smile.

    Amelia quickly walked up to Lily and spoke infernal, ¡°Do you know the rules of sparring?¡±

    ¡°No killing?¡± the demon guessed.

    Amelia explained in infernal tongue to make the rules extra clear, ¡°It¡¯s a friendly fight for practice. No killing or maiming, not even by accident, you need to stop before you do any real damage. Don¡¯t stab her with your claws. We have a healer, but he can only fix minor wounds. Stay in the circle. You win by pinning Tanya so she¡¯s helpless, forcing her out of the circle, or forcing her to say ¡®Yield¡¯. Knocking her unconscious also works, but I wouldn¡¯t try it since you could accidentally kill her if you hit her head too hard. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll try not to break her.¡±

    Tingling with anticipation, Lily walked into the fighting circle. She didn¡¯t bother to wear one of the thick cloth shirts, sticks wouldn¡¯t be able to hurt her. She¡¯d smashed head-first through tree branches before, the wooden weapons would break long before she did. She considered using a wooden sword herself, but the thin grip looked hard to hold. It might be fun as a challenge but for now she decided to fight with her best weapons, her claws.

    Lily wanted a good fight, a good challenge. Tanya was clearly a much better fighter than any of the bandits had been, but she still had no chance of winning against Lily. The only humans that had been able to hurt Lily so far had been the Inquisitors, and that was mostly due to their weapons. Actually¡­ that gave her an idea.

    Lily pointed at Tanya¡¯s sword, ¡°Demonbane,¡± she said, before tapping herself on the chest, ¡°Hit me, you win.¡±

    Tanya nodded.

    <hr>

    Tanya readied her sword. Her opponent was Lily. Most would be intimidated by facing off against a greater demon, but Tanya was excited. This was the ultimate challenge.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Tanya asked.

    Lily nodded, and her expression changed. Immediately Tanya felt the chill. The cute, curious Lily vanished, and a monster was standing where she had been. This was murder incarnate. Two unblinking crimson eyes soaked in every detail, searching for even the tiniest weakness. Tanya was going to die!

    No. No she wasn¡¯t. Tanya was going to kick Lily¡¯s ass. Fuck! That bitch was intimidating when she got serious. Tanya steeled herself again.

    ¡°Fight!¡±

    The ground exploded under Lily¡¯s feet as the snarling hell-monster took off in an impossibly fast sprint. The crimson eyes continued to focus on their target. The cold eyes, the flesh eating teeth, the deadly claws, the smile¡­ Tanya couldn¡¯t help it, she flinched back from the unstoppable charge.

    With her eyes closed, she didn¡¯t see what happened next, but an instant later, Tanya found herself staring at two claw tips, one lined up with each of her eyes. Lily stopped her charge less than an inch short of her eyeballs.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    ¡°Y-Yield.¡± Tanya stammered.

    Lily smugly walked back to her starting position. Tanya caught her breath. Fuck. She was not prepared for that. Lily¡¯s strength and speed were only part of the problem. Tanya could almost deal with that, but she wasn¡¯t ready for the demon¡¯s vicious intensity. Lily looked and acted almost like a human most of the time. It was easy to forget what she was.

    Tanya readied her sword again. Lily was still grinning.

    ¡°Fight!¡±

    The demon exploded into movement again. This time Tanya didn¡¯t freeze, she swung out her sword to intercept the demon¡¯s charge, aiming for Lily¡¯s midsection. The demon leapt and tucked her legs in. The wooden blade only touched air. Tanya had no time to react before the flying demon reached her.

    Again, Tanya didn¡¯t see what happened next. Her vision went white, there was a weight around her throat, and then there was a falling sensation. The ground struck Tanya on the back, knocking the air out of her lungs. She gasped for breath. The air was warm, and¡­ womanly.

    The white fabric of Lily¡¯s skirt was lifted away, and Tanya saw the sky again. Lily was looking down at her. The demon flashed her a devious grin and laughed. Tanya realized with a start that Lily was straddling her head, resting her knees next to Tanya¡¯s ears, and sitting on Tanya¡¯s chest. Tanya¡¯s eyes unconsciously followed the demon¡¯s thighs all the way up to... Lily wasn¡¯t wearing underwear.

    Lily definitely wasn¡¯t wearing underwear. The demon didn¡¯t seem to know or care about the rather intimate view she was giving Tanya. Tanya¡¯s cynical side expected to see tentacles or teeth down there, but thankfully, not everything about Lily was pure horror. Tanya was somewhat relieved to see an entirely humanlike pussy. It was cute. Tanya¡¯s eyes lingered on it for a few seconds before she ceased her inspection and glared defiantly into the monster¡¯s eyes.

    Lily maintained her grin, reached down, and tickled Tanya¡¯s nose with tips of her claws. Yep, this was a defeat.

    ¡°Yield.¡±

    Lily dropped the hem of her skirt again and climbed off. Tanya climbed back to her feet. The demon turned and walked back to her starting position. Tanya caught herself staring blankly at the demon¡¯s swaying hips before she shook that nonsense out of her head. She had to focus on the task at hand.

    Tanya readied her sword, ¡°Fight!¡±

    Lily charged again. This time, Tanya took a more defensive stance, keeping the sword closer to her body, favoring speed over reach. The demon leapt again, claws-first this time. Tanya took a step, narrowly dodging the claws, and countered, getting a perfect strike to the back of the demon¡¯s neck as she passed by. Lily tripped, landed on her chest, and slid to a stop.

    The demon dug her claws into the ground and pushed herself up to her feet. Tanya flinched back when she saw Lily¡¯s expression. The demon was still grinning like a madwoman, but her eyes looked wild, slightly unhinged. Wordlessly, she walked back to the starting position.

    Alright! The score was 2-1, demon-slut was the lead, but it was still anyone¡¯s game. Tanya readied her weapon again, ¡°Fight!¡±

    Lily roared like a monster and charged again. Fueled by rage, her movement was even faster than before. The demon charged directly towards Tanya in a berserk rush, claws spread. Tanya countered the movement, stepping around, bringing the sword down, and ¡®chopping off¡¯ one of Lily¡¯s legs at the thigh.

    Lily stopped in her tracks and looked down at her leg. She groaned in annoyance and walked back to the starting position. 2-2, tied with the slut. It was Tanya¡¯s turn to grin. She was pissing off the demon, and while a pissed off Lily was a terrifying sight to behold, it made her movements predictable. This demon was powerful, but a lack of discipline and poor technique were her weaknesses.

    Lily got even angrier the next time she lost, leading to yet another loss for her immediately after. After six rounds, the score was 2-4, Tanya winning. With every loss, the demon¡¯s technique was getting sloppier. Tanya felt pretty happy with herself. With a normal sword, she was still fucked, but if she had a Demonbane weapon, she could officially hold her own against a greater demon. This was Inquisitor-level stuff, and she was pulling it off.

    This time, after picking herself up, Lily didn¡¯t get into her starting position right away. She paced around, breathing heavily, and trying to calm down. She seemed to be on the verge of having some sort of demonic meltdown. This was actually a dangerous situation, Tanya didn¡¯t want Lily to attack her for real, maybe they should take a break. Just as Tanya was going to suggest that, Lily stopped pacing. She took one final deep breath, and calmly walked back to her starting position with a serene look on her face.

    Tanya got ready, ¡°Fight!¡±

    Lily¡­ didn¡¯t charge. There was no grin, no battle mania. Her eyes were ice cold and predatory again. Tanya shivered. This was completely different. The demon suddenly felt like a demon again.

    Lily approached cautiously, and when she got in range, Tanya swung her sword in a diagonal cut, being careful to not overextend herself. Lily stepped to the side, allowing the blade to pass her by with only inches to spare. Tanya spun the momentum into another strike. Lily moved closer, again, dodging the blade perfectly. Tanya took a step back and swung a third time, a claw reached up.

    The sword stopped.

    Lily¡¯s claws were pinched around the sword¡¯s guard, not touching the ¡®Demonbane¡¯ part of the weapon at all. Tanya tried to tug the blade out of her hand, but Lily had a vice-like grip on it. Tanya let go of the sword, and punched Lily hard in the kidney. It felt almost like punching a tree. Lily¡¯s muscles felt as dense as wood, and she was rooted in place, not moving at all from the fist¡¯s impact. Also like a tree, the punch didn¡¯t seem to hurt her all that much. Did demons even have kidneys to punch? Lily casually flung the longsword away and stepped closer, grinning again.

    Tanya tried a much harder knee strike to the opposite kidney. Lily¡¯s wood-like core ignored this blow too, and a claw caught her leg. Lily reached the other claw around the small of Tanya¡¯s back, and pulled her closer. Tanya, balancing on one foot, stumbled, but Lily held her up and pressed their bodies together. The demon leaned in and Tanya felt teeth on her throat. Lily gave her a playful nibble.

    ¡°Yield,¡± Tanya grumbled.

    <hr>

    The sun was setting as Lily walked back to the big house with her humans.

    That was fun. The final score was 13-4, with Lily winning. She learned an important lesson today, she needed to get her rage under control. Completely giving in to her battle lust would get her killed against a dangerous opponent. Once she started making deliberate, calculated movements again, Tanya¡¯s little winning streak stopped.

    Tanya was quite skilled, for a human. Lily learned a lot from her by just copying her movements. Lily conceded that Tanya was technically the better fighter, at least for now. Her techniques were creative and unpredictable. No matter how many times they fought, she seemed to always have a new trick ready to try. Lily only won because of her demonic strength, reflexes, and sharp senses. She was looking forward to playing with Tanya again.

    When they got back to the mansion, Lily sat down with Amelia in the drawing room, continuing to work on her language skills. According to Tanya, she sounded like a foreigner with a terrible demonic accent, but she was mostly understandable. Amelia seemed impressed with Lily¡¯s learning speed. Apparently, humans usually couldn¡¯t learn a new language this fast. Lily wasn¡¯t sure if fast learning was a normal demonic trait or not.

    As the evening grew late, Danica was still absent. Amelia didn¡¯t seem to be worried though. Apparently, Caiden was showing her around town and taking her to a tavern he liked. They were probably drinking together. Lily learned this was called a ¡®date¡¯ in common-tongue.

    ¡°When we followed Tanya, was that a date?¡± Lily asked.

    ¡°No, that was just normal fun,¡± Amelia explained, blushing slightly, ¡°Dates are special. It¡¯s when two people who like each other go out and spend time together.¡±

    ¡°I like you,¡± said Lily. ¡°If it was just the two of us, would that be a date?¡±

    ¡°W-wha?¡± Amelia stammered, her face getting redder.

    ¡°I like Tanya too, you¡¯re both good humans.¡±

    ¡°Ah that¡¯s what you meant¡­¡± said Amelia, quickly recovering. ¡°Thanks Lily, I like you too. You¡¯re a good demon.¡±

    ¡°So, if the two of us went out somewhere, that would be a date?¡± Lily asked again.

    Amelia twirled her hair around her finger, fidgeting awkwardly, ¡°Uuh¡­ no not quite, dates are usually between a man and a woman, and the man and woman usually like each other in a romantic way, not just a friend way.¡±

    ¡°So it¡¯s only a date if I go out with a man? Should I go with Caiden or Roland then?¡±

    ¡°No, that would be bad. It¡¯s considered rude to try to steal someone else¡¯s man.¡± Amelia continued to fidget awkwardly, ¡°And I think it might be possible for two women to go on a date together. I¡¯ve never seen it happen, but some women¡­ I mean, there are rumors¡­¡±

    ¡°Rumors?¡± Lily leaned in with interest.

    Amelia¡¯s face went red and she stared at the floor, ¡°Well¡­ back in Greenvale, I heard some rumors about a coven of witches in the woods that lured in girls from the village and... slept with them.¡±

    ¡°I slept with Tanya,¡± said Lily. It didn¡¯t seem like the sort of thing Amelia would blush about. Lily suspected there was more to this.

    ¡°Y-you did?¡± Amelia asked, surprised.

    ¡°Yes, in the cart, you were there too.¡± Lily realized that there was definitely something more to this than just sleeping.

    ¡°Oh¡­ sorry¡­ I thought¡­ nevermind,¡± Amelia¡¯s voice trailed off into a mumble.

    Lily waited for her to elaborate, but she remained silent, determined to stare at the floor. Lily realized she wasn¡¯t going to get any more answers on the subject, so she decided to ask another question.

    ¡°Have you been on a date?¡±

    Amelia looked up, snapped out of whatever thoughts she was having, but her eyes returned to the floor again, ¡°Y-yes once¡­¡±

    ¡°Where is your man then?¡± Lily asked. Amelia made it sound like she needed a man for dating, but she didn¡¯t bring any with her. Maybe it was one of the men who died?

    Lily didn¡¯t think Amelia¡¯s face could get any redder, but she¡¯d been proven wrong, ¡°His name was Tolsten¡­ and he¡¯s not my man, it was only one date. He brought me out fishing with him, but he got a little bit too grabby¡­ and I got scared¡­ and I might have accidentally¡­ No, I deliberately pushed him into the river.

    ¡°The poor boy was wearing kinda heavy clothes, and I thought he would be able to swim out, but he got pulled underwater by the currents. Luckily Acolyte Joffrey was visiting the village, so he was able to save the boy and magic the water out of his lungs to get him breathing again. I became a little bit infamous afterwards. ¡®Amelia the Undine,¡¯ the virginal water spirit that tempts men to their doom¡­ Nobody in the village ever asked me out on a date after that¡­¡±

    ¡°Grabby?¡± Lily asked.

    The red faced Amelia looked up from the floor and made eye contact, ¡°H-he touched my breast¡­¡±

    Lily squeezed her own breast, it was actually a rather pleasant feeling, ¡°So?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s different, I was only sixteen at the time¡­ I wasn¡¯t ready for¡­ things¡­¡±

    ¡°Ready for what?¡±

    Amelia coughed nervously and shook the blushing redness out of her cheeks. ¡°I think we¡¯re getting a bit off topic. Next up¡­¡±

    Lily realized that, once again, she wasn¡¯t going to get her question answered. Amelia turned red and went quiet when she asked certain questions, usually about sex or anatomy, but it took a very special kind of question to make Amelia abruptly change the subject. Lily would try to ask her again later.

    For now, Amelia gave Lily a phrase to translate.

    ¡°My friend Amelia serves the Demon Lord of Truth.¡± Lily translated into common.

    ¡°No Lily, it¡¯s ¡®My friend Amelia serves the Goddess of Truth.¡¯¡± Amelia corrected.

    ¡°Then is Aragnok the Goddess of Wrath?¡±

    ¡°You mean God, Aragnok is male. And also, no?¡± Amelia looked confused for a second, ¡°Oh! I get it. The word for Demon Lord and Demon Lordare the same in Infernal. The seven¡­divine beings in the Abyss are called Demon Lords in common, and the sevenDemon Lords of mortals are¡­ well, they¡¯re called Gods.¡±

    Lily sort of understood, but¡­ ¡°Why are your seven divine-things called different things than my seven divine-things?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Uuh¡­ I don¡¯t really know,¡± Amelia admitted, ¡°I guess because the common tongue is the language of the mortal races, and no mortal worships the demon lords. It would be like worshipping our own destruction, your kind pretty much always attack us on sight if they can. You might be the only friendly demon in the entire world.¡±

    Before Lily could ask more questions, the front door opened, and a sloppy looking, red faced Danica stumbled inside, leaning on an equally red faced Caiden for support.

    ¡°¡­you shee, it¡¯sh called venom if it kills you when they¡­¡± Danica reached over and jabbed Caiden hard in the side with her thumb, eliciting a squeak from the man, ¡°Stab you! And it¡¯sh called poison if it kills you when you eat it. That¡¯sh why you can drink the Spiderbite Whiskey without dying. You can drink as much nightmare fang venom as you want¡­ probably. Just don¡¯t try to inject it, and you¡¯re- Oh hi Amelia!¡±

    Danica stopped talking and waved to her friend. Caiden stopped staring at Danica¡¯s chest and looked around, as if somehow surprised to find himself back in his house.

    ¡°Had fun?¡± Amelia asked.

    ¡°Yesh!¡± Danica cheered, ¡°Caiden is suchh a gentleman. I mighta tried a few too many local boozes, and he wanted to take me home and tuck me safely into bed so nobody defiles me while I¡¯m unconscious. He¡¯s sooo nice.¡±

    ¡°Technically, as the son of a Baron, I¡¯m a gentleman even if I¡¯m an asshole, but I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± Caiden added, sounding only slightly more sober than Danica. Danica giggled.

    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s drink a glass of water before you go to bed, it¡¯ll help with the hangover,¡± Amelia suggested. The blonde woman stood and guided the drunken pair to the kitchen to get some water and Lily was left alone.

    The demon reclined in her chair and heard wood crack as she shifted her weight back. With a sudden lurch, the two rear legs of the chair snapped, and it fell backwards. Lily fell with the chair but stopped when her two horns got stuck in the wooden wall behind her.

    Lily let herself dangle from the wall for a few seconds. She¡¯d never been suspended by her horns before, and it was a very strange feeling. She eventually decided to pry herself out of the wall and climb back to her feet.

    Dusting off Tanya¡¯s frilly white dress, the demon walked away from the smashed chair and the impaled wall casually. Who did that? She didn¡¯t do that. It must have been another demon.

    Lily decided to go hide in the blanket fort for a few hours until everybody went to bed and nobody could blame her for the chair. She wasn¡¯t that tired, so she sat awake in the darkness.

    Boredboredboredboredboredbored¡­

 10 - Educational Experience

    Lily paced around the dark bedroom. It was night again and there was nothing to do! Lily tried to sleep but couldn¡¯t. Over the last month, she¡¯d gotten into a routine of hunting at night and sleeping during the day. Try as she might, her body¡¯s natural rhythm told her that it was still time to hunt and explore.

    She could creep into everyone¡¯s bedrooms again, but she already did that yesterday. She could visit Patricia and eat more of her fire-treats. That was an option, but Lily would keep that as a backup plan. What she really wanted to do was explore somewhere new. She¡¯d already explored most of the big mansion and the surrounding gardens, and that left¡­

    A devious grin crossed Lily¡¯s face.

    It was very late. The streets outside were nearly abandoned. Nearly, that was the important part. There would be interesting sights to see in the darkness, and without Amelia there, she could move quickly and explore freely. It was a risk to wander through the town without Amelia nearby to smooth things over, but it was probably safe at night. Humans had terrible night vision and awful senses overall. She¡¯d be pretty much invisible to their eyes if she stuck to the shadows.

    The demon exited her room and crept down the hallway in perfect silence. She shifted her weight slowly, being careful to avoid squeaky floorboards. She was alert for ambushes, but nobody saw her descend the stairs and slip out the front door. The front gate to the estate grounds was closed, but it was fairly easy to justclimb over the 10 foot high wrought iron fence.

    Lily wandered down a deserted street, lined with large houses on either side. Compared to how it was earlier in the day, the empty street seemed eerily silent. Lily stayed glued to the shadows, watching out for anything interesting, sadly it seemed that everyone around here was asleep.

    She closed her eyes and focused on her hearing. The town was silent, but not as silent as the woods had been. Not everyone was asleep. One side of the town was slightly louder. It wasn¡¯t like Lily could hear individual sounds at this distance, but most of the muddled background noise Lily heard came from one direction in particular. Lily chose that direction to explore.

    Her wandering led her to a part of town where the streets were dirt rather than cobblestone, and the buildings were smaller. She finally saw people wandering around in the dark, doing interesting things.

    One human was selling things to other humans, small vials of strange liquids and powders that smelled pungent even from a distance. Another pair of humans were having a shouting match in the middle of the street while other humans tried their best to ignore them. One human spotted Lily and walked up to her with a knife, but he turned and fled the second he noticed Lily¡¯s horns and claws. She¡¯d been right, this was turning out to be a fun little adventure.

    As Lily walked by a dark shadowy alleyway, she felt a strange magical aura and heard a voice coming from the aura¡¯s source. She walked down the alley until she saw a woman and a man standing together in the darkness. Lily crouched down and crept behind an empty discarded barrel, peeking around the side to watch them.

    The man had his back pressed against the wall, and a smile on his face. He was dressed normally, in breeches and a tunic, though he was perhaps a little more ragged than most. His clothes looked worn out, in dire need of replacement. The woman was pressing herself against him, stroking his hair, and looking into his eyes. Her clothing seemed extravagant by comparison.

    The red haired woman had a short dress made from a vibrant red fabric. It clung tightly to her body, highlighting her curves. Slits in the dress proudly displayed her cleavage and the outside of her thighs. All the other women Lily had seen in town seemed to hide their bodies, but this one clearly wanted to show hers off.

    Lily watched the alleyway woman press her lips against the man¡¯s and open her mouth. She was doing something with her tongue, but it wasn¡¯t easy to determine what was happening from the outside. Lily could tell the man was enjoying it though. The woman gently slid her hand downwards and unfastened his belt. Her voice turned deep, and smooth. Lily couldn¡¯t understand every word she was saying, but she mentioned ¡®sucking¡¯ for some reason.

    The woman hooked her thumbs around the man¡¯s pants, and tugged them downwards, reveling his masculine squishy bits. The woman lowered herself into a squat, so that the man¡¯s bits were right in her face. What a strange behaviour¡­ What was she doing? Why get her face so close? Was she trying to smell him? Lily had to admit she found the scent down there to be more¡­ enthralling than average while she was eating the bandits¡¯ bodies. Perhaps this woman felt the same.

    What the woman did next completely surprised Lily. She took the big floppy thing and put it in her mouth. She sucked on it, and to the demon girl¡¯s amazement, the squishy bits gradually became much less squishy. His man-parts grew in size and became firmer. The mushroom-like piece of anatomy stood up, proudly supporting its own weight. The woman moaned in appreciation, but she wasn¡¯t surprised, perhaps this was normal. She continued sucking, sliding her lips along the shaft.

    Lily thought that he must have tasted good, because the woman was sucking the man¡¯s shaft like it was the most delicious thing in the world. The man not only seemed to tolerate thisstrange behaviour, but he seemed to be enjoying it even more than she was.

    Eventually, the man groaned and twitched, and an expression of blissful satisfaction appeared on his face. His knees started wobbling like he was no longer able to support himself, but his expression remained happy. He collapsed onto the ground, still smiling, and fell unconscious. He lay in the alley, pants around his ankles, with his softening man parts fully exposed.

    The woman licked her lips. She pulled his pants back up, redid his belt, and fished around in his clothes. She straightened up, holding a small purse of coins, jingling them happily. And then she turned to face Lily.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the woman asked, in perfectly pronounced infernal-tongue.

    Lily almost fell over in surprise. She was good at hiding, but apparently not good enough to trick this woman. She had sharper senses than most humans.

    ¡°Watching,¡± Lily replied in Infernal.

    The woman didn¡¯t cringe. That proved it. Lily felt a strange magical aura here, now she recognized what it was. This was a demon, possibly a succubus like Nixxildraz. Lily stood up and revealed herself to the woman.

    ¡°What in the Abyss are you?¡± the woman asked.

    ¡°Lily.¡±

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I¡­ Oh fuck it. My name¡¯s Candy.¡±

    ¡°Strange name.¡±

    ¡°¡­says the girl named after a plant.¡± Candy retorted, ¡°It¡¯s short for Canth¡¯chry, but humans are shit at pronouncing our names properly. So why were you watching me?¡±

    ¡°I was curious.¡±

    ¡°Curious about what? Blowjob techniques?¡±

    ¡°I guess? I¡¯m also curious what a blowjob is.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve never sucked a dick before?¡±

    Lily shook her head no.

    ¡°You must be terrible in bed.¡±

    Lily looked at the woman. Her breasts were as large as Danica¡¯s but they seemed to defy gravity, remaining perfectly round with no trace of sag whatsoever. Her lips were thick and inviting, her hips were wide and feminine, and her eyes¡­ they were bright pink. That clearly wasn¡¯t a human color. This was perfect, a fellow demon to answer some of the questions she had. The ones that made Amelia go red in the face and stop talking. This demon had clearly been interacting with humans and seemed to have them pretty much figured out.

    ¡°You¡¯re a succubus, right?¡± Lily asked.

    ¡°Yeah, obviously. There are only twotypes of lust demon, and I don''t look like a writhing mass of tentacles, do I?¡± Candy, the succubus, snarked.

    ¡°Good, so you can tell me. What is sex? It seems important to humans. Is dick sucking related to sex?¡±

    Candy was astonished, she stood in silence staring blankly at Lily. Finally she shook herself out of it, ¡°Ok, I thought you looked like a succubus, but I was definitely wrong. You¡¯re too pretty for wrath or gluttony, and too tangible for envy. What are you, greed? Pride?¡±

    ¡°I think I¡¯m part succubus.¡±

    ¡°Part succubus?¡± Candy asked, ¡°I think you¡¯re delusional. Demons don¡¯t breed, you can¡¯t be ¡®part succubus¡¯, it doesn¡¯t work that way.¡±

    ¡°Then maybe I¡¯m something else, I don¡¯t know. Pride maybe?¡± Lily knew she was right, but she wasn¡¯t going to get what she wanted by arguing about something pointless, ¡°Can you teach me about sex?¡±

    The succubus glanced over Lily¡¯s body. Her hungry eyes slowly scanned Lily from top to bottom, lingering on her breasts and thighs. ¡°Yeah sure,¡± the demon said with a smile.

    ¡°Follow me. A dingy alleyway is a fine place to earn yourself a mouthful of cum, but it¡¯s no place to conduct a proper lesson.¡±

    Candy walked, and Lily followed. She didn¡¯t fully trust this succubus, but if things went wrong, she thought she might be able to beat her in a fight. Compared to Father, the aura she gave off was extremely weak. She clearly wasn¡¯t on his level.

    They took a long winding route through alleyways and side streets. Candy answered questions as they walked, and Lily was buried in a torrent of priceless information. First, she learned the correct sexual terminology, in both common-tongue, and Infernal. Men had ¡®dicks¡¯ or ¡®cocks¡¯, and women had ¡®pussies¡¯, or ¡®cunts¡¯, those were the official correct terms. In terms of actions, the succubus explained the specific sex-things she did with the man.

    They ¡®made out¡¯ first, which involved licking each other¡¯s tongues, for some reason. She moved on to the ¡®blowjob¡¯, which apparently felt really good for the man. It was very important not to bite, unless the man was a masochist, and even then, it was important not to bite too hard.

    When Lily asked how to tell if a man was a masochist or not, Candy shrugged and told her that she just used her succubus intuition. Apparently a succubus could know a person''s kinks just by looking at them. Lily was pretty sure she didn''t have that ability.

    There was also a female equivalent to the blowjob called ¡®eating pussy¡¯ that most definitely did not involve actually eating a pussy. The same rules for biting and masochism also applied. She also explained that if she liked the man more, she might have proceeded on to ¡®fucking¡¯ him, which would involve one of her other two holes, but she apparently wasn¡¯t all that attracted to him, so she just collected his seed quickly with her mouth to get it over with.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    Lily learned the anatomy as well. How arousal worked, erogenous zones, what an orgasm was, how cum was delicious, why it was rude to spit it out after a blowjob, how and why dicks got hard, why her pussy got wet when shethought about bullying Tanya, that sort of thing. She also learned the truly horrifying biology behind how human babies were made.

    Candy reassured the terrified demon girl that demons didn¡¯t need to worry about giving birth. Succubi, and other female bodied demons couldn¡¯t reproduce, they didn¡¯t even have wombs. Where the vagina ended, there was a sensitive little bumpy ring where the cervix would be, but there was no opening and no uterus on the other side. Apparently, humans also had to deal with hormones, and something called a period, but demons were spared from those horrors as well. Lily was grateful.

    The lecture ended when they reached a small little shack in the middle of the dirtier part of town. Lily had been following automatically in trance, her mind completely blown by all the new information she just heard.

    So many things made sense now! All of a sudden, those bandits¡¯ actions and Danica¡¯s resistance to them made sense. They wanted to get their dicks wet, and Danica didn¡¯t want to provide that wetness, hence the struggling. Danica did, however, want to moisten Caiden¡¯s dick, which was why she was going on dates and rubbing her boobs against him all the time. Lily was even starting to understand why humans were so insistent about covering their nudity, and why certain types of touches were fine, and others weren¡¯t. It was all to do with sex.

    ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± said Candy in a seductive tone. She opened her door and beckoned for Lily to follow her inside.

    The inside of the shack was tiny. About half the size of one of the mansion¡¯s bedrooms. There was no upper floor, but there seemed to be a large hollow space underneath. The floor thankfully looked durable, but the walls were thin, made from a single layer of bare wood. Wind blew in from between the cracks. There was a single person bed that smelled like straw. It looked much less comfy than the feather stuffed ones at the mansion. There was a small dining table, currently covered with books and scrolls. Two massive bookshelves covered the wall, and they were completely stuffed with books as well. The succubus stopped in the middle of the room and turned around to face Lily.

    ¡°Now it¡¯s time for the practical part of the lesson.¡±

    The succubus¡¯ dress suddenly dissolved into a cloud of pink smoke that swirled and dispersed through the room. A second later a sweet smell hit Lily¡¯s nostrils, and her squishy bits, no, her pussy, started feeling warm. The very naked succubus walked right up to her.

    ¡°Lesson one: Kissing.¡± Candy stepped forwards, gripped Lily¡¯s horns like a handle, and pulled her forwards while leaning in. Hey, that was cheating! Lily went along with it anyway. Their lips locked in a kiss. Lily felt the succubus¡¯ tongue enter her mouth and start playing against hers. The concept of kissing made no sense at all, but she had to admit that it certainly felt good. Lily liked kissing. She would need to train her pet humans to do this.

    Candy slowly slid an arm down Lily¡¯s spine, until it rested on her lower back. She suddenly pulled Lily forwards while moving her own leg out to meet the demon girl¡¯s crotch. The succubus¡¯ knee slid under Lily¡¯s skirt, and bare pussy unexpectedly met bare leg. A surprised Lily twitched from the sensation, but her gasp was muffled by the succubus¡¯ mouth.

    Yep. Lily was enjoying this tremendously. The demon girl gave in and found herself lost in the kiss while she grinded herself against Candy¡¯s thigh, coating it in a sheen of feminine wetness. She didn¡¯t know how long they made out, but eventually the succubus released her grip on the demon girl and broke the kiss.

    ¡°Lesson two requires a bed,¡± the succubus said with a grin. She reached around to grab Lily¡¯ butt and lifted her up off her feet. Or she tried to, at least. Candy¡¯s knees wobbled, her face turned red, and she eventually managed to lift Lily a couple inches off the ground while the house¡¯s floorboards creaked dangerously under her feet. Her charisma deflated, and she put Lily down again before catching her breath, ¡°Unholy shit girl! What are you made of?¡±

    ¡°Meat?¡± Lily said with feigned ignorance and a sly smile. She liked seeing the succubus struggle.

    When the succubus regained her composure, she snapped her fingers, and pointed at the bed, ¡°Go lie down on your back,¡± the tone was scolding, but playful.

    Lily obeyed, and the succubus followed. She sat down on the bed while Candy kneeled on the floor between her legs. The succubus grabbed Lily¡¯s knees, spread them, and lifted them up, rolling Lily onto her back with her knees in the air. Lily was a bit confused about what was happening until she felt Candy¡¯s tongue brush against her sensitive lower lips. Woah! Lily let out a squeak and reflexively clenched her muscles, nearly crushing the succubus¡¯ head between her thighs. Thankfully Candy wasn¡¯t human, so she was sturdy enough to survive.

    The second attempt at pussy eating was better, and it involved no accidental skull crushing. As Candy worked her succubus magic, with her tongue circling and playing against Lily¡¯s clit, Lily felt her arousal building ever higher. So, this was why the alleyway man Candy blew before had a dumb, blissful look on his face. Lily realized that she probably looked the same right now.

    This was the best, better than kissing, better than the super hot bath water. Lily gently stroked the top of the succubus¡¯ head and rolled her hips forward, savoring the feeling of the warm tongue sliding along her slit. Lily felt she was getting close to something, could this be that glorious thing the succubus had told her about? An orgasm? This was going to be good. Just a little more¡­ any second now¡­

    The orgasm struck her like a Demonbane weapon. Her muscles tensed and trembled, completely out of her control and her mind was overwhelmed and disoriented by the intense sensations. The only difference was that, instead of incredible overwhelming agony, she felt incredible overwhelming pleasure.

    The succubus continued her ministrations, seemingly oblivious to the hypersensitive demon girl twitching and squirming before her. Lily moaned when she felt the succubus slide a finger inside her pussy. She thrust her hips and tried to push the finger deeper. In response, a second finger slid inside her. Amazing! She¡¯d never put anything in there before, certainly not her own dangerously sharp fingers. The feeling of having something inside her was amazing. What would a cock be like?

    Candy surprised Lily again when she withdrew the well-lubricated pair of fingers and lined them up with her other hole. Wait¡­ that was- The succubus shoved both fingers inside Lily¡¯s ass without even a trace of mercy. Oh fuck! Lily bit her lip and moaned. The unexpected fingers in her ass hurt, but this was the right kind of pain. The pleasurable pain woke up her battle instincts and made both of her hearts beat faster. The line between pleasure and pain grew fuzzy as Lily slowly got used to the intrusion. Sex. This was why she had a butt apparently. Mystery solved.

    ¡°You like that, don¡¯t you, bitch,¡± said the succubus.

    She did. Lily¡¯s mind slipped into victim fantasy mode. In the scenario she imagined, she¡¯d been bested in combat, and now her butt was being punished for it. Candy was the cruel sadistic victor, and Lily was the unfortunate defeated victim. Candy was not being gentle, not at all, and Victim-Lily deserved every bit of the rough treatment. Lily had never thought she¡¯d find the idea of being overpowered and abused this exciting. It was almost as fun as winning and being the abuser. With two fingers in her ass and a tongue on her clit, Lily quickly found herself building to another peak.

    The second orgasm hit her, even stronger than the first. It was then that she noticed something strange. She felt tired, too tired. Now that she noticed it, she paid attention to the magic, and felt her body¡¯s energy flowing out of her and into the succubus. It was being sucked out of her.

    Still feeling the aftershocks of her latest orgasm, Lily stammered, ¡°W-what are you doing? My energy is-¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry dear, it¡¯s normal, just relax.¡± the succubus said before returning her mouth to Lily¡¯s clit.

    Oh. It was normal, and she should relax. That made sense. Lily closed her eyes and returned her attention to the glorious feeling of the succubus¡¯ tongue and fingers again. It wasn¡¯t as fun this time. Her butt felt some pleasure, but the roughness was just regular pain. She couldn¡¯t get back into her sexy victim fantasy, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind taking her out of the experience. This was dangerous, something was wrong.

    ¡°Something¡¯s wrong, I think we should stop.¡± Lily said.

    ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, everything is fine, just enjoy it,¡± the succubus replied.

    Candy was right. What was she so worried about? Nothing was wrong, she should just stop overthinking things and enjoy it. The succubus withdrew her fingers from Lily¡¯s butt and moved them back to her pussy, focused on giving pure pleasure again. Lily relaxed and enjoyed herself as ordered, grinding her hips into the succubus¡¯ face and fingers. It took a lot longer this time, but after a few minutes of dedicated effort from Candy, she eventually reached another peak.

    Once again, her body shook as the pleasure swept over her. This time, the orgasm hurt and not in the good way. As the last of the energy drained out of Lily¡¯s body, the surge of pain overwhelmed and snuffed out the pleasure. Lily felt a burning sensation as her muscles and bones, the parts of her body that had gained density as she ate, started to melt away. She was becoming slightly lighter and slightly weaker. Her body was starving itself, consuming its own mass in a desperate attempt to keep her alive.

    There was definitely something wrong. She was sure of it now. This succubus was draining her life away. The energy she worked so hard to collect, all the men she ate the other day, the succubus stole it all and was still trying to steal more. This was an attack. The succubus¡¯ words¡­ this was a spell of some kind. In that case, the solution was simple. She couldn¡¯t let the succubus talk.

    Lily clamped her thighs down on the succubus¡¯ head, leaned forwards, and stabbed both claws into the top of her skull. The succubus screamed in outrage, twisted around and slipped out from between Lily¡¯s thighs, pulling the claws out of her head at the same time. Candy stumbled backwards, holding her head.

    ¡°You bitch!¡± she screamed.

    That would have killed a human, this succubus was tough. Lily climbed to her feet, and spread her claws, ready to fight. The succubus stood calmly.

    ¡°It¡¯s ok dear, I forgive you, why don¡¯t you go lie down on the bed, and we can continue,¡± said Candy.

    Did Lily make a mistake? She must have. It was lucky that the succubus was willing to forgive her. Lily stepped back and sat down on the bed again. Wait. The voice. Candy used it again. Lily wasn¡¯t able to kill her fast enough. As the succubus seductively walked closer, ready to continue her draining assault, Lily thought up an alternative plan. The words wouldn¡¯t work if Lily couldn¡¯t hear them.

    Lily glared at the succubus, and a devious smile crept to her lips. She lifted a single claw to each ear and pointed towards herself. The succubus¡¯s eyes went wide once she realized what Lily was planning. The demon girl shoved her deadly fingertip spikes into her own ears. There was a small spike of pain, and then the world went completely silent.

    The succubus¡¯ mouth opened and closed, but Lily no longer felt any desire to get her pussy licked or her holes fingered. Her succubus side had its fun, but it was now time to indulge her Archfiend side. Lily roared soundlessly and charged towards the succubus. Candy burst into a cloud of pink smoke, revealing a demonic looking reflection of the previous redheaded woman. Candy¡¯s true self was nearly identical, maintaing her luscious red hair, but with orange-red skin, short little horns, dark batlike wings, and a spaded tail.

    A swirl of crimson mist appeared in Candy¡¯s palm as Lily continued her charge. The succubus reached out and an invisible pulse of magic struck Lily¡¯s chest. Lily felt the impact as the top half of her dress, and most of her chest disintegrated into a cloud of black dust. The pain was severe, but it only served to fuel Lily¡¯s battle lust and fiendish killing instincts.

    The pulse of deadly disintegration magic ultimately failed to even slow the miniature Archfiend down. The flesh on Lily¡¯s chest, breasts and all, had been scoured away, leaving behind a polished plate of black Archfiend bone where a normal woman¡¯s ribcage should have been. The bone, and all the vital organs behind it, were completely unharmed by the magic.

    Lily¡¯s charge reached the succubus only an instant after she released her spell. Lily¡¯s claws impaled into Candy¡¯s chest, and the unstoppable mass of the charging demon girl knocked her over, flat onto her back. Lily straddled the downed succubus¡¯s hips, pinning her to the ground with her weight alone. She stabbed and raked her claws across the succubus¡¯s body, viciously tearing Candy¡¯s beautiful flesh to ribbons.

    There was another swirl of red energy in the succubus¡¯ hand. A second pulse of disintegration magic hit Lily squarely in the face, leaving behind a black, eyeless skull where her face should have been.

    Lily was blind and deaf, but she could still feel where the succubus was. She continued stabbing and tearing apart the fleshy body as more bursts of disintegration magic hit her. One struck her right shoulder, causing her right arm to go limp. It remained attached to her, but she was unable to move it without muscles. She continued to claw at the succubus with her remaining arm. Eventually the succubus stopped moving, but Lily continued her attack, worried that it was a trick.

    After fifteen minutes of stabbing away at the succubus, Lily stopped. The succubus was completely dead. Lily couldn¡¯t even feel a trace of its former shape under her claws, she was just stabbing into a juicy ball of meat now. Her exhaustion finally caught up with her. She wobbled and fell forwards onto the meat pile.

    The battle was hard fought, but there was no post-battle euphoria this time. With most of her skin missing, and most of her nerves destroyed Lily didn¡¯t actually feel much pain, but she still felt drained and miserable. This wasn''t a victory, it was a survival.

    She was healing slowly, but she felt like she was starving to death. Without a stockpile of stored energy, every bit of flesh and muscle she regenerated took mass away from her bones. She was slowly eating herself to repair herself, undoing weeks of effort hunting in the wilderness. Luckily, she knew where to find some fresh meat to fuel her regeneration.

    Lily scooped up a clawful of demon mush and took a bite. Ugh! It was the grossest thing she¡¯d ever eaten, and Lily ate a lot of strange things. Still, she felt the energy pour back into her. The succubus carcass was brimming with magical power, especially after draining all of Lily¡¯s energy. It made a single bite of her flesh worth more than a hundred bites of animal flesh. Lily needed the energy badly. Grimacing, she scooped another clawful of succubus into her mouth.

 11 - Midnight Madness

    Lily kneeled over the dead body of the succubus, shovelling shredded flesh and crushed bone into her mouth.

    There was itching and tingling all over her body as flesh grew over her recently exposed bones. This might have been the worst damage she¡¯d received in a single fight so far. Worse than the inquisitors even. That succubus¡¯ magic had been incredibly powerful.

    As she continued to eat, the feeling of starvation didn¡¯t subside. Lily¡¯s sense of hunger was tied to the mana stored inside her body, and all the magical energy she gained by eating was being used to regenerate her missing flesh.

    She flexed her new muscles and her bones felt unusually heavy, which meant her new muscles were lighter and weaker than before. Her regeneration was mostly subconscious, but it was surprisingly smart. It seemed her body recognized it was starving and was prioritizing ¡®completeness¡¯ over restoring her previous muscle density.

    Unfortunately, once her body healed, she would almost certainly be a lot lighter than she was before. She guessed that she''d weighed about seven Amelias before¡­ Hopefully she¡¯d only lose one or two Amelias worth of weight, but that was awfully optimistic given how much flesh she lost.

    Lily paused her meal and took a deep breath, slumping her shoulders. This succubus had really messed her up.

    She¡¯d been stupid, she realized. She¡¯d grown complacent. She was vastly more powerful than any human she¡¯d met, outside of the inquisitors at least. She¡¯d gotten used to that and acted like she was unkillable. She wasn¡¯t strong¡­ humans were weak. She should have known that another demon would be a powerful potential threat, and she¡¯d obviously underestimated the danger of this one.

    Not only that, but she walked right into the succubus¡¯ trap. Really? Having sex with a sex demon? That was like walking into the mouth of a gluttony demon. Even if she was ignorant of sex until today, and she didn¡¯t know the exact mechanics of how succubi fed until now, she should have still realized that allowing one between her legs wouldn¡¯t turn out well.

    Lily finished scooping up the last of the shredded succubus meat splattered against the ground in front of her. She then started on the succubus¡¯ legs and arms which were still mostly intact, though completely severed from the rest of the body.

    As Lily was working on the last remaining limb, the left leg, she heard a popping sound as her hearing returned. She heard the lovely sound of the chewing and tearing of bloody flesh, but the night was silent otherwise. Her sense of smell returned shortly after her hearing, and the spicy pungent aroma of demon blood soaked into her nostrils.

    She ate the last bite of leg, finishing all the succubus meat, but she was nowhere near fully healed. Her eyes hadn¡¯t even started to regrow, and the muscles that had regrown felt tender. Running a clawed hand over them was slightly painful, and she felt a bumpy texture to the flesh. She realized that she¡¯d regrown a layer of muscle, but no skin to cover it yet. The healing returned to its previous slow rate, and she felt the mass being drained out of her bones and older muscles again. She needed to find more meat.

    With hearing and scent restored, she sniffed through the blood saturated air to find another source of food. She¡¯d prefer to find an animal to kill if possible, but unfortunately, the only scent she found was human. Lily sighed. She was half-healed, losing mass through starvation, and she still didn¡¯t have eyes. Human would do, she didn¡¯t have the luxury of being picky right now.

    The human scent was coming from beneath the floorboards, in the house¡¯s cellar. She didn¡¯t remember seeing stairs or a trap door when she still had eyes. Not a problem, she could make her own pathway down. Lily scraped her claws against the blood drenched and already damaged wood. After a few minutes of digging, she fell through the floor and landed on a patch of cool moist dirt in the house¡¯s cellar.

    The demon stood and heard a muffled scream, a male voice with a gag of some kind in his mouth. She took a step and tripped, nearly falling over. A loop of tattered cloth was wrapped around her legs. Lily reached down¡­ Ahh it was Tanya¡¯s dress. The top half disintegrated when her chest did, and the bottom half wouldn¡¯t stay up without it. Lily carefully stepped out of the fabric loop and kicked it aside with her foot. She preferred being naked anyway.

    She walked up to the source of the sound without tripping again, but this time she bumped into a wall of metal bars. She felt around and found the edges of the mystery object. It was a large cube shaped metal cage and the voice was coming from inside. His words were unintelligible thanks to the gag, but the terror in his tone was obvious. It was for a good reason of course, Lily was going to eat him after all.

    One set of bars rattled more than the others, so she assumed that it was the cage¡¯s door. Lily braced herself with her foot and pulled. The metal creaked and finally snapped, allowing the cage to swing open.

    The screaming voice intensified as the demon walked closer. She gently reached out a claw and felt the trembling human¡¯s outline. He had broad shoulders and a distinct lack of breasts. Lily confirmed he was indeed male thanks to Candy¡¯s hasty rambling lecture on humanoid sexual dimorphism. His arms were bound together behind him with iron manacles connected behind the cage bars, keeping him secure.

    He smelled absolutely terrible, like he hadn¡¯t bathed in weeks and had been forced to use his own clothes as a toilet. Candy must have been negligent in taking care of her human prisoner. There was a strip of cloth wrapped around his head, digging into his mouth. Lily gently cut through the fabric with her claw tip.

    ¡°Please¡­ please don¡¯t hurt me,¡± the man whimpered.

    Lily turned his head sideways, pinning him against the cage side, and pressed her claw against his temple to end his life as cleanly and painlessly as possible. She hated the idea of breaking her promise to Amelia. She would lose the human¡¯s trust, and she would probably end up alone again. She¡¯d either be alone or dead, those were the options¡­ This was truly a disaster.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Lily, speaking Common, ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill you, but I¡¯m hungry.¡±

    She didn¡¯t know why she spoke to him. He would be dead soon, telling him why wouldn¡¯t be much of a consolation for him. It still made her feel better to say those words out loud though. She was really saying it for her own sake, not his.

    ¡°Don¡¯t eat me, I don¡¯t taste good. I promise!¡± pleaded the man.

    ¡°Even covered in shit you probably still taste better than the succubus¡­¡± Lily muttered under her breath, before raising her voice to a speaking volume, ¡°I need meat, you are meat, sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t eat me please. I¡¯ll give you meat. Not human meat, but almost as good. Cow, pig. Pig tastes almost like human,¡± the man desperately begged.

    Lily sniffed the air skeptically, ¡°I don¡¯t smell anything.¡±

    ¡°Not here. Another place. Lots of meat.¡±

    Lily sighed. She wasn¡¯t in a trusting mood after the succubus encounter. If she ate him, there was a guarantee that she would get a nourishing meal. If she believed him, he could lure her into a trap, or find some other way to escape, leaving her stranded without anything to eat.

    ¡°I¡¯m very hard to kill and I know what you smell like,¡± Lily said. ¡°If you lie to me, you¡¯re going to wish I killed you here. I will find you and I will eat you alive, starting from the toes and working my way up. You probably won¡¯t die until I reach your thighs.¡±

    ¡°Yes. I won¡¯t betray you. I promise.¡±

    Ugh. This snivelling little thing didn¡¯t fill her with a lot of confidence. He wasn¡¯t attacking her though. Eating him would be breaking her promise to Amelia, no question. If he was telling the truth, she might be able to return to Amelia alive, without betraying her. It was worth taking the chance.

    She gripped the man¡¯s manacles and tore the chains apart. She actually had to work at them a bit, tugging and yanking before the metal chain split apart. She kept her displeasure from showing on her skinless, eyeless face. That proved it, she¡¯d gotten weaker.

    ¡°Go on. Take me to this ¡®other place¡¯ of yours,¡± said Lily.

    ¡°Okay. Follow.¡±

    The man stood and started walking. Lily followed his unpleasantly strong scent and the sound of his footsteps. When she focused on it, her magical perception felt him too. He was giving off a faint magical aura, definitely human, not demonic. It was only slightly weaker than Amelia¡¯s magical aura, though it felt more chaotic anduncertain than sparkly or honest. Magical auras were hard to describe with words.

    The man led her to a set of stairs in the side of the cellar that led directly outside through a wooden door. Apparently, the cellar and the house had separate entrances. At least, they did before Lily connected them via a hole in the floor. The man led her down an alleyway of some kind.

    ¡°Uh¡­ Are you friend of Canth¡¯chry?¡± the man asked as he walked.

    ¡°No. She attacked me so I killed her and ate her.¡±

    ¡°Ah, so that¡¯s why she hasn¡¯t tried to stopus.¡± The man¡¯s voice was nervous.

    The pair continued walking in silence, after a few more minutes, the man spoke again, ¡°Uuh¡­ where is your master?¡±

    ¡°Master?¡±

    ¡°The one who summoned you? The one who gives you orders under the geas?¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    ¡°Geas?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sure you know what I¡¯m talking about.¡±

    ¡°No actually, I don¡¯t,¡± Lily spoke with a warning tone to her voice that made the man flinch.

    ¡°All demons are summoned with a geas, it¡¯s part of the ritual.¡± the man quickly explained. ¡°It¡¯s a magical compulsion that you can¡¯t disobey. Usually it¡¯s something like ¡®Follow my orders,¡¯ or ¡®Don¡¯t attack people without my permission,¡¯ that sort of thing. For Candy it was ¡®Don¡¯t harm your master and follow his orders¡¯ which, I¡¯ll admit, turned out to be a bad choice in this case, especially once she put the gag in my mouth so I couldn''t order her to free me.¡±

    Lily took a moment to think about it, ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t have one.¡±

    ¡°Wait¡­¡± the man¡¯s footsteps slowed down a bit, ¡°Are you unbound?¡±

    ¡°Yes, that sounds familiar. Father said I was unbound.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± there was a nervous gulp, ¡°so you killed your previous master?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Lily replied, ¡°I don¡¯t think I ever had one.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not pos-¡± the man cut himself off, ¡°I mean sure, you¡¯re right, sorry.¡±

    Lily didn¡¯t have Amelia¡¯s gift, but even she could notice the insincerity in the man¡¯s voice. So, Lily couldn¡¯t be a demon hybrid, and she couldn¡¯t be summoned without a master and a summoning geas. According to this man and his succubus, Lily was impossible.

    The rest of the walk continued in tense silence. The man decided not to talk anymore, and Lily could tell he was trembling slightly. After a few minutes, the man stopped walking abruptly, ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± he said.

    Lily inhaled and smelled a large amount of raw meat nearby. It was coming from somewhere to the right, ¡°Here?¡± she asked, pointing towards the scent.

    ¡°Yes. This is the meat place, there¡¯s lots to eat inside. Can I leave please?¡±

    ¡°If you¡¯re not lying¡­¡± Lily warned.

    The demon girl felt along the wall until she found a door. It was large and sat on rollers. She pried apart the padlock and slid the door open sideways. The scent of delicious meat filled her nose.

    Lily walked a short distance inside, reached out, and felt an animal corpse, hanging from someplace above. It was cold, so it wasn¡¯t freshly killed. It was also missing skin and its belly had been cut open. It seemed all the guts had been removed too, but the bones and muscle were still there at least. She leaned in and took a bite. Glorious!

    The man¡¯s footsteps were already growing distant. He was running away in a full sprint. Lily didn¡¯t care, she got what she wanted. She could eat and heal, nothing else mattered right now. She continued eating the hanging meat and her full regeneration returned. She felt her muscle and skin begin to grow back again. This meat was far less potent than the succubus had been, but it certainly tasted better.

    After the first hanging meat, the last bits of muscle that hadn¡¯t grown back did so, and a large portion of her skin returned too. After the second hanging meat, her skin was completely restored, and she felt two squishy, slightly deflated orbs in her eye sockets. Halfway through the third hanging meat, a blindingly bright flash filled her vision, and slowly dimmed until she could see the details of the room around her. Yay! Eyes!

    Her shiny new eyes lit up with joy. She¡¯d been led to a room full of glorious bloody treasure. She¡¯d only eaten two and a half hanging meats, but there were at least twenty in here. She dug into the other half of the cow she¡¯d been eating with enthusiasm. She¡¯d have to hurry and eat these before the sun came up.

    Midway through cow number five, Lily¡¯s meal was interrupted by a shout of alarm. She turned to see a man in armor standing in the doorway she¡¯d left open, holding a torch and wearing an expression of horror on his face.

    He wore the same uniform as the guards that led Amelia into town and lost against Tanya in the sparring match. The man had a sword and a spear, but Lily didn¡¯t see the Demonbane glow. They could still be silver, she reminded herself. This was a bad time to make another stupid mistake.

    The alarmed guard pulled out a small piece of metal, held it to his mouth, and blew into it. A loud, shrill, whistling sound shattered the silence of the night. Ugh! Many humans would have heard that noise. She had to get away from here.

    Was this a kill-human? She watched the man get into a fighting stance and point his spear at her. He clearly intended to fight her. This was an obvious threat. It seemed like this qualified as an attack. The metal tip of the spear didn¡¯t feel ¡®wrong¡¯ to her senses though, so it probably wasn¡¯t silver. Maybe she could try to subdue this one without killing him.

    The cow-blood soaked demon dropped theremaining half of her mealand lunged towards the spearman. He angled his spear to catch Lily¡¯s charge, but at the last moment, the demon dodged and grabbed the spear¡¯s shaft, giving it a sudden hard yank. The man who was still gripping it stumbled forwards and Lily¡¯s knee caught him in the stomach.

    He flew out of the ¡®meat place¡¯ and landed in the middle of the road outside, rolling several times before coming to a stop. He groaned, rolled over, and threw up. Lily smiled. She didn¡¯t kill him. Amelia would be happy.

    The demon casually discarded the guard¡¯s spear she was holding, stepped out into the street, and heard distant footsteps approaching from all sides. That meant every direction was equally good. She chose to run in the direction of the fancy people¡¯s mansion.

    She sprinted down the street at full speed, a few seconds into her run, she encountered two guards that were approaching the source of the whistle sound. The street was wide, and the two men were surprised to see the demon. She didn¡¯t even need to disable them. She just ran past them before they even had time to raise their spears or draw their swords. They tried to chase her, but they couldn¡¯t run as fast as she could. They also ran out of stamina after less than a minute of continuous sprinting. After turning a few corners and weaving through the streets, she escaped them easily.

    When Lily was certain that no more guards were able to see her, she ducked into an alley and crouched in the shadows, catching her breath. She listened to the sounds. There was a lot more activity now. Several human voices were audible in the distance, somewhere near the ¡®meat place¡¯ building. None of the voices were getting closer to her though. She¡¯d lost her pursuers.

    She walked the rest of the way to the mansion carefully, once again, hiding in the shadows. No guards or other humans spotted her as she reached the edge of the mansion grounds. She climbed over the gate to the mansion, and quietly walked back up to the front entrance.

    As she reached the front door, she heard voices inside the mansion and heavy running footsteps. A few seconds later, the door opened, and ten guards piled out into the yard, standing in semicircle formation, spears at the ready. An eleventh guard stood in the middle. This was the older one Amelia had been talking to directly, the one with the red cloth on his back. He held a single handed sword and shield. The sword wasn¡¯t glowing, but it definitely felt wrong. Silver.

    ¡°Surrender now, demon. You¡¯re under arrest,¡± the leader shouted.

    Under arrest¡­ what did that mean again? Well whatever. Lily knew what surrendering meant, and she had no intention of submitting to an insect like him.

    ¡°No,¡± said Lily coldly, flexing her claws menacingly.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to come with us one way or the other,¡± the man pulled out a pair of wrong feeling manacles, also silver, ¡°We can do this the easy way or the hard way.¡±

    Ah. They wanted to capture her. They wanted to separate her and Amelia¡­ Her and Tanya¡­ Even Danica¡­ That obviously wasn¡¯t going to happen.

    ¡°You will not take my humans away from me,¡± Lily warned. ¡°Get out of my way or die.¡±

    The silver wielding man handed the manacles to one of the other guards, who dropped his weapons and got them ready. The leader readied his sword and got into a fighting stance. That was probably enough of a warning to satisfy Amelia. She¡¯d get to eat eleven delicious humans tonight, guilt-free. What a treat!

    Like the bandit camp, there were a lot of humans here, but unlike the bandit camp, she had to worry about a silver sword. Luckily, she now knew that humans had an easily exploitable weakness.

    ¡°Out of my way!¡± Lily roared in devastatingly loud Infernal. Her fiendish voice pierced the silence of the night, echoing through the empty streets.

    Two of the nearby men fainted immediately. Others fell to their knees while remaining conscious. The older human holding the sword was staggered, but he was the only one that managed to remain standing. Lily took this opportunity, and charged towards him, claws bared.

    The man recovered fast, but by that point Lily had already closed the distance. The man brought his shield up, only barely escaping his death. Instead of impaling him through the heart, Lily¡¯s claw embedded itself in his shield. The man twisted his body and Lily¡¯s momentum carried her forwards, sending her careening through the wooden front door of the mansion.

    The door exploded into splinters and the demon flew into the entrance hall. She tore a series of deep gouges in the floor as she skidded to a halt, digging her claws into the floorboards for grip. The man stepped inside the doorway, sword at the ready, and Lily discarded the shield she¡¯d pried off his arm, throwing it down the hall behind her. She lined herself up for the next charge, she¡¯d get him this time.

    ¡°Stop!¡± came a voice from the stairs behind her. It was Amelia¡¯s voice.

    Lily stopped, but kept her claws bared, and her eyes focused on the man. She was willing to humor Amelia¡¯s request, but she wasn¡¯t stupid enough to let her guard down. She was ready to react in an instant. Amelia¡¯s footsteps were behind her, quickly descending the stairs. Lily watched the guard¡¯s eyes, trying to see where he was going to attack. He might try for Amelia too, but Lily was prepared to defend the tiny human from this man if needed.

    Amelia stepped between the demon and the guard. She faced Lily, walked between her bared claws without fear, and wrapped her arms around the demon¡¯s neck, hugging her. Lily didn¡¯t return the hug. She kept her claws free, ready to defend them both from the man.

    ¡°Please stop fighting,¡± Amelia said into Lily¡¯s ear.

    ¡°He attacked,¡± Lily whispered back.

    ¡°He was trying to intimidate you, not kill you. I told him not to do it, but he didn¡¯t listen.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s slower and dumber than Tanya, I can kill him easily.¡±

    Lily kept her eyes trained on the guard. He continued to stand where he was, holding his sword ready. The chainmail and cloth gambeson would help protect him against a raking slash of her claws, but they would do very little to stop her fingertips from piercing through if she stabbed him. The silver weapon was still a bit concerning, but if she fought carefully and deliberately, like she did with Tanya, she could overcome this little challenge. It would be far easier than the succubus.

    ¡°Probably, but please don¡¯t. It¡¯s not too late to solve this with words. You only need claws and swords if words fail.¡± said Amelia.

    Lily didn¡¯t like that idea. The succubus used words as a weapon, and she nearly killed Lily with them. If Candy would have attacked Lily directly, then Lily wouldn¡¯t have had to fight her when she was drained of energy and unable to regenerate. After tonight¡¯s harrowing experience, she wasn¡¯t ready to fight against another opponent with words. She liked her claws. Claws were reliable.

    ¡°I don¡¯t trust him, and I don¡¯t trust words. I¡¯ve heard too many words tonight.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to trust him, but can you trust me?¡± Amelia asked. She stepped back and looked Lily in the eyes, ¡°I can protect you.¡±

    Amelia¡¯s gaze was calm and reassuring. Lily felt like she could trust her, but she¡¯d been wrong before. Well, perhaps there was no harm in trying. Lily could always poke through her own eardrums again if the guard tried to use magic words or something similar on her.

    ¡°Fine,¡± Lily said, with a sigh.

    ¡°Ok, let¡¯s go relax upstairs, I¡¯ll handle the talking later.¡±

    Amelia stepped back from the hug, reached out a hand, and grabbed Lily¡¯s claw tip. She gently led the demon up the stairs, speaking to the guard as she did so.

    ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere. You and I are going to have a talk after this,¡± she said in a cold voice. The man looked angry, but he made no move to prevent Amelia from taking Lily upstairs.

    Amelia led Lily to her room, getting the attention of a nervous looking maid who followed her too.

    ¡°You can have a nice boiling bath to relax and wash off some of that blood. I hope none of that is human blood¡­ The Lord and Lady Montagne sent for the guard when you triggered their alarm ward by climbing the fence. The guards are very worried about what you did while you were outside the mansion. Once you¡¯re nice and comfy, could you please tell me everything that happened after you left tonight?¡±

    They reached the room, the maid filled the bathtub, and Amelia set the fire rune to ¡®scalding.¡¯ The demon settled into the water. Ahh yes¡­ this was definitely what she needed after a night like this. Lily started telling Amelia everything that happened.

 12 - Follow Your Nose

    Amelia lumbered over to the dining table and slumped down in the chair. One of the maids, a dark elf named Patricia, delivered a coffee to her. The other maids and servants at the estate called this ¡®Patricia coffee¡¯, and they were normally banned from giving it to guests. Drinking it was apparently a test of courage for those servants who had to stay up late and work through the night. Amelia decided to accept their challenge.

    The few dark elves still alive today lived mostly in human cities, and they had a bad reputation. It was remarkably progressive of the Montagne family to hire one as a maid. According to the racial stereotypes, dark elves were all evil demon worshippers plotting the downfall of humanity. If Amelia was racist, she might say that this coffee was a sinister concoction born of pure unfiltered evil. It certainly looked ominous at first glance¡­

    Amelia looked down at the black liquid, which was as thick as soup. She took a sip, and the taste hit her like a hammer to the face. It was horrible, dark, bitter, and violent somehow¡­ It gave Amelia the urge to scream obscenities and punch someone, but it worked splendidly. Amelia certainly felt awake now.

    ¡°She¡¯s relaxing in her blanket fort.¡± said Amelia, currently resisting the urge to punch Captain Richter.

    ¡°Making her comfy doesn¡¯t solve the problem,¡± said the annoyed Captain. ¡°She¡¯s a danger to the public. You saw her attack us, right? She¡¯s clearly not as harmless as you say.¡±

    ¡°I never said she was harmless. She¡¯s an extremely dangerous unbound greater demon that was able to kill an inquisitor by herself. I told you that she wouldn¡¯t attack you unprovoked though, and she hasn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re saying I provoked her?¡± the Captain growled. ¡°She struck first!¡±

    ¡°She attacked because you tried to arrest her, threatened to bind her in silver plated manacles, and threatened her with a silver plated sword,¡± Amelia sighed. ¡°I really wish you¡¯d have let me handle it.¡±

    ¡°Sorry Saintess, this is my town, we handle things my way. You don¡¯t have authority over me, and if your pet monster is rampaging around the town at night, completely out of control, then I¡¯m going to have to put her down.¡±

    ¡°I just finished calming her down. It took some convincing, but she has reluctantly agreed not to retaliate. Please don¡¯t ruin that. You¡¯re lucky nobody died tonight. If you force her to attack you, I¡¯m confident that she will kill you and all your men. Just leave her be and no one has to die.¡±

    ¡°Yeah right,¡± the Captain snorted, ¡°my guards survived, but how many innocent people were killed during her rampage tonight?¡±

    ¡°Zero,¡± Amelia said, glaring at the captain, ¡°and she even solved your demon problem for you.¡±

    The Captain listened as Amelia recounted what Lily told her.Shedecided to be deliberately vague about the... things that happened between Lily and the succubus before the fight started. Amelia didn''t even know the specifics of what they did. Once Lily started going into details about her first sexual experience, talking about fingers in places... Amelia became too embarassed and had to stop her. Lewd things happened, that was enough information.

    Amelia gave the Captain the important details. She explained that Lily found a succubus, killed the succubus, set a man free from her basement, followed him and broke into a warehouse, stealing five cows¡¯ worth of beef before being spotted by guards and fleeing back to the mansion.

    ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to reimburse the warehouse owner for the beef, if I have enough gold on me,¡± Amelia added.

    Captain Richter digested what Amelia told him. He gave Amelia a suspicious glare. ¡°You said she killed a succubus?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what I said, and I cannot lie.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good news. She found the rogue mage that summoned the succubus too?¡±

    ¡°She found a man with an ambient magical aura, that she thinks was the succubus¡¯ summoner.¡±

    ¡°Care to share any details? We need to catch that bastard before he summons another demon.¡±

    ¡°Nothing that would help you. Lily knows his scent and his magical aura. She doesn¡¯t remember where his house was, but she knows the path to get there and what it looks like from the outside. That¡¯s about it.¡±

    ¡°Can she track him by scent?¡± the Captain asked.

    ¡°Are you seriously suggesting that you want Lily to track him for you?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not like we have a choice. We need to catch that terrorist before he destroys the town. If she helps us catch him, all will be forgiven. You have my leave to parade her around town as much as you want.¡±

    ¡°She hasn¡¯t done anything other than defend herself from you and steal some meat that I¡¯ve offered to pay for. You have little to forgive.¡±

    The Captain crossed his arms, glaring silently and frowning at Amelia. Amelia returned his gaze with a glare of her own.

    ¡°You¡¯re trusting this demon too much,¡± said the Captain.

    ¡°Lily is different,¡± Amelia replied.

    Patricia walked up to the table with a pot of coffee and refilled the Captain¡¯s cup of normal coffee. Amelia had only taken a few sips of her own foul concoction, so she didn¡¯t need a refill. Captain Richter ignored the maid¡¯s presence until she coughed politely to interrupt. Both Amelia and the Captain turned to her.

    ¡°Speaking as an evil demon worshipping dark elf, I have two things to say,¡± Patricia said, in a lecturing tone. ¡°First of all, Your Eminence, I think you¡¯re underestimating how scary demons can be. The fact that Lily hasn¡¯t tortured you to death and raped the leftover pieces yet is frankly astonishing. You realize she can change her mind and decide to stop keeping her promise at any time, right? On that note, Captain Richter, I¡¯d actually have to agree with the Saintess¡¯ assessment. Lily really is different. We¡¯d all be dead by now if she wasn¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for your opinion dark elf,¡± The Captain said, with a venomous sneer.

    ¡°My apologies Captain Richter,¡± Patricia said, bowing solemnly, her face twisting into a wicked grin, ¡°but I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t give a shit what you think. If you¡¯re smart, you¡¯ll listen to what I have to say.¡±

    The Captain looked at Patricia with shock and outrage on his face. She turned to walk away, swaying her slender hips coquettishly. Halfway to the kitchen she stopped and turned around.

    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± she said tapping her chin, ¡°I¡¯m sure a smart boy like you knows that silver needs to pierce the skin to have an effect on a monster. I¡¯m sure you know that silver plated manacles won¡¯t have any effect on a corporeal demon and that you¡¯d be better off just using heavily reinforced steel if you wanted to bind Lily. But then again¡­ what do I know? I¡¯m just a dark elf whose opinion doesn¡¯t matter.¡±

    Patricia gave the Captain a toothy grin, as the man seethed quietly. Amelia pretended to scratch her nose, covering her mouth to hide her own smug smile. She was starting to like Patricia.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling Roland about your disrespect¡­¡± the Captain muttered.

    ¡°Go ahead and do that. Young little Roland would never dare to fire me. He knows that he¡¯s never too old for a spanking if he misbehaves.¡±

    Patricia walked away. Amelia failed to suppress her giggle this time. The Captain¡¯s glare turned back to her, and Amelia coughed nervously.

    ¡°I¡¯ll ask her if she wants to help,¡± she said, ¡°but I don¡¯t think she cares about earning your forgiveness all that much.¡±

    ¡°Convince her,¡± said the Captain. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you everything, but we have a good idea who this guy is, and he is bad news. We were warned about him in a letter from the imperial palace. This guy is dangerous enough to be on the Emperor¡¯s personal shit list.¡±

    Captain Richter Truly believed that the rogue mage was bad news. Amelia¡¯s gift told her that he believed what he was saying, but it didn¡¯t tell her if the fact itself was True or not.

    She excused herself from the dining table, and slowly made her way back upstairs. It was early in the morning, only an hour or two before sunrise. She didn¡¯t want to deal with this bull-poop right now, she¡¯d been up all night and she just wanted to sleep.

    Amelia carefully crept into Lily¡¯s room. It was dark, and the only light Amelia could see was the moonlight shining in from the window and two little red dots coming from inside the shadowy depths of the blanket cave. The demon¡¯s crimson eyes caught and reflected the tiny amount of light that was shining in from the hallway, making it almost look like they were glowing. Amelia entered the room and closed the door.

    ¡°Lily, I spoke with the Captain. He wanted you to help catch the mage from the basement. The one that led you to the meat.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°No,¡± the demon grumbled, ¡°you asked me not to kill him, and I won¡¯t, but I¡¯m definitely not going to help him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I agree,¡± Amelia admitted. ¡°He doesn¡¯t deserve your charity, but I told him I¡¯d ask you anyway. He seems pretty desperate though, you could demand something in exchange for your help. Gold? Clothes? Armor? Is there anything he could give you that would change your mind?¡±

    Lily paused, and took some time to think, ¡°Meat,¡± she said. ¡°A lot of meat.¡±

    ¡°Meat?¡± Amelia repeated. It seemed Lily was showing her gluttonous side again.

    ¡°The succubus drained more energy than I got back from eating her, and I lost about a third of my body mass from that fight. I only weigh about five Amelias now. My energy is low, my body is weak. I¡¯m still hungry, I need to eat. A lot.¡±

    Amelias? That was a¡­ unique unit of measurement. Was that why Lily kept picking her up and carrying her around? She was wondering about that. With a short stature, and (unfortunately) no Danica-breasts or Danica-hips to weigh her down, Amelia was about 110 lbs. So that still made Lily¡­ 550 lbs, easily twice as heavy as a normal man. Wait, she¡¯d been¡­ Amelia did some quick math in her head, 800-ish lbs before? That was about as much as the donkey weighed. No wonder Amelia couldn¡¯t lift her into the bath.

    Amelia refocused herself on the topic at hand, ¡°Ok, so how much meat do you want to ask him for?¡±

    ¡°20 cows. That was how much was inside the meat place before the guard interrupted me.¡±

    Amelia did some more quick math in her head, ¡°Six tons? That¡¯s a lot of meat. Does it have to be cows? or can it be other animals?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t care, as long as there¡¯s a lot.¡±

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll tell him.¡±

    Amelia slowly padded her way back down the corridor, yawning loudly as she descended the stairs. She returned to the table and gave the Captain Lily¡¯s price: 6 tons or 20 cows worth of whatever animal meat he can find. In return, Lily would attempt to track and catch the mage alive. The Captain grumbled, apparently believing that Lily should do it for free.

    Amelia ignored the coffee-induced urge to punch him in his stupid f-word-ing face and told him to find some meat for the demon if he wanted her help, if not, then she didn¡¯t care. She left him at the dining table and went back upstairs to bed. She didn¡¯t have the energy to deal with his ego, she needed to sleep.

    <hr>

    In the morning, a slightly refreshed Amelia, having had four hours of sleep and more coffee, followed the Captain to a farm on the outskirts of town. Lily, also running on four hours of sleep, followed them. She was here to receive her payment.

    The demon managed to destroy Tanya¡¯s dress while fighting the succubus last night, but luckily the maids kept a small stock of spare uniforms in various sizes. The demon wore the black dress portion of a maid uniform, without the white apron or the frilly headpiece. A demon maid sounded cute in theory, but Amelia knew that it would be a lot less cute once the white apron turned red from blood. At least the black part of the uniform would hide bloodstains well.

    An ashamed looking farmer led them to a barn and explained the situation. ¡°Yeh see, I bought these here forest drakes, thinking I could use ¡®em as extra large beasts of burden. I didn¡¯t know that you needed special food for ¡®em. I fed ¡®em like oxen, but uuh...¡±

    The farmer opened the barn door, and Lily¡¯s face lit up with joy. Two giant forest drakes, recent victims of malnutrition, lay dead inside. The creatures looked like giant scaly reptiles, with four legs, long necks, and long tails. The two creatures were enough to fill the entire barn on their own, without any extra room to spare. Just one of those creatures was almost the size of Amelia¡¯s old shack.

    Forest drakes were actually a species of lizard, not at all related to actual drakes. At first glance they looked quite similar to a drake, hence the name. The biggest difference was that forest drakes were herbivores, with flat plant eating teeth and a gentle disposition. Due to their sheer size, they had no natural predators other than true drakes, ironically.

    True drakes were not lizards, or even reptiles. They shared an ancestry with dragons. They lacked their brothers¡¯ wings, intelligence, and elemental breath, but they were still vicious apex predators, similar in size to the forest drake, but purely carnivorous. Very few people survived accidentally mistaking a drake for a forest drake.

    ¡°Those are both yours, Lily¡± Amelia said to the demon. Thinking quickly, Amelia added, ¡°Let me take your dress so it doesn¡¯t get dirty.¡±

    Lily smiled like the bloodthirsty monster she was and quickly lifted the maid dress up over her head. The gleefully cackling naked demon pounced on the nearest corpse and began tearing it apart. Her teeth looked perfectly normal and humanlike, but they must have been made of something special. They had no problem chewing through the thick hide and armored scales that could shatter a normal man¡¯s teeth.

    This was going to take a while, Amelia estimated that these two drakes contained a lot more meat than just 20 cows¡¯ worth. Sure, it was basically garbage disposal, the farmer had been trying to hire help to haul away the bodies before they rotted, but it seemed Lily didn¡¯t mind doing this job. In her eyes, she was being given a valuable treasure.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± was the only thing the slightly terrified farmer had to say when he saw the demon tearing apart the giant creature with ease. The Captain had a similarly nervous look on his face. Amelia didn¡¯t. She was used to this by now.

    ¡°This might take a while, Mister Miller.¡± said Amelia.

    ¡°Uh¡­ yeah.¡± he mumbled, ¡°Would you like to come inside for some tea, Y-Your Eminence? I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have anything fancy but-¡±

    ¡°Sure, that would be great.¡± Amelia replied.

    Amelia and the captain sat around the farmer¡¯s humble home while the demon ate. In some ways, Amelia found this simple little farmhouse to be more comfortable than the mansion. This felt much more ¡®Amelia¡¯ than the opulent mansion with the silver cutlery and feather beds. Well¡­ she didn¡¯t mind the feather beds so much, but the rest was pure extravagance.

    Two hours passed while Amelia relaxed and chatted with the Captain and the farmer before a smiling naked demon, dripping with blood, walked inside and found her.

    ¡°Oh, Lily, hold on, you¡¯re getting blood everywhere.¡±

    Amelia brought the demon back outside, dumped a few buckets of water over her head, and wrangled her into the maid dress again. The demon passively went along with Amelia¡¯s fussing, with a blissful smile on her face. Inside the barn, both forest drakes were gone, only a few splashes of blood soaked hay remained where they once lay.

    With the demon fully paid, Captain Richter asked her to lead them to the succubus¡¯ house. Lily did so. She seemed to be retracing her steps from last night. First, she went to an alleyway near an extremely disreputable looking tavern, sniffed the air a few times, and continued onwards, following the scent. She followed a twisting route through dark alleyways, avoiding the larger roads, and ended up in the poorer part of town. Lily stopped in front of one of the houses and pushed the door open.

    There was no summoner to be found, but this was obviously the house of a mage in hiding. There was a wealth of books sitting around everywhere. Books lining the walls in massive bookshelves, books littering the dining table, and even books scattered across the floor. Books were extremely expensive, there was no way a normal person living in this part of town could have a collection like this. Most nobles didn¡¯t have collections this big. Almost all of the books seemed to be covering various specialized topics of magical lore. Danica would¡¯ve loved to see these.

    Amelia wondered if anyone would miss them if she grabbed a few¡­ she might come back here later.

    Amelia saw the aftermath of Lily¡¯s fight. There was a giant hole in the floor, surrounded by the black inky residue of dried demon blood. Claw scratches and small claw sized holes tore up the wooden floor around the edges of the pit. Large holes were carved out of the walls and roof. These didn¡¯t look like Lily¡¯s claw marks. The edges of the holes were perfectly smooth, as if a carpenter had cleanly carved out the holes and sanded down the edges after. Lily described a magic attack that turned flesh to dust, this must have been it.

    Through the hole in the floor, Amelia saw the cellar. An iron cage sat in the corner, encrusted with filth from its former prisoner. It looked horrible. That man must have been trapped in there for days, weeks even. In the corner, a portable metal tub sat, filled with murky bathwater.

    There was also a large round circle painted into the dirt in the center of the floor. The circle was adorned with a complex geometric pattern and strange arcane runes. Candles were placed at various points along the edges, though all of them had burnt out. It looked like some sort of large arcane ritual. Amelia didn¡¯t know much on the subject, but she guessed that this was how he summoned the demon.

    Lily didn¡¯t bother looking around, she seemed lost in thought. She walked over to the bed and stared down at it frowning bitterly. Amelia noticed, and walked up behind her.

    ¡°Is this where she¡­ took advantage of you?¡± Amelia asked quietly.

    ¡°Took advantage?¡±

    ¡°Manipulated you, used you, betrayed your trust¡­ that sort of thing.¡±

    Lily nodded, ¡°Yes.¡±

    Amelia placed a hand on her shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m sorry that happened to you. I hope you don¡¯t beat yourself up too much about it. Things like this happen to even the smartest of people, and I know it hurts when your trust is betrayed. I think it¡¯s best to use this as a learning experience, so it won¡¯t happen again. You won¡¯t fall for the same trick twice, right?¡±

    Lily smiled bitterly, ¡°No I won¡¯t.¡±

    ¡°It looks like he¡¯s not here,¡± the oblivious Captain interrupted.

    ¡°Lily, is anything different from before? did he come back here?¡± Amelia asked the demon.

    Lily wandered around the house for a few minutes, sniffing the air. She hopped down the hole to the cellar and repeated the process down there. She walked back to the hole and gave Amelia and the Captain her report.

    ¡°Yes, his scent is here, more recent than the succubus,¡± Lily pointed to the murky bathtub, ¡°He used that,¡± she pointed through the floor towards the disorganized bookshelf, ¡°threw a bunch of books from the shelf on the floor, and left. The scent feels several hours old but it¡¯s a very¡­ strong odour, easy to follow.¡±

    The Captain asked Lily to follow the man¡¯s scent and she did. The demon followed her nose out of the house and down the street. The scent continued down smaller dirt covered streets until the group reached the outskirts of the town. Lily stood next to the wooden palisade wall and pointed to an empty crate that was learning against it.

    ¡°He used that to climb over,¡± she explained.

    ¡°Fuck, he got away,¡± the Captain grumbled.

    Lily whispered to Amelia, ¡°I know that word. Who is he fucking?¡±

    Amelia quickly explained the difference between f-word and f-word-ing, along with the various meanings that the f-word could take depending on context. She then explained why the captain was mad.

    ¡°Do you still want me to catch him for you?¡± Lily asked.

    ¡°You can do that? He could be pretty far away by now,¡± said Amelia.

    ¡°If I go by myself, I can run fast.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think we should let her run off on her own,¡± the Captain said to Amelia.

    ¡°Humans are slow and they get tired fast, we won¡¯t catch him if I have to wait for you two,¡± said Lily.

    The Captain hesitated, but seeing no other option, he gave in, ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll be waiting for you at the southern gate, over there.¡± the Captain pointed to the nearest gatehouse. ¡°If you find him, bring him there alive.¡±

    Lily nodded and turned to the wall. Ignoring the crate that the fleeing mage used to climb, she cleanly leapt over the 10 foot high wall and landed on the other side with a heavy thud. Lily sprinted away, and her footsteps quickly faded off into the distance. Amelia and the Captain made their way to the gatehouse to wait for the demon.

 13 - The Mage

    Flappy-flier songs grew quiet, a young female horns-impaler, spooked by the silence, fled for her life. A blur of motion, like a bolt of lightning, shot past the place where the creature had been standing only moments earlier. Lily could have easily caught and eaten the horns-impaler if she wanted to, their meat was delicious, but she was searching for a different kind of prey this time.

    The man¡¯s scent led her to this animal trail. Lily suspected he was prioritizing speed over sneakiness, which was why he chose to follow such an obvious path. It was good for Lily. She could move quickly and quietly without disturbing the forest too much and alerting her prey.

    After twenty minutes of sustained running through the forest at a pace no human could hope to match, she came upon a small clearing. The man¡¯s scent lingered in this place, and she saw the remains of a campfire. This one had died some time ago, though the ashes were still warm. The man had stopped to rest and had only moved on recently. Both the animal trail, and the man¡¯s scent continued past this place, so Lily continued her pursuit.

    After another ten minutes of running, Lily slowed her pace, lightening her footsteps, trying to move silently. The scent was strong now, and she was close. For once, she was actually grateful to be wearing clothes. Her white skin contrasted her hair and horns nicely, but it was definitely a hindrance to her stealth during the daytime. The black maid dress was too pristine, and the flat texture contrasted against the rough leaves of the forest, but the dark color was a significant improvement over her bare skin. She¡¯d have to ask Amelia to find her a dark outfit with a rougher natural texture later.

    Lily crept onwards, and eventually heard her target. Crunching leaves and snapping twigs with an obvious two legged gait betrayed his presence, he was making no attempt at stealth. She snuck closer and peeked out from behind a tree trunk. The man was walking down the path ahead of her.

    He wore a black robe, like the man Father squished underneath the tower, but this man was much younger. Instead of white hair, he had a chaotic mess of black hair that reached down to his neck. The man seemed tall, taller than most, and while his shoulders were probably normal sized, they looked narrow because of his height.

    This man was a mage, or so Amelia told her. Lily remembered the succubus and the red magic that turned flesh to dust. Magic was dangerous, but this man didn¡¯t look physically strong. The succubus could only shoot the red magic out of her hands, so Lily might be able to avoid getting hurt if she restrained the man correctly.

    The demon crept up behind the mage in near-perfect silence but when she within twenty feet of the man, there was a faint shimmer of magic. Alerted to the assailant behind him, the mage spun around to face her. Stealth failed, but Lily could still use surprise to her advantage. The demon burst forward into a charge as a surge of magic gathered in the air. The daylight seemed to turn dark and a swirling black shadow gathered in the man¡¯s hands, crackling with occasional bright streaks of violet. It was an intimidating sight, but Lily reached him before he could complete his spell.

    Lily lost about a third of her weight due to last night¡¯s ordeal, but she was still too heavy to stop. The charging demon pounced at his ankles, scooping the man¡¯s legs out from underneath him. The mage fell forwards onto his stomach, bracing himself against the fall with his hands. The partially completed spell discharged into the ground, and a large patch of grass and shrubbery around the man withered and died.

    Lily learned her lesson from the succubus. She quickly climbed onto on the man¡¯s back, and pinned his wrists together above his head, forcing his palms to face the ground. With his wrists firmly imprisoned with a single claw, the second claw lined up to spear through his heart from behind. The claw tip pressed lightly into his flesh, enough to offer him the promise of future pain should he struggle, but not enough to do any real damage. She just wanted him to feel the danger.

    ¡°Struggle and I¡¯ll pierce your heart,¡± the demon said in a low, growling voice.

    The man¡¯s squirming ceased. ¡°Who are you? What do you want with me?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Lily. I want to capture you alive.¡± the demon explained.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± the man said, ¡°Who sent you?¡±

    ¡°Idiot Guard Captain and Amelia.¡±

    The man remained silent for a moment, turned his head, and gave Lily a curious glance.

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re talking about Saintess Amelia, The Chosen of Truth, are you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but Idiot Captain was really the one that wanted me to capture you.¡±

    The man¡¯s eyes immediately perked up, and a sudden look of relief appeared on his face. ¡°Bring me to Amelia. Let me speak to her and I¡¯ll come with you willingly. I won¡¯t fight.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t escape anyway-¡± Lily began.

    ¡°Maybe not, but I can make your life difficult. Even if you bind my hands, I can still cast some spells. If I come willingly there¡¯s no risk, no difficulty for you. I just need to talk to her for a minute, just one minute. You can take me to the executioners after.¡±

    Lily sat on his hips and considered the offer. Amelia said she wanted to find a demonologist to ask about Lily¡¯s nature. Lily wasn¡¯t sure what a demonologist was exactly, but she assumed it was someone knowledgeable about demons. This guy summoned one, so he probably knew a lot on the subject.

    ¡°Are you a demonologist?¡± Lily asked.

    ¡°Uh¡­ yes? sort of? I¡¯m more of a generalist,¡± said the man.

    ¡°Meh, good enough. I¡¯ll take you to Amelia,¡± Lily said.

    Lily dismounted the man, who slowly climbed to his feet. She got a good look at him for the first time, he was almost an entire head taller than her, with a thin face and body. He had a lanky figure, clearly not built like a fighter, but he also didn¡¯t look completely feeble.

    Lily considered whether she wanted to claim him for herself or give him away to the Idiot. His bony body didn¡¯t look especially soft or comfy, not like the girls. His sunken eyes looked tired, with dark rings underneath them and he wore a scowl on his face that Lily found endearing. It reminded her of Tanya a bit. Overall, he was on the edge of attractive, when it came to cuddle-human or fuck-human potential.

    But his smell¡­ it was better than last night at least. He probably tried to clean himself off, but he still smelled quite unpleasant. His hastily washed body and clothes were still somewhat filthy from his earlier ordeal in the cage. The succubus hadn¡¯t bothered to bathe him or give him a sanitary place to do his business. The lingering grossness of body waste overpowered any sort of alluring sweat odour he might have had. Lily wasn¡¯t impressed. She¡¯d let the Idiot Captain have this one.

    Lily made the man walk in front of her along the trail. She walked closely behind with one clawed hand on his shoulder, keeping a close eye on him to prevent him from trying something stupid and making a run for it. It would mean his death, but it would also mean that Lily failed her mission to catch him alive.

    Ugh¡­ the stupid human walked so slow.

    <hr>

    With a lingering sense of shame, Amelia sat on the chair while she waited for Lily¡¯s return. One of the guards brought the chair for her, all the way from the garrison. At first, she refused to sit on it out of principle. They were trying to pamper her and butter her up like she was some sort of fancy-pants noble. Apparently the Saintess shouldn¡¯t be asked to stand. Well fluff that! She was still just Amelia, they could relax and treat her like a normal person, couldn¡¯t they?

    That said, after an hour of standing around, her legs got tired, and nobody else claimed the chair¡­

    Captain Richter remained standing. He tried to tell Amelia that she didn¡¯t need to stay here to wait, but she didn¡¯t trust him to handle the situation. The Lord and Lady called the town guard when Lily set off their intruder detecting wards by climbing over the fence last night. Somehow the Captain managed to turn a relatively harmless situation into a mansion-demolishing battle.

    Amelia blamed him, not Lily, for the destruction of the Montagne family¡¯s expensive hardwood front door and flooring. Knowing him, he¡¯d probably find an excuse to draw his sword on Lily again and get himself killed. No, Amelia needed to be here to defuse the situation before it degenerated into a murderous demon rampage.

    Shortly after the second hour of waiting, Amelia saw Lily emerge from the tree line. She was running at a steady jog with a man in a black robe, presumably her prisoner, carelessly slung over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Amelia stood up, and scooted the shameful chair away to the corner, out of sight. Lily soon reached the gate and put the man down in front of her.

    ¡°Your Eminence, please listen!¡± the dishevelled man shouted desperately.

    Amelia nervously took a step back but gave him her attention.

    ¡°I am Elias Bigby, wanted for treason and terrorism. I did what I had to, there was no other way to set them free. They were killing children! Hundreds of children, slaves and orphans, whoever he could kidnap without consequences.¡±

    Though incoherent, the man was convinced he was telling the truth, Amelia held up a hand, ¡°Wait, slow down.¡±

    ¡°This man is a rebel and a traitor,¡± Captain Richter interrupted with sneer on his face, ¡°don¡¯t pay him any attention. It¡¯s just a traitor¡¯s lies, meant to tarnish the glory of the Imperial throne.¡±

    Amelia shot the Captain a venomous glare, ¡°I think I know the difference between the truth and a lie Captain, be quiet if you have nothing useful to add. Please continue Elias.¡±

    The nervous mage, cowed by the Captain¡¯s glare, hesitated for a second, but continued, ¡°I was an advanced student of Master Tyren at Dursten¡¯s Mage Academy, specializing in soul magic, and one of my duties was to assist the Master with his research. One day he asked me to look up several different rituals to extract the soul from a living body and bind it into a gemstone. I was told to assess them and choose the most efficient and reliable one. I did as he asked, selecting an Envy demon derived ritual, but I wondered what he intended to use the ritual for. Trapping a soul is one of Sylene¡¯s taboos after all.¡±

    All true so far. Amelia gestured for him to continue.

    ¡°A few weeks later, I found out what Master Tyren used the ritual for. I was going over the research budget, and I noticed he bought some research materials, but he hadn¡¯t noted down what they were or where they were stored. I knew he¡¯d rented a warehouse nearby, so on my way home I went to investigate. Inside the warehouse, I discovered cages filled with children, and a ritual altar set up for the Envy soul ritual I suggested. Next to the altar was a pile of tiny skeletons, infants and toddlers, their flesh burnt away by the ritual¡¯s magic. The research materials were smuggled slaves from Ryth and illegally adopted war orphans, all of them younger than ten years old. He was ripping the souls out of their bodies, trapping them in the void between life and death.¡±

    ¡°The infants were¡­ converted to gems already, but the older children weren¡¯t. I smashed each gem, releasing the souls, and opened the surviving victims¡¯ cages to let them go. Then, once everyone was clear, I burnt the warehouse to the ground. I don¡¯t know what Master Tyren was doing with those soul gems, but when I destroyed the warehouse it must have pissed off some important people. I was branded a traitor and a terrorist, and he was never charged with a crime.¡±

    He was honest. The Truth was horrifying.

    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ troubling,¡± said Amelia, ¡°Captain, he¡¯s telling the Truth.¡±

    The Captain looked skeptical, ¡°And what does that have to do with him summoning a succubus into my town?¡±

    ¡°I uuh¡­ needed a translator,¡± the man said awkwardly, ¡°I stole a book from the Master, written in infernal. Lesser succubi are usually the least dangerous of all the sapient demons. Unfortunately, this one broke free of my control. Her geas stopped her from killing me, so she imprisoned me inside my own house instead.¡±

    Amelia coughed and gave the man a knowing look.

    The man looked annoyed, ¡°Ok, fine. There were other, less dangerous demon types that I could have summoned too. Potentially fooling around with the succubus might have factored into the decision. Happy?¡±

    Amelia blushed and nodded. Now he was being truthful.

    ¡°I heard you were stopping here on your way to the capital. Can I go with you? As your prisoner? With your help I can tell the truth and bring Master Tyren to justice. Once his crimes are brought to light, they can execute me.

    Amelia considered it, ¡°Are you planning on escaping, or harming me and the people I¡¯m travelling with in any way?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Hold on, you¡¯re not actually planning on-¡± Captain Richter stammered.

    Elias interrupted, ¡°No, Your Eminence. You¡¯re the only one who could hope to bring that evil man to justice. Please, I need your help, isn¡¯t it your duty to seek the Truth?¡±

    Yep, he was honest. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m going to do this¡­¡± Amelia grumbled, ¡°Fine. You can come with us if you behave yourself. Same rules as Lily, don¡¯t hurt any innocents. And don¡¯t summon any more demons. Lily alone is hard enough to handle.¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± the Captain interrupted, ¡°you can¡¯t just steal my fugitive and invite him into my town.¡±

    ¡°You heard him, he was obviously unjustly accused, and the succubus escaped by accident. He discovered something shady, and I¡¯ll need his help to bring the Truth to light. Seeking the Truth is my most sacred duty as Verita¡¯s Chosen.¡±

    ¡°Whatever,¡± the Captain massaged his forehead let out an exhausted sigh, ¡°If things go to shit, it¡¯s your fault. At least you¡¯ll be out of my town soon. Just keep your pet demon and pet traitor on a leash until you leave. Got it?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Amelia replied with exaggerated cheerfulness, ¡°Thank you Captain Richter.¡±

    Amelia gestured for the two troublemakers to follow, ¡°Elias,¡± she said, sniffing the air, ¡°you¡¯re having a bath as soon as we get back to the mansion.¡±

    <hr>

    When they arrived at the mansion, Elias was shown to his room immediately. A bath was prepared for him, and his clothes were stolen away by the maids to be washed. Amelia told Lily that the man was exhausted from his ordeal with the succubus and needed some time to rest without being bothered. In other words, Lily wasn¡¯t supposed to sneak into his room.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Amelia had to go meet with Caiden and the leaders of the caravan. They would leave for the city of Dursten tomorrow, and they had to figure out their luggage, travel arrangements, and how best to accommodate Lily. Amelia did not invite Lily to the meeting, and Lily was fine with that. It sounded boring.

    The demon was left to her own devices inside the mansion. She knew enough of the common-tongue to hold her own in a conversation now, so Amelia wasn¡¯t needed to translate. She spent the early afternoon wandering around the mansion, watching the maids work. After several days of following Amelia everywhere, it felt very strange to be around other humans without her.

    Lily searched for rooms she hadn¡¯t explored yet and found one near the kitchen. She entered to find a maid kneeling over the edge of a large basin of soapy water, scrubbing clothes against a ridged wooden board. She seemed to be a younger maid, and almost as tiny as Amelia. She had her brown hair loosely styled into a single braid dangling down her neck, and she was whistling a cheerful little tune as she worked.

    The maid let out a shriek of terror when she noticed Lily looming behind her, and Lily barely managed to catch her before she fell into the wash basin. The maid remained still, kneeling over the edge of the water, chest supported by a lethal array of razor sharp claws, completely frozen with fear.

    ¡°M-Mistress Lilizath¡­ w-what are you doing h- I mean, how can I help you?¡±

    The tiny little human stiffly turned her head to look at the monster, eyes wide with fear. Lily found her fear¡­ enticing. She couldn¡¯t stop herself from smiling at the helpless little thing. The girl¡¯s eyes grew wider when she saw the demon¡¯s sadistic grin, and she began trembling slightly. Hehe¡­ Lily had a toy to play with now, this was going to be fun. Lily easily scooped up the feather-light girl and set her down against the floor on her back, pinning her arms up over her head and laying on top of her.

    ¡°M-Mistress? What are you doing?¡±

    The demon brought her face closer to the maid¡¯s. The maid turned her head away from the demon and fearfully closed her eyes. Lily brushed her lips against the poor girl¡¯s ear as she whispered.

    ¡°I like how scared you are.¡±

    ¡°No¡­ please,¡± The maid whimpered.

    Lily gently bit her ear, and slid a claw tip up her thigh, ¡°My claws are very sharp you know. You¡¯re going to have to be careful not to move too much¡­¡±

    ¡°Please¡­¡± the maid quietly moaned.

    The trembling maid¡¯s cheeks turned red as she submitted to the demon¡¯s abuse. Lily straddled the girl¡¯s leg, grinding herself against her thigh, savoring the intoxicating feeling of power and dominance. Bullying this tiny creature was so¡­ delicious. Lily was turned on, and she wasn¡¯t the only one. Despite the maid¡¯s protests, Lily¡¯s sensitive nose picked up the faintest hint of feminine arousal coming from between her legs as well.

    ¡°Please be gentle¡­¡± the trembling maid whispered.

    *Ahem*

    The monster and the maid were interrupted by another maid standing at the door. It was Patricia, the dark elf. She was¡­ probably blushing? It was hard to tell with her skin tone, but her grey-violet cheeks were a little less grey, and a little more violet. She bit her lip for a second, before shaking off her lewd grin, and hardening her face into a scorn of disapproval.

    ¡°Lily,¡± Patricia said, in a scolding voice, ¡°Naughty. No raping the maids.¡±

    ¡°B-But she likes it!¡± Lily replied with indignation.

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Patricia looked down at Lily¡¯s victim with ice cold eyes and disgust on her face. It was the sort of look one might give to an insect they spotted crawling along the floor. The blushing maid¡¯s face turned redder. The dark elf held her silent disapproving glare for fifteen long, agonizing seconds, until the maid quietly whimpered again.

    ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right,¡± Patricia finally said, feigning surprise, ¡°Josie? Why don¡¯t you tell both of us what you are¡­¡±

    ¡°Patricia, Mistress Lily¡­ I am a filthy depraved pervert, a sh-shameless wanton slut,¡± the maid whimpered quietly.

    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right¡­ A filthy depraved pervert and a shameless wanton slut,¡± Patricia slowly repeated Josie¡¯s words back to her and the tiny maid flinched. She squirmed helplessly underneath Lily. The demon could feel the tiny maid subconsciously grinding her hips against her leg. The fabric of the maid¡¯s panties was soaked through. Josie was officially wet now.

    Patricia¡¯s disapproving face melted away into a playful smile, ¡°Josie here doesn¡¯t like pain as much as¡­ erm¡­ another masochist I know, but she¡¯s a total slut for humiliation and degradation. The next time you bully her, you can use that to your advantage.¡±

    Lily smiled, grateful for the advice, and looked down at the helpless Josie. Ready to resume the fun.

    ¡°But,¡± Patricia said, in a slightly serious tone, ¡°Please leave the other maids alone, not all of them share Josie¡¯s¡­ proclivities. Also, Josie is working right now, so you can play with her later. Right now, it¡¯s laundry time, not play time.¡±

    Lily frowned at Patricia and out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a flash of disappointment appear on Josie¡¯s face too. Reluctantly, the demon climbed off the maid, and let her up.

    ¡°I seem to recall there¡¯s another maid with the same tastes as me¡­ Care to tell us who that is Patricia?¡± Josie said, with a taunting voice and sly grin.

    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now,¡± the dark elf replied, with a guilty cough. She looked slightly ashamed, and her cheeks were colored with a deep violet blush.

    Josie whispered in the demon¡¯s ear, ¡°I¡¯ll be done my shift at eleven¡­ whatever you do¡­ please don¡¯t sneak into my room, second floor, third on the right, tie me up with the ropes I¡¯m going to accidentally leave under my bed, and abuse me. Okay?¡±

    A slightly confused Lily sat back on her haunches, as the wobbly kneed girl crept back to the laundry basin to continue her work. Lily scratched her head. She thought she understood sex, but this behaviour was¡­ new. Was Josie¡¯s statement meant to be an invitation? Or should she take her words literally? Humans and dark elves were weird.

    Before Lily could ask for clarification, Patricia shooed her out of the laundry room and Lily ended up standing in the hallway again.

    As she continued wandering, the other maids kept their distance. Lily knew she had a wrathful scowl on her face, but she didn¡¯t care. It was frustrating, her fun had been interrupted.

    <hr>

    After pacing through the halls for a bit, Lily¡¯s next stop was the rear gardens of the estate. There was a nice open grassy area near the rear patio, and Tanya chose that spot to train. Tanya was wearing her usual pants but was topless aside from a tightly woven chest wrap binding her breasts. She was kicking and punching at the air, coated in a thin sheen of delicious sweat.

    Lily, still wound up from her earlier encounter, couldn¡¯t help herself. She crept over to Tanya. The fighty-girl noticed her and stopped her practice, catching her breath.

    ¡°Hey Lily, what¡¯s up?¡±

    ¡°Hold still for a moment,¡± Lily said.

    The demon walked up to the confused Tanya, who obeyed Lily¡¯s strange request. Her head followed the demon as she circled around behind and¡­

    ¡°Lily? What are you- Ack!¡±

    Lily ran her tongue along Tanya¡¯s spine, starting from the upper band of her chest wrap, all the way to the top of her neck where the fringe of her short black hair started. The salty sweat didn¡¯t taste as good as it smelled, the flavor was boring, but Lily very much enjoyed the act of licking Tanya¡¯s body.

    ¡°The fuck are you doing?¡± Tanya asked, her voice a mixture of confusion and outrage. She turned around to face the demon.

    Lily grabbed her shoulders, and spun her back into position, facing away again.

    ¡°Stay!¡± the demon ordered.

    ¡°No seriously, wha- Aaack!¡±

    This time Lily traced her tongue downwards along her spine, starting at the bottom edge of the chest wrap, and slowly moving down until she reached the band of Tanya¡¯s pants. Tanya shivered from the sensation, and a small moan escaped her lips. Lily brought her claws around to the front, and slowly teased the sharp tips upwards along Tanya¡¯s firm stomach as she slowly kissed her way back up to Tanya¡¯s neck.

    ¡°I like you,¡± she whispered into Tanya¡¯s ear.

    ¡°Hold on, slow down.¡±

    Tanya grabbed Lily¡¯s clawed hands, pulled them aside, and squirmed free of Lily¡¯s grip. Lily was disappointed but she didn¡¯t try to stop Tanya as she stepped away and turned around to face the demon. Lily finally saw her face. This was the first time Lily had seen the brave Tanya really unsettled.

    ¡°Are you trying to hit on me? or is this just some demon weirdness I don''t understand?¡±

    ¡°Hit on you?¡± Lily asked, this was a term she hadn¡¯t heard before.

    ¡°Ok, what do you mean when you say you like me?¡± Tanya asked, ¡°Do you like me as a friend? as a mattress? or like¡­ like?¡±

    Lily tapped a claw tip on her lower lip as she thought of an answer, ¡°Yes. Friend, mattress, fighting partner, and I want to kiss you and make you lick my pussy because I¡¯m kind of turned on right now.¡±

    ¡°Woah, okay there!¡± Tanya coughed, nearly choking on her own spit when she heard Lily¡¯s answer. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯m flattered, but holy shit girl¡­¡±

    Lily cocked her head to the side in confusion and watched Tanya slowly regain her composure.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot to learn about the subtleties of seduction¡­¡± Tanya finally managed to say. After pausing for a few seconds, she managed to add, ¡°At least you know what you want though¡­ I can respect that¡­ Wait, how did you even know I was gay? Amelia doesn¡¯t even know, granted she¡¯s a little dense, but¡­¡±

    ¡°Gay?¡± Lily asked. That was a new word.

    Tanya fidgeted awkwardly, ¡°It means I¡¯m a girl that likes girls.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, me too?¡± Lily was confused. Who wouldn¡¯t like girls? Girls were great, they were softer, easier to bully, ¡°Anyway, want to make out?¡±

    Tanya went red, ¡°Ugh, this is weird¡­ I¡¯m usually the aggressor in these situations, being on the other side is¡­ Look, can I uuh¡­ let¡¯s take it slow, ya know? I mean you¡¯re hot¡­ hot as fuck but uuh¡­ you¡¯re also kinda a terrifying murderbitch, and I uuh¡­¡±

    Lily slowly stalked up to the stammering Tanya, grabbed her by the waist, and interrupted her with a kiss. Tanya¡¯s body tensed for a second, and she placed a hand on Lily¡¯s chest, ready to push her away. She paused, taking a moment to reconsider, and then reached a hand around the back of Lily¡¯s head, grabbing a handful of hair. Tanya immediately took control. She took a step forward, returning the kiss, and pushing her tongue deeper. She grabbed Lily¡¯s hips and forcefully pulled the demon closer. Lily relaxed and went with it. Their tongues played for a minute or two, then Tanya pulled back, separating their lips.

    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll admit that was awesome, but let¡¯s slow down for a second. I need to get my head straight. Is this just lust, or do you like me romantically? Because I also have to warn you, I am not good with romance. I am fucked up. Fucked up with a capital ¡®F.¡¯ I have issues.¡±

    ¡°What does romantic mean?¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ it¡¯s like¡­ you don¡¯t just like my body, but like¡­ Fuck¡­ I don¡¯t know what it means either.¡±

    ¡°I like your body, but I also like how violent you are, and how good you are at fighting. Does that mean I like you romantically?¡±

    Tanya laughed wryly, ¡°Fuck if I know.¡±

    ¡°What does issues mean?¡±

    ¡°Oh¡­ that¡­¡± Tanya suddenly looked very uncomfortable, ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I had a rough childhood, and it sorta fucked with the development of my sexuality. If we fool around, I need to be in control of things. If you get too pushy, bad memories happen, I start crying, and the fun¡¯s over. Normally, it¡¯s not an issue because I¡¯m usually stronger than my lovers, but with you¡­ I don¡¯t have that safety net. I¡¯d need to trust you, and I¡¯m not exactly the trusting type.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand, but I can pretend you defeated and captured me. That could be fun.¡±

    ¡°That could be fun indeed,¡± Tanya grinned wickedly, ¡°You sure you¡¯re not a succubus? Look, let me think about it. You sorta sprang this on me suddenly, and I didn¡¯t see it coming. I need a bit of time to unfuck my head and get my thoughts straight.¡±

    ¡°No more making out?¡± Lily asked, disappointment clear on her face.

    Tanya moved in, and kissed Lily again.

    ¡°I want to, but I have issues¡­¡± Tanya explained, ¡°Just give me some time okay?¡±

    Lily reluctantly nodded. Thanks to the kissing, she was even more turned on now. Now, even more frustrated, she left Tanya to her exercising and went back inside.

    <hr>

    ¡°He¡¯s our prisoner, so I get to do what I want to him, right?¡±

    It was an hour after sunset, Lily and Amelia were both downstairs working on language and reading lessons. Lily had pretty much mastered the common-tongue, but she''d only just started to learn to read. Amelia sat on the couch, and Lily sat on the floor, too scared to break another chair. Lily was fidgeting for some reason, not really focused on the lesson. Amelia suspected that Lily was going to find something else to destroy soon, so it was time for a break.

    ¡°No, Lily. Firstly, it¡¯s unethical to sexually assault prisoners too, and secondly, he¡¯s only sort-of our prisoner. We¡¯re treating him like a free person.¡±

    Lily crossed her arms and pouted, ¡°I don¡¯t get to touch anyone,¡± she grumbled.

    ¡°Sorry, that¡¯s how consent works.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m horny!¡± the exasperated demon groaned, loud enough for half the mansion to hear, and let herself teeter over, falling onto her side with a heavy thud, ¡°Everybody keeps stopping before I¡¯m satisfied.¡±

    Amelia felt herself blush, ¡°umm¡­ can¡¯t you just¡­ take care of it yourself?¡± her voice was barely louder than a whisper.

    Lily gave Amelia an annoyed glare and held up her razor sharp claws for Amelia to see. Amelia cringed at the sight.

    ¡°Okay, not inside¡­ but can¡¯t you like¡­¡± Amelia couldn¡¯t finish saying it out loud, so instead she just cupped her hand, pointed her fingers down, and moved them in a gentle circular motion. It worked for Amelia¡­ and the sides of Lily¡¯s claws weren¡¯t sharp¡­

    Lily mirrored Amelia¡¯s lewd gesture but didn¡¯t seem to understand.

    ¡°¡­the outside?¡± Amelia hinted, in a barely audible squeak.

    Lily still didn¡¯t understand. Frustrated, she rolled onto her back, and stared at the ceiling.

    ¡°You do it.¡±

    Amelia kept her face blank, ¡°Do what?¡± She asked cautiously.

    ¡°Lick me, or use you fingers¡­ it doesn¡¯t matter, just¡­ uuurgh!¡± Lily arched her back and thrust her pelvis at the ceiling in frustration before flopping back onto the floor again.

    Amelia could feel her cheeks getting warm. She wasn¡¯t sure how to handle such a straightforward proposition for... that. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t like sex, she was well acquainted with her own fingers after all, but she¡¯d never done anything with a partner¡­ and certainly nothing like¡­ and Lily was a girl¡­ F-word! She wasn¡¯t good at dealing with this sort of thing. Amelia stared awkwardly at the floor in silence, wishing that Lily would just go away.

    ¡°I¡¯m flattered by the proposition Lily¡­ but uuh¡­ I like men?¡± Amelia finally spoke, unable to stand the awkwardness any longer.

    Lily nodded, ¡°Me too¡­ And?¡±

    Oh. Amelia understood the source of Lily¡¯s confusion, she pushed away the urge to flee and explained, ¡°Most humans, me included, are only attracted to the opposite sex. According to the teachings of the temple of Lyra, Goddess of Growth and Fertility, this is the natural way to be. A smaller number of people are born who like the same sex, or who like both sexes. It¡¯s¡­ a complicated situation. The temple of Lyra says that it¡¯s a deviance, a curse from Lilith, the Demon Lord of Lust. The temple of Thule, God of Love, says that it¡¯s perfectly natural, and considers bisexual people to be especially blessed since they can love everyone. The acolytes argue about it a lot. Thankfully, the other gods don¡¯t care much at all¡­¡±

    Amelia realized she was getting off topic and was only confusing Lily further.

    ¡°Anyway, what I¡¯m saying is that most girls are straight, and if you proposition a straight girl for sex, one that only likes boys, she¡¯s basically always going to say no.¡±

    Lily finally seemed to understand, because she pouted. Before she could grumble out loud, her eyes focused on something behind Amelia¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°I beg your pardon, Your Eminence, there is a messenger at the gate. He says he has an urgent letter of extreme importance that he must give to you directly.¡±

    Amelia turned to the maid behind her. It was Patricia, the dark elf maid that made potentially-evil, yet highly effective, coffee. She gave Amelia a warm pleasant smile that was entirely fake.

    ¡°Did you invite him in?¡± asked Amelia.

    The maid looked uncomfortable, ¡°Err¡­ no Your Eminence, I¡¯ve been told that, for safety reasons, we are not to allow any of the townspeople inside the estate¡¯s walls. Yes, it¡¯s because of Lily, and yes, I know it¡¯s stupid.¡±

    Amelia rolled her eyes, ¡°Fine, I understand.¡±

    The Saintess followed the maid outside and down the long winding road through the gardens to the very edge of the estate grounds. The messenger seemed to be an elderly man, bald and with a face full of wrinkles. He stood with a hunch, using the wrought iron bars of the gate to support himself. Amelia felt bad for making him stand, he was caught up in this stupid situation too.

    When the man saw Amelia, he started to kneel. Amelia had to stop him, ¡°No, no, it¡¯s alright, don¡¯t hurt yourself.¡±

    Patricia opened the gate for them, and Amelia walked out into the street to talk to the man. ¡°Hello, I am Saintess Amelia Voss, Chosen of Truth. Patricia said you had a letter for me?¡±

    ¡°Your Eminence, it is an honor to finally meet you after all these years,¡± the old man said.

    ¡°Pardon?¡± Amelia raised an eyebrow. She¡¯d been the Saintess for only a couple weeks. What did he mean ¡®all these years¡¯?

    ¡°I was given this letter ten years ago and told to deliver it to you here today, and to place it in your hand myself.¡±

    Amelia would have raised her eyebrow again, if it wasn¡¯t already raised, ¡°So¡­ ten years ago somebody gave you a letter addressed to me, to be delivered to this place? How did they know I was here? Why now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Your Eminence, I didn¡¯t have the presence of mind to question him. When a golden dragon the size of a castle lands in your corn field and tells you to deliver a letter for him, you bloody well do it, end of discussion.¡±

    Both of Amelia¡¯s eyebrows were raised now. A dragon? A dragon the size of a castle landed in his corn field and gave him a letter to deliver to her after waiting a decade? Ten years ago, she was a random unimportant 11 year old girl, and nobody could have known she¡¯d become the Chosen of Truth. This story was obviously a lie¡­ And it wasn¡¯t a lie! Amelia looked at the simple little letter, it wouldn¡¯t even fit inside a dragon¡¯s claws. How would a dragon even write a letter on a normal sized piece of paper? Magic? Probably magic.

    A wax seal bearing the holy symbol of Lott proved the contents hadn¡¯t been disturbed. Amelia nervously reached out to take the letter-

    Night became day. An eldritch green luminance banished the darkness.

    A dreadful star appeared in the sky, a blinding mote of white, ringed by ghostly flames of green. It streaked down from the heavens, leaving trail of eerie emerald flame in its wake. A boom of sound and the roar of flame overwhelmed her ears. Even from a distance she could feel the searing heat radiating from it. And it was flying towards them¡­

    ¡°Down!¡± Amelia shouted.

    Amelia grabbed Patricia and the old man and dragged the two people to the ground with her. The maid followed without objection, the old man groaned in pain, not used to bending those joints.

    ¡°Flat on your belly, cover your ears!¡± Amelia shouted again as she threw herself prone to the ground, covered her ears, and closed her eyes.

    She didn¡¯t have time to check on the other two. Despite ducking for cover behind a small hill, the shockwave still struck her side with enough force to wind her. It was followed by a wall of heat behind her back so intense that it felt like she was standing in the mouth of the blacksmith¡¯s forge back home.

    In an instant, the cataclysm came and went. Amelia opened her eyes and uncovered her ears. The world around her was completely silent aside from the crackling of fire and the ringing of her ears. The air was hot and dry. What in the infinite abyss just happened? Still trembling, Amelia slowly pushed herself up to her knees.

    Amelia stared in horror at the burning crater that was once the Montagne estate. The ground was glowing red and molten near the centre of the impact. Tongues of green flame flickered in the air above the molten pools. Nothing remained of the surrounding area but ash. No scrap of structure, no trees, absolutely nothing remained. Danica? Tanya? They¡­ they survived¡­ right?

 14 - Aftermath I

    As the stargazing-fun-interrupter led Amelia outside, Lily grinned. This was her chance to escape the boring!

    The demon crept upstairs towards the sleeping humans. She wasn¡¯t supposed to do this anymore¡­ and that made it more fun. It added an element of danger. Who should she look at first? Danica? Mostly-Naked-Tanya? Or man?

    Josie was obviously on the menu for later. Lily had a lot of pent up sexual frustration to vent so that unfortunate little maid was in for quite the night. She suspected Josie wouldn¡¯t mind that very much. Despite her words to the contrary, the demon was fairly certain that the little maid was a willing victim, so Amelia shouldn¡¯t have any issues about it.

    Well, Josie was most likely willing, Lily didn¡¯t know for sure, but she also didn¡¯t really care that much. Even if this broke some sort of Amelia-rule, the blushing blonde couldn¡¯t be mad if she didn¡¯t find out about it¡­ Sadly, according to the old grandfather clock in the main hall, it wasn¡¯t quite eleven-o-clock yet. Josie was still working so Lily had to amuse herself with something else until then.

    Lily decided to start her sneaky fun by inspecting Danica¡¯s ¡®mushroom statue¡¯ again. She understood exactly what it was for now. Maybe she could borrow it for the night and try it out on herself. Lily couldn¡¯t penetrate herself with her claws after all. Well, she could, but it would hurt, and being hurt was no fun if she was in control of it. Victim-Lily needed a proper tormentor.

    When she snuck over to Danica¡¯s door, she heard two voices inside the room. Danica and Caiden were panting heavily on the other side of the door. Lily heard lewd moans from Danica, and she smirked knowingly. It sounded like they were having fun in there¡­ Lily was tempted to watch, but they¡¯d notice her for sure if she tried to creep inside.

    Lily decided to go into Tanya¡¯s room instead. Tanya¡¯s delicious toned body was more fun to look at anyway. It was still early in the night and Tanya wouldn¡¯t be in a very deep sleep yet. It should still be easy to peek at her though. Hopefully she decided to wear nearly nothing to bed again. Lily smiled lewdly, opened the door carefully, and crept inside.

    Tanya boobs! Glorious! Tanya was sleeping on her back again, in only her panties, completely exposed aside from her left leg which was still partially underneath the balled up covers. Even though the succubus had tried to kill her, Lily genuinely appreciated the sex lesson she got. The demon licked her lips. Now that Lily knew what she could do with it, she gained a whole new appreciation for Tanya¡¯s-

    A massive surge of magical power came from the sky above. It was overwhelmingly powerful, at least as strong as Father¡¯s hellfire, perhaps even stronger. An instant later, the sky lit up with an eerie green glow.

    What was-

    The aura was moving, getting closer. Tanya!

    Lily exploded into action. She lunged across the room, diving towards Tanya with her claws extended. She scooped up the sexy woman, along with half a shredded mattress¡¯ worth of feathers and threw herself towards the window.

    Glass shards, fragments of wood, and accidental feathers sparkled in the night as a blurred figure launched herself and her pet human skyward out of the second story window at a nearly-lethal velocity. They sailed through the sky as the ball of fire behind them grew brighter. Lily saw the tree, a lovely old oak planted in the garden. Unfortunately, they were going to hit it. She twisted herself in midair, facing away from the tree trunk, shielding Tanya with her back.

    Lily¡¯s skull and spine collided with the thick tree branch, and she felt a small shockwave travel through her body. The force travelled from bone to bone, with her entire skeleton bending and flexing just enough to dissipate the energy of the impact. Lily¡¯s vision went blurry for a second, but the tree branch lost the battle against the demon. The meteoric monster only slowed down slightly, and the branch exploded into splinters, severing itself from the trunk.

    Lily bounced twice and skidded to a stop on her back, carving a deep trench in the garden soil. The, now fully unconscious, Tanya was still pressed against her chest. Lily sat up, and her eyes focused just in time to watch the enormous green fireball strike the centre of the mansion. It was no good, Lily didn¡¯t jump far enough, they were still too close to escape the blast. The explosive wall of emerald flames took only an instant to reach them. The oak tree was entirely vaporized before the branch even reached the ground. There was only time for one last thought¡­

    Mine.

    The shockwave struck Tanya squarely in the back and crushed her against the demon that held her. Lily felt the delicate human ribs in her chest crack. The eldritch fire that followed immediately behind the blast wave was more than hot enough to vaporize Tanya¡¯s flesh and bones. The white-hot fire enveloped them for only a second, but that was all the time it needed.

    When the cataclysm was over, Lily stared with disbelief at the glowing crater for several seconds. Her outstretched palm trembled as the demon caught her breath. She felt drained, completely exhausted, like she had been running for hours without rest.

    Lily looked down at Tanya. Broken ribs, broken ankles from where they hit a wall on the way out the window, several shallow slices along her back from glass shards¡­ but no burns at all.

    Tanya was alive but unconscious, which was probably a good thing for now, considering how much humans tended to scream when Lily broke their ribs. They were sitting on a small tuft of grass. The only grass. The last surviving patch of plant life on the entire estate ground was teardrop shaped, only a few feet in diameter. The flames had neatly split in half and joined back together behind them.

    Mine.

    Lilizath VekxZ¡¯Kraugh. Daughter of Z¡¯Kraugh. Father was fire¡¯s master, and his daughter inherited his fire too. Instinct and desperation forced her to reach out and claim a portion of the massive wall of fire for herself. She redirected it around her and her human¡­ It was pure reflex. She didn¡¯t even know she could do that.

    Lily still had one human. One human, alive and only slightly broken. One human was still infinitely better than zero humans. Lily loosened her grip on Tanya and scooted her lower half closer until the demon girl was cradling her last precious human in a protective embrace. Following a strange impulse, she kissed Tanya gently on the forehead. She had to keep this one safe¡­ she didn¡¯t want to be alone again.

    <hr>

    Amelia kneeled, staring blankly at the devastation. She wanted it to be a nightmare, but it wasn¡¯t. Once again, her gifts destroyed her hopes. What she was seeing was no nightmare, no hallucination, it was True.

    Patricia, the sole surviving maid, wept quietly. Her usual confidence was replaced by a mask of despair. Right¡­ she lived here. This was her home, her family, her friends, her everything. This was where she¡¯d belonged, and now she was alone, cast adrift in a hostile world without anyone to help her. Amelia was happy she was alive, but Patricia herself probably wasn¡¯t.

    Tanya¡­ Danica¡­ Lily might have survived at least¡­ she¡¯d be¡­ buried somewhere probably. That was a small mercy. Even though everyone was alive a week ago, looking forward to a bright future, her two best friends¡­ and her mentor were all dead now.

    At least Amelia wouldn¡¯t be completely alone. Hopefully Lily wouldn¡¯t abandon her, Amelia needed somebody there, even a monster. She couldn¡¯t handle this on her own. Amelia could feel her own tears trying to worm their way out too, but she held them down. This was not the time. She could have a proper breakdown later, in private.

    So why did Amelia survive when nobody else did? Oh right.

    She looked over at the corpse. The old man hadn¡¯t moved fast enough, and his old bones were too brittle to withstand the blast wave. He suffocated on his own blood when his ribs pierced his lungs. Amelia didn¡¯t even know his name. She pushed the feelings down again and grabbed the letter that somehow managed to survive the blast unscathed.

    There were a thousand things she should be doing right now, and none of them involved reading her mail, but she needed this. She needed a nice simple thing to distract her so she could stop thinking about the horrible Truth for a minute. Amelia broke the wax seal and opened the letter.

    <blockquote>

    Saintess Amelia Voss,

    I would offer my condolences in person, but I died ten years ago, shortly after arranging for this letter¡¯s delivery. Lott, Goddess of Fate, has allowed me to share words with you and I beg you to listen.

    A catastrophe approaches on a continental scale. All heroes and all armies must band together to weather this breaking storm. Divided, all shall fall. You must be the glue that binds them together in a new Crusade.

    For now, seek the Truth as you would anyway and gather powerful allies. The gods are on your side, as are their Chosen. I regret I cannot offer my personal might, but my successor will seek you out.

    Seek the guidance of the lost Dweller in the Dark. She knows the way to Kair Tarost. Without her guidance when the times comes, hope will be lost in the darkness.

    Your survival will be noticed. When Death returns to greet you, make sure to introduce yourself politely.

    A kind heart, honest words, and powerful allies are not enough. You must have individual power to survive. Go now, claim the black book from the ashes, and keep it hidden. Study the words well, the gods will forgive your blasphemy, but understand that the secrets within the tome must not be shared with other mortals.

    Ythragon, former Chosen of Fate (deceased)

    </blockquote>

    Amelia slowly put down the letter and looked up at the sky. She took a deep breath and thrust out her middle finger. She aimed specifically at Lott¡¯s constellation.

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± she spat, ¡°You save me, but not Danica or Tanya? Was that part of your plan too? They needed to die?¡±

    What a fucker¡­ they could have sent the letter five minutes earlier and given the three of them enough time to flee.

    ¡°Heh,¡± Patricia let out an exhausted half-chuckle, and raised her own middle finger to the sky.

    The human and the elf let their middle fingers slowly descend as they kneeled in silence. Amelia tried to wipe the tears out of her eyes. She took another deep breath. This was not the time to have a breakdown. She had to¡­ had to do something. It didn¡¯t matter what.

    Amelia looked down at the emotionally drained dark elf. Dark elves were a subterranean species, native to the expansive, and now abandoned, cave systems beneath the Wyrmspine Mountains. Lily had a penchant for lurking in the shadows as well, but the dark elves literally lived in total darkness. There was a lost dweller in the dark right here with her, flipping off the gods. Coincidence? Unlikely.

    That begged the question, should she do as the letter said? or should she ignore it. Lott was a fucker, but would the goddess have a plan in mind for any choice Amelia made? Did Lott already know what Amelia would choose to do before she even made her decision? Ugh!

    Amelia turned to the dark elf, ¡°You don¡¯t happen to know the way to Kair Tarost, do you?¡°

    Patricia looked like Amelia slapped her. Her violet skin seemed to lose color and turn a bit greyer than usual, ¡°Why the fuck would you ask me something like that?¡±

    That was a stronger reaction than Amelia expected, ¡°The letter I got was from the Chosen of Fate, words of prophecy. I¡¯m supposed to gather allies for some reason, and it said that the ¡®lost dweller in the dark knows the way to Kair Tarost.¡¯¡±

    ¡°Do you even know what the fuck Kair Tarost is?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Amelia admitted.

    ¡°You don¡¯t want to go there.¡±

    ¡°I might have to.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s why I survived? Some sort of destiny bullshit?¡± Patricia laughed bitterly at the desolation before her. Her voice dwindled into a barely perceptible murmur, ¡°¡­yeah I guess I deserve this...¡±

    Patricia¡¯s eyes glazed over, lost in her own little world of misery. Amelia picked herself up, wobbling slightly, and her eyes reluctantly went to the smoking crater. She didn¡¯t want to look, but she had to. There might be survivors¡­ miracles happen?

    The Saintess wandered in a dreamlike daze towards the crater, the long walk through what was once a garden felt agonizingly slow. Flakes of ash fell like snow around her, and her boots left imprints in the ground. Patricia followed after her in a daze, but Amelia barely noticed. The two stunned women reached the edge of the crater and stopped.

    Nothing. Not even skeletons. Amelia wouldn¡¯t even be able to bury her friends. Where was Lily? Was the fire too hot even for her? Amelia took a step back, and nearly tripped when she stepped on something hard, buried in the ash. She reached down, and picked up a plain, unadorned, black book, one that somehow survived the cataclysm when even the trees didn¡¯t.

    ¡°A book?¡± Patricia looked at the object skeptically. And then her eyes suddenly went wide, ¡°Is that a¡­ No. Destroy that thing immediately. First Kair Tarost and now¡­ I see where this is going, and I don¡¯t like it. If Lott¡¯s telling you to¡­ She¡¯s wrong. No. Do not mess with that shit.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Amelia asked nervously.

    Patricia was frantic, breathing heavily, eyes wide with genuine terror as she looked at the book.

    ¡°You¡¯re playing with powers you do not understand. That¡¯s a Black Book, I¡¯ve seen one before. This book was personally written by the demon lords,¡± Patricia lunged forward and grabbed Amelia by the collar, ¡°It¡¯s a powerful demonic artifact that should never have left the Abyss,¡± she hissed. ¡°It has knowledge not meant for mortal eyes.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve already made a pact with a free demon,¡± Amelia forced a smile, ¡°I doubt that a little bit more blasphemy will make things worse.¡±

    Despite Amelia¡¯s attempt at levity, Patricia¡¯s severe face didn¡¯t change. Amelia started second guessing the wisdom of following Lott¡¯s guidance.

    ¡°You want to know what killed the dark elves? Destroyed an entire fucking civilization?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    Patricia pointed at the book accusingly.

    ¡°Right¡­ uuh,¡± Amelia looked at the book in a whole new light. She held it a bit more gingerly now.

    Amelia closely examined at the black tome. It really didn¡¯t look that bad. It was a plain black book. The cover was blank, no skulls, demonic runes, fire, or malevolent glowing light. She traced a finger along the edge. The book was not written on paper, but on a leathery vellum of some kind. Amelia¡¯s imagination said human skin, but she had no reason to believe that other than spooky demon stereotypes. It was more likely demon skin, honestly. Demons were plentiful in the Abyss, flesh and blood humans were not.

    Lott said she should read it¡­ Carefully, Amelia turned the book open to a random page. Patricia ducked away and covered her eyes.

    As soon as Amelia looked at the words on the page, the infernal text burrowed into her mind, making her eyes water, and leaving purple after-images on her retinas. This book was attacking her, actively trying to scramble her mortal brain and drive her to madness. It felt like the words on the page were trying to tear her brain out through her eyeballs.

    Just like with demon speech, the goddess¡¯ gift seemed to protect her from the worst of this effect. Reading the book was merely painful rather than lethal. Verita¡¯s gift apparently translated written words for her too because she understood the Infernal runic writing.

    In the end, all that is created will turn to dust. Embrace the futility of creation¡­

    Yep. That felt pretty demonic. Amelia snapped the book shut and rubbed her eyes. That was enough for now. She tucked the evil book away inside her robes and shuddered. The few words she read left a lingering slimy feeling behind, like she¡¯d just emerged from a bathtub full of snails. This was probably going to be a difficult book to read. Why did she have to read this again?

    ¡°I¡¯ve closed the book, Patricia.¡±

    The dark elf untucked her head from between her legs. She looked at Amelia with astonishment, ¡°You survived?¡±

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Amelia said. Patricia looked impressed¡­ too impressed. Was looking at the book really that dangerous? Patricia¡¯s eyes changed, focusing on something in the distance, just over Amelia¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± the elf asked, pointing.

    Amelia turned to look, but whatever Patricia was pointing at was lost in the dark gloom. ¡°I don¡¯t see it.¡±

    ¡°Of course you don¡¯t, you don¡¯t have darkvision.¡± Patricia said, with the tiniest hint of smugness, ¡°There¡¯s somebody there, a survivor!¡±

    Patricia took off running towards the person she saw, and Amelia chased after her. After running a short distance, Patricia slowed down to a normal walk. Amelia didn¡¯t, because she could finally see who it was.

    ¡°Lily!¡±

    Two red eyes looked up at Amelia, dimly reflecting the faint glow from the fire and the stars. Lily was sitting on a patch of grass. The only patch of grass, and she was cradling¡­

    ¡°Tanya!¡±

    Amelia ran towards the pair and dove towards them to embrace them both in a big hug¡­

    ¡°Urgh!¡± Lily¡¯s open palm caught Amelia in the gut, abruptly halting her hug attempt.

    ¡°She¡¯s hurt,¡± Lily warned. ¡°Gentle.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± Amelia contained herself again. She moved around and hugged Lily from behind, ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re both alive.¡±

    ¡°Glad you¡¯re alive too,¡± said Lily. The demon leaned back into the hug, nuzzling her head up against Amelia. ¡°I didn¡¯t want any of you to die.¡±

    A small pit of dread appeared in Amelia¡¯s stomach, ¡°Is Danica¡­¡± Amelia couldn¡¯t finish saying the question out loud.

    ¡°Dead. I was only able to save this one.¡±

    Amelia sank a little bit, leaning her weight on Lily. As she wrapped the two girls up in a group hug, she was torn between joy and grief. Lily and Tanya were alive, and Amelia should be happy because she thought they were dead until now¡­ but finding out that Danica was dead for sure killed that joy a bit.

    Amelia looked up at Patricia, standing nearby, watching the reunion with tearful eyes. She smiled bitterly, ¡°I¡¯m happy for you,¡± she said.

    ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± Amelia replied, ¡°But it¡¯s okay, I understand. I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t find any other survivors.¡±

    Patricia stood silently, fighting back her tears. Finally, she had to look away from the reunion and stare into the fiery crater again. Amelia let go of Lily and got back on her feet, ¡°Tanya needs a healer, the fact that she¡¯s still unconscious worries me. There¡¯s clearly more to her injuries than what we can see on the surface. We should hurry to the temple. Patricia, if you have nowhere else to go, you¡¯re welcome to come with us. We could all share a room at an inn once Tanya is healed.¡±

    Patricia laughed wryly, ¡°Yeah sure, I¡¯m apparently destined to join your suicide pact anyway. Let¡¯s all die together, side by side, screaming in agony like some sort of gods-forsaken fucked-up choir.¡±

    Amelia gave the elf a concerned look. Patricia honestly thought that going to Kair Tarost, wherever that was, was going to be a suicide mission. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you, but I plan on surviving.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? Good luck with that,¡± Patricia replied, with a sardonic grin.

    Amelia was curious but decided not to pry any further, Tanya was more important now. She gestured towards the road, partially concealed under the ash. Lily picked up Tanya, ignoring her weight as if she was a sack of feathers. The demon was being uncharacteristically careful with her, wary of making any of Tanya¡¯s damage worse accidentally. Patricia stopped Lily for a moment, undid her maid apron, and fastened it over Tanya¡¯s nearly nude body. It was still rather indecent, but it covered the bits, and it was better than nothing.

    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Amelia. Patricia shrugged, as if to say it was no big deal.

    Lily carefully carried Tanya across the scorched landscape with Amelia following. Patricia remained behind, intent on searching every corner of the estate grounds, desperate to find more survivors. She told Amelia to go on without her. She¡¯d meet the Saintess outside the temple when she was done.

    By the time Amelia reached the road along the estate¡¯s outskirts, a squad of guards had arrived. The damage was mostly limited to the estate grounds itself, but quite a few nearby houses were struck as well. The guards were searching through the burning and collapsed houses, pulling out survivors.

    A small squad of men saw the girls. Amelia said something to the guard and got a sympathetic nod in return. The guard seemed to understand, even though Amelia couldn¡¯t remember what she had just said.

    <hr>

    The Temple of the Pantheon was an impressive building. It was nearly the size of the¡­ former Montagne mansion and it was visible from quite a distance away.

    It was one of the few buildings in town made entirely of stone, and the only one to be constructed almost entirely out of large white limestone blocks. They were imported at great expense from the dwarven quarries along the outskirts the Wyrmspine Mountains.

    The dwarven city state of Stoneglen had a monopoly on these quarries thanks to an ancient contract they signed with the Wyrmspine Fellowship of Dragons. There was some sort of provision in that millennium-old agreement that allowed the Stoneglen dwarves exclusive mining rights for construction grade stone from the mountains. Even a thousand years later, the dragons were very keen on keeping their word, and for obvious reasons, nobody was willing to argue with a creature that measured their weight in tons.

    Amelia tried to remember the other ridiculous provisions of that contract¡­ Apparently one provision on that contract stated that the dragons no longer had the right to demand the sacrifice of a young virgin, and that only the elderly and infirm were eligible as living sacrifices. Amelia found that amusing since sapient sacrifices went out of fashion centuries ago. Apparently the new, modern dragons were more conscious of their image, and content to only demand livestock or gold as tribute from the nearby towns.

    Danica was dead. Gone. Never going to see her smile again.

    Joffrey had been old, and Sir Thomas was a professional soldier. Their deaths were tragic, but Amelia was able to accept their fate and move on. But Danica? She was a kind, gentle, and perhaps slightly lewd village girl who liked to read. She didn¡¯t deserve to die. She was so young too¡­

    Nope, she didn¡¯t want to think about that. Amelia tried to shake the bad thoughts out of her head again. She desperately tried to remember some other interesting trivia about dragons but couldn¡¯t think of anything. Oh well, by this point they¡¯d arrived at their destination anyway.

    It looked even bigger up close. A row of white limestone columns held the roof aloft and framed the temple¡¯s entrance. The massive doors were open, an invitation for all who wished to petition the gods or buy the services of a divine mage. Amelia was slightly ashamed that, despite being in the town for several days, she hadn¡¯t even visited the temple yet.

    In the larger cities like Dursten, there would be a dedicated temple for each of the gods. In smaller towns like Befield, there was usually only one temple, and the different acolytes and clerics, each serving different gods, shared a large common space with individual alcoves dedicated to each of the deities. The fact that Befield even had a temple this size was amazing. Amelia¡¯s hometown of Greenvale only had a small outdoor space set aside for prayer and other divine rituals.

    This was the home of Damien the healer, and of Acolyte Joffrey, while he had been alive. Including Damien, there were three full time healers living inside, and they were obviously quite busy at the moment. Amelia could see a flurry of activity around the entrance, guards carrying moaning victims inside. It seemed Tanya wasn¡¯t the only one injured by the fireball.

    Amelia trailed behind listlessly as Lily started carrying Tanya up the steps. Lily was a demon¡­ Amelia suddenly panicked. She ran after Lily and placed an arm on her shoulder to stop her.

    ¡°Wait Lily, temples are consecrated ground, blessed by the gods. There¡¯s a divine enchantment against demons, undead, and other types of dark magic here. I don¡¯t know what will happen if you try to enter, but it probably won¡¯t be good.¡±

    Lily hesitated for a moment¡­ but only for a moment. Despite Amelia¡¯s warning, she confidently marched up the stairs to the entrance. At the threshold of the temple¡¯s door, Lily froze for a second, and shuddered. Then, she continued through the door with Tanya still in her arms.

    ¡°Feels gross¡­¡± she mumbled.

    Amelia stared at the demon in shock. Lily didn¡¯t explode, or melt, or whatever was supposed to happen. Amelia couldn¡¯t even fairly call herself a beginner at magic, but even she could feel the faint traces of a divine aura in the building. There was an enchantment in place, and it was divine in nature. Lily was powerful, but surely, she couldn¡¯t be powerful enough to ignore divine magic, could she?

    Amelia was surprised Lily could enter the temple, and she wasn¡¯t the only one. Several acolytes stared at Lily in horror as the demon walked by. One of the novice acolytes noticed Tanya. He nervously led Amelia and the demon to a large open space where injured people were laid across the floor. The novice placed a folded blanket on the ground next to the other injured people, and Lily gently placed Tanya down on top.

    Four guards were in the room, keeping the peace. They nervously watched the demon. Lily watched them back, alert and ready to spring into action to protect Tanya from any assailant. The guards looked to Amelia for advice.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to interfere, she¡¯s too dangerous. I¡¯ll talk her down if she does something weird,¡± she said.

    Amelia walked over to her oldest friend and her demon companion. Lily turned her gaze from the guards and looked up at Amelia.

    ¡°Tanya¡¯s hurt. Where is the healer?¡± Lily asked.

    Amelia looked around. She spotted three people in white robes hovering over the injured. There was Damien, from before. The man from the guard barracks whose name Amelia never learned, and an older woman, with silver hair tied up in a bun, who Amelia hadn¡¯t met before. The older woman wore the golden trimmed robes of a High Cleric, meaning that, not only was she a Cleric, a powerful divine mage, but she was also the person in charge of the temple. All three of them were busy casting healing spells on other injured people.

    ¡°They¡¯re busy helping others,¡± said Amelia, ¡°we have to wait our turn.¡±

    Lily looked where Amelia had been looking. She sat down on the stone floor next to Tanya¡¯s head, and gently brushed the unconscious woman¡¯s hair aside.

    ¡°She¡¯s still asleep. Her heartbeat is getting slower. She¡¯s dying¡­¡± the demon sounded nervous, fearful even. This was the first time she¡¯d seen Lily this unsettled.

    ¡°She¡¯ll be okay for a bit, there are others who are in more immediate danger. Don¡¯t worry, Tanya will get the healing she needs. We just need to be patient, okay?¡± Amelia did her best to make her voice sound as reassuring as possible and it seemed to work, Lily calmed down.

    Lily sat and waited patiently.

    Lily continued waiting¡­

    Lily started tapping a finger-claw against the stone floor¡­

    Lily waited some more, and looked around, watching the healers work¡­

    Not even five minutes after laying Tanya down, Lily climbed to her feet and started walking over to Damien. A panicked Amelia scrambled to follow her.

    ¡°Wait Lily, we have to wait¡­¡± Amelia called out as she chased after the demon.

    Lily ignored her. She reached Damien and forcefully pulled him off of the unfortunate burn victim he was working on.

    ¡°Heal Tanya,¡± Lily demanded. Her voice sounded cold and carried an unusually sinister edge. Amelia shuddered, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

    ¡°Wait Lily,¡± Amelia pleaded, ¡°You can¡¯t just-¡±

    Lily turned, looked into Amelia¡¯s eyes, and the Saintess¡¯ voice was cut off. It suddenly felt very hard to breathe.

    This wasn¡¯t Lily¡­ Lily wasn¡¯t there anymore. In her place was an unbound greater demon issuing a murderous ultimatum. Lily¡¯s kindness and curiosity were gone, the crimson eyes that watched Amelia were cold and merciless, willing to kill without hesitation to get what she wanted. This was True murderous intent. Damien¡¯s life was genuinely in danger.

    Damien didn¡¯t know any better. ¡°Wait your turn,¡± he said curtly.

    ¡°Heal my human first,¡± there was barely audible growl mixed in with demon¡¯s voice, a subtle hint of savagery, a promise of impending violence.

    Damien protested. ¡°Look, I¡¯m not going to just- Aagh!¡±

    Damien screamed as Lily squeezed her clawed hand into his shoulder.

    ¡°Heal her!¡± the demon roared, her voice reverberating through the stone chamber. Her demonic voice spoke in the common tongue, but the wrathful voice almost sounded as twisted and terrible as Infernal. All heads turned to watch her.

    Five sharp dagger points slowly pushed their way through the healer¡¯s agonized flesh. Damien¡¯s white robe soaked up the blood, and a growing patch of redness spread outwards from under Lily¡¯s hand.

    ¡°Lily stop!¡± Amelia pleaded, ¡°You¡¯re going too far!¡±

    The demon ignored her and continued to press her claws further into the man¡¯s shoulder. The monster stared into his eyes, not with hatred, but with hunger. The creature grinned sadistically, betraying an inhuman lust for blood and violence that had always been there, simmering under the surface, looking for an excuse to be unleashed. She was like a bow, drawn back and ready to fire, just barely holding herself back from murdering the man. It would be so easy for her to just let go. Amelia was certain that the only reason Damien was still alive was because Lily still wanted something from him.

    Amelia didn¡¯t know what to do. Lily had never acted out like this before. She¡¯d always listened and followed Amelia¡¯s directions, acting almost like a human. It was only now that Amelia realized the danger, she was powerless. She was powerless to stop Lily from murdering everyone here if the demon wanted to. Everything was out of control and it was Amelia¡¯s fault, she let this happen.

    Lily leaned in and spoke gently into Damien¡¯s ear, ¡°If you allow another one of my humans to die, I will tear your arms and legs from their sockets and gouge your eyes out¡­ Your screams will echo through these halls. And then after I¡¯m done playing with you, I¡¯ll do the same thing to every single one of these worthless bags of meat that you¡¯ve been trying so hard to save. I will bathe myself in human blood, take my pleasure from their suffering, and devour their bodies when I¡¯m done. Do you understand me? Am I making myself clear?¡± Lily¡¯s voice sounded lustful, almost moaning as she seductively described the atrocities she was intending to inflict on these innocent people. She was genuinely looking forward to carrying out her threat.

    Suddenly, Lily squeezed down hard, sinking her claws deeper and crunching into the bone. Damien screamed out in pain, louder than before. Lily¡¯s lustful expression twisted into rage again.

    ¡°If Tanya dies none of you will survive my wrath! Fix her! Fix her now!¡± Lily¡¯s roar echoed through the silent halls. Nobody moved. Both the victims and those tending to them were all frozen in terror.

    It wasn¡¯t a bluff. Lily genuinely intended to carry out her threat.

    ¡°She¡­ She¡¯s serious¡­¡± Amelia quietly whimpered, trying again to hold back her tears. This was a disaster. Everything was falling apart. Danica¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll heal her,¡± came a kind elderly voice from the other side of the room.

    The serene old woman walked up to Damien, Amelia, and the monster. A silver amulet of Sylene, the Goddess of Death and Rebirth hung around her neck.

    ¡°I am Edith, High Cleric of this temple,¡± she said to the demon. ¡°I will heal your friend now if you release Damien.¡±

    Lily glared at her with skepticism, but she eventually released her grip and pulled her claws out of the whimpering Damien, who immediately scurried away and began healing himself. The elderly woman walked over to the unconscious Tanya, and gracefully kneeled next to her. Lily walked closer to watch. Edith took Tanya¡¯s hand, and the flash of healing magic shone brightly. It was incredible. Even with her novice magical senses, Amelia could still feel the difference in power between this woman¡¯s magic and Damien¡¯s. Amelia wished she could wield magic like this someday.

    Tanya¡¯s entire body was flooded with magic, glowing with a warm golden radiance. With a grotesque crunch, Tanya¡¯s shattered ankles and ribs shifted back into position and mended themselves together. Her wounds seemed to heal as fast as Lily¡¯s regeneration, maybe even faster.

    Only seconds after the woman began, the glow faded. ¡°I¡¯ve finished,¡± she said, but Tanya remained unconscious.

    Lily gave the healer a suspicious glare. ¡°Why is she still sleeping?¡±

    ¡°Her body is healed, but her brain was damaged,¡± the woman calmly explained, ¡°A damaged brain is like a book with pages torn out. I put new pages in, but nobody has written on them yet. She will sleep until her soul finishes rewriting the missing pages.¡±

    ¡°I tried to protect her head¡­ I was careful¡­¡± Lily spoke through clenched teeth. The fury seemed to cool, and she stared at Tanya¡¯s unconscious body with unfocused eyes. The quiet dripping of demon blood hitting stone was the only sound that penetrated the tense silence of the hall. Amelia glanced down at Lily¡¯s tightly clenched fists. She was stabbing herself in the palm with her own claws, and barely seemed to notice.

    ¡°She will fully recover, I would expect her to wake up sometime tomorrow. Bring her somewhere safe and let her rest,¡± the elderly woman said in a reassuring tone, slowly climbing to her feet.

    Lily¡¯s terrible wrath flared up again, she turned her monstrous glare to the healer, ¡°She better¡­ if she doesn¡¯t wake up-¡±

    Lily¡¯s threat fell on deaf ears. The elderly woman walked past the demon and approached Amelia, ¡°It is an honor to meet you, Your Eminence.¡± she said.

    Amelia bowed her head politely, ¡°Thank you for healing her,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry about-¡±

    ¡°Please leave,¡± the elderly woman interrupted her.

    ¡°What?¡± Amelia blinked at Edith in surprise.

    ¡°Take your demon and get out of my temple. Never bring her back here.¡± The kindness and patience in Edith¡¯s voice was gone. She spoke with ice cold seriousness.

    ¡°R-right¡± Amelia stammered, ¡°Sorry again¡­¡±

    The Saintess turned to the demon, ¡°Come on Lily, we need to go. Now.¡±

    Lily picked up the unconscious Tanya again and the two of them hurried out of the temple. That could have gone better, Amelia thought to herself.

 15 - Aftermath II

    ¡°All done?¡± Patricia asked.

    She was waiting outside the temple. Alone. It seemed her hunt for survivors bore no fruit.

    The murderous ultimatum inside the temple was probably loud enough to be heard from the outside, but if Patricia heard it, she declined to comment on it.

    As the demon walked down the stairs with Tanya in her arms, Amelia followed behind at a distance. Burdened with the knowledge that Lily could snap and go on a murder spree on a whim, she was starting to feel uncomfortable around the demon, hesitant to get too close. Patricia, on the other hand, didn¡¯t seem to treat Lily any differently.

    Amelia hadn¡¯t noticed it until now, but despite Patricia¡¯s apparently relaxed attitude, she never stood with her back to the demon. Not even once. Had she always done this? Amelia couldn¡¯t remember a single instance where Patricia allowed herself to be in a vulnerable position near the demon, but then again, her memory wasn¡¯t perfect.

    ¡°How much gold do we have?¡± Patricia asked, snapping Amelia out of her thoughts.

    Amelia patted her pockets and pulled out a small coin purse. ¡°4 silver pieces, and 19 coppers.¡±

    It was 100 coppers to a silver, and 100 silver to a gold. Amelia¡¯s stash of bandit gold was in her room when the fireball hit, and it was vaporized along with everything else she owned. Amelia only had her pocket change left.

    ¡°12 silver here,¡± Patricia said.

    They both looked at Lily and the unconscious Tanya she was carrying. Lily wouldn¡¯t bother with gold, and unless the panty-clad Tanya was storing her money somewhere unspeakable, 16 silver pieces was all they had to work with.

    ¡°I know a place,¡± said the dark elf, ¡°It¡¯s not luxurious but its cheap and clean. A lot of the patrons are¡­ well they¡¯re criminals, but I know the owner and it¡¯s a deceptively safe place to sleep. Nobody is going to try to mug or rape us at least.¡±

    ¡°That sounds sketchy, can¡¯t we stay in a normal inn?¡±

    ¡°At a price we can afford? No. Our other options in this price range are sketchier. Trust me, the place I¡¯m suggesting is better. These are the sort of criminals that don¡¯t like stirring up trouble. It¡¯s a place meant for profit-motivated clandestine entrepreneurs to quietly discuss their business. They won¡¯t cause problems inside their own safe space, it¡¯s like the eye of a storm. Plus, I¡¯m a dark elf and I have a certain amount of¡­ let¡¯s be generous and call it notoriety instead of infamy... Suffice to say, I¡¯m fairly well respected among the other unloved members of society.¡±

    Amelia sighed, she was too exhausted to argue, ¡°Okay then, I don¡¯t know this town as well as you do. We''ll try out the criminal tavern. I guess we''ll have Lily and Tanya to step in if there¡¯s trouble.¡±

    ¡°I can handle myself too,¡± Patricia said, grinning smugly. ¡°But like I said, there shouldn¡¯t be any trouble.¡±

    Midnight was approaching as Patricia led them through the shady part of town. They were in the same corner of the city as Elias¡¯ house. Unlike his specific neighbourhood, the street they were walking along now was paved with cobblestone. Patricia led on with confidence, but Amelia found herself glancing nervously in the shadows of each alley. Lily was here, so hopefully she would scare off the dangerous folks.

    They stopped in front of an old tavern. It looked like the oldest building on the street, with a frame of dark weathered wood and plaster coated walls covered in a spider web of cracks. A faint light was shining through the warped foggy windows on the main floor, but the overall building exterior didn¡¯t look very welcoming. The sign hanging above the door read, ¡®The Tarnished Blade.¡¯

    The foursome walked through the door, and Amelia quickly looked around. The whole place seemed to scream ¡®secrecy.¡¯ The lighting was dim, the tavern tables were spaced far apart, and any that were too close had wooden dividers between them. The few patrons awake this late (or this early) were keeping to themselves, sharing murmured conversations. Amelia noted the lack of a barmaid. It seemed patrons went to the bar to order drinks and took them back to their own private tables to drink.

    The tavern¡¯s namesake was displayed on a plaque mounted above the bar. There was¡­ well¡­ a tarnished blade. It was a two handed longsword, simple and unadorned. The entire thing was covered in a black patina, like an old tarnished piece of silverware.

    The nighttime barkeep was another dark elf. Like almost all of his kind, he had white hair, a tall slender build, and youthful features. Compared to Patricia¡¯s violet hued skin, this man had a darker blueish coloration. Just like Patricia, he too had golden amber eyes. Aside from being a member of a very rare subspecies of elf, he was otherwise unremarkable, wearing a brown vest over a white linen shirt and matching brown slacks.

    ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t Miss Patricia,¡± the barkeep said warmly. Amelia noticed a small hint of nervousness in his voice, ¡°What brings you all the way to my humble little tavern? I¡¯m afraid I haven¡¯t found any more of those things your requested.¡±

    When the barkeep noticed Amelia and Lily, his expression of forced friendliness wavered a bit, ¡°And who have you brought with you today?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re with me, Nedrithel, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Patricia said, waving her hand dismissively, ¡°I¡¯m sure you heard the explosion. I¡¯m not interested in dusty old artifacts right now. The four of us just need a nice safe room to stay a few days.¡±

    ¡°You want me to let them stay at my inn and not worry about them? I recognize who you have with you, you know.¡±

    ¡°Then why did you ask such a stupid question?¡± Patricia smirked.

    ¡°Because you were stupid enough to bring them here,¡± the barkeep sounded exasperated. ¡°Yes I heard the explosion. It blew up gods¡¯ know how much of the town. I¡¯ve got businesspeople panicking, running around with their weapons drawn and accusing each other of breaking agreements, and now, in the middle of all this, you bring me the girl who was their target¡­¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know she was their target¡­¡± Patricia interjected.

    Nedrithel continued, ¡°¡­and that¡¯s not even mentioning the demon carrying a naked girl in an apron through my door¡­¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s wearing panties,¡± Patricia said, as if that somehow made Tanya¡¯s current state normal.

    ¡°Okay setting aside the exhibitionist and the monster, people are saying the Children are claiming responsibility for the attack. Who else could they be after besides the Chosen? Were there any other high status servants of the gods staying at the estate with you?¡±

    ¡°The Children of Kair Tarost are a bunch of idiots. They¡¯re not the ones behind this, I assure you. Plus, you¡¯ll have me staying here. I might be retired, but I still hear old stories about the Cerulean Witch from time to time. Nobody is going to stir up shit while I¡¯m here.¡±

    Nedrithel glared at Patricia for a few seconds, then he took his time to glare at Amelia, and Lily.

    ¡°Five silver a night, and you need to promise not to burn down my tavern.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s more than twice your usual rate Ned.¡±

    ¡°Five. Silver.¡± The dark elf said tersely. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I don¡¯t charge you more.¡±

    Patricia rolled her eyes and sighed, ¡°Fine.¡±

    The elf maid counted out ten silver pieces for two nights, and Nedrithel led them all upstairs. Amelia thought the room wasn¡¯t half bad. It was spacious and clean, the straw stuffed beds looked to be in good shape. Five silver for a room like this was actually a good deal, despite Patricia¡¯s complaints.

    The room had four single sized beds. Lily immediately laid Tanya down in one, rolled her onto her side, and cuddled up behind her back. She wrapped her clawed arm around Tanya¡¯s stomach, and nestled her head into the crook of Tanya¡¯s neck before closing her eyes contentedly.

    Patricia claimed her own bed and laid down above the covers. Taking a deep breath and finally allowing herself to feel her exhaustion, she stared at the ceiling in silence. Amelia laid down in her own bed and did the same. She was curious about Patricia¡¯s ominous sounding nickname, but she didn¡¯t have the energy to bother asking about it.

    The girls lay in silence for a couple minutes before Patricia spoke, ¡°So¡­ who did you piss off?¡±

    ¡°Pardon?¡± Amelia asked.

    ¡°Two square miles of land burnt to ash in an instant with flames hot enough to melt stone. That¡¯s ridiculous, even before you consider that the whole fucking thing was Witchfire¡­ That¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t even know how it¡¯s possible for someone to have that much mana. And to channel it into a single spell without causing it to go unstable? On that sort of scale, you couldn¡¯t even use a focusing gem or staff without overloading it. This was done unassisted. So, yep, you pissed off someone powerful.¡±

    ¡°I butted heads with Captain Richter a bit¡­¡±

    Patricia sat up, suddenly animated, ¡°No, you don¡¯t understand the magnitude here¡­ you pissed off someone powerful.¡±

    Amelia sat up too, while Patricia got to her feet and paced around the room nervously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I have any enemies like that,¡± the Saintess said, ¡°it could have been an assassination. Was Lord Roland the target?¡±

    Patricia gave Amelia a dismissive wave, ¡°Hah! Not a chance. This is bigger than some worthless little fiefdom on the edge of the Aldmerian Empire. A mage this powerful can¡¯t be bought cheaply, and most would never stoop to mere assassination work.¡±

    Patricia stopped her pacing and turned to face Amelia. She continued her rant.

    ¡°Do you know what spell the attacker used? A Fireball spell. That¡¯s it¡­ a simple Fireball spell with¡­ oh let¡¯s say, a few little tweaks and modifications. No complicated tricks, no resonance, no pseudoelemental combination buggery, not even a focusing gem to stabilize the spell, just raw fucking power.¡±

    That mansion destroying meteor was obviously powerful magic, cast by a powerful¡­ something, but Amelia didn¡¯t really understand the significance of it being a Fireball spell exactly. Patricia looked annoyed by Amelia¡¯s non-reaction.

    ¡°Boosting a simple Fireball up to that level is insane. Here, I¡¯ll show you what I mean.¡±

    The maid casually held out a hand, palm upwards, and a spark of magic appeared above her palm, igniting and bursting out into a swirling ball of flame the size of a human head. Startled, Amelia scurried backwards in her bed, pressing her back against the wall. Even from halfway across the room, Amelia could feel the flame¡¯s heat on her face.

    ¡°You¡¯re a mage?¡± Amelia gasped as the fireball burned in front of her.

    ¡°Retired mage,¡± Patricia corrected, ¡°But yes, I¡¯m a mage, and a rather capable one, if I do say so myself.¡±

    Now that she thought about it, Amelia really shouldn¡¯t have been so surprised. One wouldn¡¯t earn themselves a nickname like Cerulean Witch, if they weren¡¯t known for their magic.

    ¡°Anyway, this is a Fireball spell,¡± Patricia announced proudly. ¡°Easy peasy, intermediate level combat magic. Conjure an explosive ball of fire and fling it at your enemies. Enemies go boom. I learned this spell when I was twelve.¡±

    ¡°Okay¡­¡± Amelia prompted Patricia to continue, wondering where she was going with this.

    ¡°This spell can be modified. For example, one can make the flame hotter¡­¡±

    A small tinge of blue appeared in the center of the otherwise orange fireball. The blue flames burst outwards from the core, and within half a second, the blue flames had overtaken the orange. Patricia¡¯s cocky smile, now lit with bright blue light, never left her face. As Patricia promised, the radiant heat this blue fireball gave off was terrifyingly intense, far hotter than the previous regular fireball.

    ¡°Blue flame variant spells are something of a specialty of mine. They¡¯re about three times as hot as normal, but that¡¯s still not enough to instantly melt stone.¡±

    Patricia¡¯s cocky smile vanished as she diverted all her attention to the blue fireball swirling in her hand. She¡¯d conjured the fireball and turned it blue with apparent ease, like snapping her fingers, but now her eyes were intense and focused, lost in deep concentration.

    ¡°Let¡¯s try this¡­¡± Patricia mumbled.

    Slowly, the head sized fireball compressed in on itself, becoming smaller, denser, and swirling faster. As Patricia crushed it further, the center of the blue fireball started glowing white. The fireball continued to shrink as the core grew brighter. A small arc of lightning appeared, grounding itself in the floor with a loud snap. Gradually, as Patricia concentrated, more and more blue flame turned white.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    After several seconds of silent effort. Patricia held a smaller fireball, only about the size of her fist. This one had a glowing white core and a wreath of blue and violet flames surrounding it. Unlike the loosely flickering flames surrounding it, the core itself was perfectly spherical and looked almost solid, like a miniature little sun.

    The heat radiating from it was staggering. The Saintess was bathed in its blinding radiance. It was far too bright to look at directly, and she felt like she was starting to get a sun burn just from being in the same room as this tiny mote of light.

    Patricia gave Amelia a strained grin, still cocky, but tense from the exertion of maintaining the spell. Small beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Having finished her demonstration, she allowed the fireball to return to a blue color and shrink until it flickered out of existence.

    ¡°Whoo¡­ that¡¯s harder than it looks you know, it¡¯s hard to keep it all contained once it turns into plasma.¡±

    Amelia didn¡¯t know what plasma was, but Patricia looked quite proud of herself for managing it successfully.

    ¡°Anyway, that is one type of modification. It makes the spell much harder to cast, and it consumes far more mana than a normal fireball. That was my absolute limit without using a focusing crystal to stabilize my magic. If I tried to feed it any more mana, it would go unstable and blow up in my face.

    ¡°Back in the bad old days, I could fling around normal fireballs all day without running dry on mana. If I wasn¡¯t involved in a multi-hour battle of attrition, I¡¯d usually default to casting blue flame variants. With blue flames, I couldn¡¯t sustain combat indefinitely, but I could easily keep up my assault for long enough to get the job done. That tiny little white fireball I held though? That thing was about a quarter of my entire mana pool.¡±

    After seeing that demonstration, Amelia was officially impressed. She supposed the blue flames were where the Cerulean part of the ¡®Cerulean Witch¡¯ nickname came from. Amelia listened to the lecture politely, but she was starting to wonder how a relatively powerful mage like this ended up as a working as a simple maid.

    Patricia continued her lecture, ¡°Another type of modification is making the fireball itself larger and increasing the radius of detonation. I won¡¯t be showing you that, because playing with fireballs indoors is already risky and Ned would kill me for sure if he knew I was playing around with magic that could potentially consume the entire tavern in a single large explosion. To put it simply, it has the same drawbacks as the heat upgrade. It costs more mana and makes the spell less stable. For reference, ignoring the effects of air pressure inside a confined space, the danger zone of a regular fireball detonation is about the size of this room.¡±

    Patricia gestured around the room. It wasn¡¯t a large room, by any means, less than half the size of the mansion¡¯s individual bedrooms, but an explosion that size would still be devastating, especially if it was as hot as the blue flame. Amelia saw Lily in the corner, still snuggling Tanya, but watching Patricia¡¯s demonstration with childlike fascination.

    ¡°Okay, so the fireball that hit us was both big, and hot? Two modifications?¡± Amelia said, trying to distill meaning behind Patricia¡¯s obvious attempt to show off.

    Patricia once again gave Amelia an exasperated stare, ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s kind of a big deal, you know. The cost is multiplicative. If a white fireball costs a thousand times the mana, and a fireball large enough to engulf the estate costs a thousand times the mana, then both of them combined are¡­ uuh...¡±

    ¡°A million,¡± Amelia helpfully interjected.

    ¡°Yeah, a million times the mana. And this guy used a third modification too! And this third modification is the really scary one.¡± Patricia coughed nervously, ¡°Uuh¡­ it¡¯s a bit tricky¡­ give me a minute.¡±

    The dark elf held out her hand again, closed her eyes and focused. Just like before, a spark appeared in her hand and a bright orange fireball burst into existence, floating above her open palm. Patricia glared at the orange ball with disappointment and it popped like a bubble, sending small licks of flame in all directions.

    ¡°That wasn¡¯t it¡­ hold on,¡± Patricia grumbled.

    The second attempt resulted in only a shower of sparks. But they were green sparks, so¡­ that was progress at least.

    ¡°Having trouble?¡± Amelia asked with feigned innocence. She knew that Patricia was struggling but was unable to resist the urge to tease the cocky elf.

    ¡°Shut up, the Cerulean Witch is retired, okay?¡± Patricia said, blushing slightly. ¡°It¡¯s been 80 years since I last used magic for anything more than lighting a fireplace. I¡¯m a bit rusty.¡±

    ¡°80 years? How old are you?¡± Amelia asked, amazed.

    Elves were blessed with eternal-ish youth. They aged into adulthood at the same rate as a human child, but it was only during the waning years of their lives that they started showing any further signs of aging.

    Patricia looked like a mature teenager, or someone barely into her twenties. She was as slender as Amelia, but taller than Lily. And, much to Amelia¡¯s chagrin, despite her slender build, she had a perfectly filled out figure with rounder hips and bigger breasts than the Saintess¡­ Amelia was struggling to rationalize the Truth that the impossibly pretty, young, Patricia was at least as old as her grandmother.

    ¡°It¡¯s rude to ask a lady her age,¡± Old Granny Patricia replied in a huff.

    For attempt number three, Patricia, once again, closed her eyes to focus. She stood in silence for almost a minute before she took a deep breath. A flash of bright green sparked in her hand and flared out into a swirling green globe of ghostly fire. Patricia kept her eyes closed, breathing slowly, as the emerald globe swirled in her hand, bathing the room in an eerie green glow. Finally, she opened her eyes, and gave Amelia a smug grin.

    The swirling globe suddenly bulged out and warped. Patricia¡¯s eyes went wide. She focused on the spell again, and a bead of sweat appeared on her forehead as she flexed her mental muscles and wrangled it back into a spherical shape. Then, carefully, she slowly drew the mana back inside herself, shrinking the fireball away until it blinked out of existence. She resumed her smug grin, pretending like she hadn¡¯t made a mistake that nearly incinerated everyone in the room.

    Not knowing what else to do, Amelia clapped for her.

    Patricia coughed, to hide her awkwardness, ¡°So yeah, that was Witchfire. It¡¯s a cursed flame, invented by the less than friendly Fae of the Unseelie Court to bypass magical protections and kill¡­ other Fae mostly. It burns like normal fire, but it also uses active mana as fuel. It eats spells, and chews through wards and magical defenses like they¡¯re not even there. That¡¯s the really tragic part. The mansion was warded against hostile magic and accidental fire. I wrote most of those glyphs myself and they were solid. A normal fireball, even a big one, would have just bounced off.¡±

    ¡°I see,¡± Amelia replied.

    Patricia narrowed her eyes, staring at Amelia, ¡°This is high tier magic¡­ you should be a little bit more impressed than that. I¡¯m not even using a focusing gem to cast it. Before I found my happy home with the Montagne family, I was a considered to be a master pyromancer, you know. I was, and still am, the deadliest mage in this town by far. And, aside from our magical assassin, I¡¯m probably the only mage within a thousand miles that can conjure genuine Witchfire.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s¡­ good?¡± Amelia said. Patricia was telling the truth, or at least, she thought she was telling the truth. This wasn¡¯t empty boasting, at least.

    ¡°Can it burn me?¡± the previously quiet Lily suddenly asked.

    ¡°Is your heat immunity magical or natural?¡± Patricia asked.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means,¡± Lily replied.

    ¡°If you¡¯re not consuming mana to maintain your immunity then it¡¯s natural,¡± Patricia explained. ¡°If you¡¯re Lust, Greed, Wrath, or corporeal Sloth, then you¡¯re naturally immune, and have nothing to worry about from Witchfire.¡±

    ¡°Oh good,¡± Lily said, snuggling back into Tanya¡¯s shoulder.

    Amelia remained quiet. She¡¯d been more impressed by the super-hot fireball. The green fireball was a little underwhelming. She didn¡¯t know what to say to Patricia. It would probably be impressive to another mage, but to Amelia is just looked like a fireball, but green. Plus, she¡¯d seen a much larger green fireball demolish a mansion and kill everybody only a couple hours before. But then, she supposed, that was the point of what Patricia was trying to say.

    ¡°So, the person who attacked us was a very powerful mage. More powerful than a ¡®master pyromancer¡¯ like yourself, is that right?¡± Amelia summarized.

    Patricia looked a little dejected, ¡°Yeah, I guess that¡¯s basically what I¡¯m saying.¡±

    ¡°They weren¡¯t after you, were they? Some sort of old enemy?¡± Amelia asked. A Master mage hiding herself as a maid didn¡¯t seem normal to her. Was Patricia hiding from someone?

    ¡°Nope,¡± Patricia replied, ¡°I didn¡¯t really make that many surviving enemies. The few enemies I did make during the bad old days would have died of old age by now. Also, I¡¯ve only ever met one person that could cast magic at this level. He was my old master, the one that taught me my craft, and he¡¯s been very thoroughly dead for¡­ has it been? Yeah¡­ a little over 200 years now.¡±

    Amelia snapped her fingers, she realized the obvious, ¡°Elias.¡±

    ¡°The stinky guy?¡±

    ¡°The smell wasn¡¯t his fault¡­¡± Amelia said, in a sympathetic tone. ¡°Anyway, he told me a very scary story about how he discovered a mage he called Master Tyren who was killing children and trapping their souls. He said that this guy, or at least the people backing him were very influential. They were able to ignore the law and frame Elias as traitor. It could have been this Master Tyren guy¡­¡±

    ¡°I doubt a human did this¡­¡± Patricia said, suddenly looking awkward. ¡°I mean, no offence, but¡­ humans don¡¯t really live long enough to reach the level of what we saw. It took me a solid century of hard work and practice to get even halfway to where I am right now. Now, a really exceptional genius human might surpass me within their lifetime, but they could never surpass my old master. All flavours of elves, wood, high, and dark, rarely live long enough to die of old age, but if we manage to avoid getting ourselves killed, we have a natural lifespan of about a thousand years. That¡¯s the sort of time you need to achieve a true mastery of magic.¡±

    ¡°Okay, so the attacker was an elf? Perhaps the shadowy conspiracy people hired the elf?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s¡­ plausible, I guess. If there¡¯s one thing that humans have plenty of, it¡¯s money. Hiring a mage of this level to go blow up a mansion would cost a king¡¯s ransom in gold though. Also, I¡¯m not saying it was necessarily an elf. It¡¯s probably an elf, yes. It could also be Unseelie Court Fae. They¡¯re usually banned from exerting their power on the mortal plane, but they¡¯ve been known to break the rules if properly bribed. It could also be an unusually powerful undead spellcaster like a lich or vampire specialized in magic.¡±

    ¡°What about another demon? Or a dragon? They live a long time.¡±

    ¡°Demons have their own flavour of cursed flame they call Hellfire and they don¡¯t really use anything else. And Dragonfire is too perfect to mess with. It¡¯s pretty much the pinnacle of¡­ fieriness. To taint it with a Witchfire curse would be¡­ No proud dragon would ever do that.¡±

    Amelia considered Patricia¡¯s words, ¡°Okay, so the assassin was an elf, dark fairy, or vampire¡­ We still don¡¯t know why they attacked us. You¡¯d think Mister Super Powerful Mage would have something better to do with his time. I mean, couldn¡¯t they have just sent a regular assassin?¡±

    Patricia sat on her bed again, resting her chin on her hands, ¡°The attacker clearly did their homework. The Lord and Lady were well-aware of my past. It was a secret, but it was the sort of secret that everybody knew but nobody said out loud. In fact, I was paid a little bit extra to maintain the wards and act as a deterrent and final line of defense should someone overcome the normal guards. If you factor in Lily, who has unusually sharp senses, even by demon standards, the two of us would¡¯ve been able to foil most assassination attempts. I guess somebody really wanted us dead.¡±

    ¡°I still can¡¯t figure out why though... there¡¯s got to be more to this than just some shady mage in Dursten trying to cover his ass, but that¡¯s the only motive I can think of right now,¡± Amelia lay back, settling onto her bed.

    ¡°Yeah. This whole situation is thoroughly fucked up,¡± Patricia groaned and laid back in her own bed. ¡°In any case, I¡¯m done for tonight. We can speculate some more tomorrow.¡±

    The tiny blonde digested what she¡¯d heard. Lily, closed her eyes again and appeared to sleep. Within a few minutes, Amelia could hear Patricia¡¯s breathing change. The elf was asleep, but Amelia still lay awake in the darkness.

    Danica was dead. Acolyte Joffrey was dead. Those nice maids were dead¡­

    Amelia sat up again and watched the others sleep. She felt tired, but she knew that she wouldn¡¯t be sleeping anytime soon. She sat in silence for a few minutes, then she stood and left the room.

    The Saintess quietly snuck down the barely-lit hallway, hoping to avoid notice. The tavern was surprisingly modern, it had the luxury of running water, a new design trend from the snootier corners of the capital, and indoor flushing toilets. There were two shared washrooms for the upstairs floor. Amelia chose one and locked the door behind her.

    Finally¡­ now that she was alone¡­ she let herself cry.

    <hr>

    Amelia woke up to the sound of knocking.

    ¡°Hello? Anyone in there? Hurry up, I gotta take a leak!¡±

    After a moment of disorientation, Amelia realized she fell asleep. Shaking the grogginess out of her head, she muttered an apology, and opened the door. She ducked around an impatient, shady looking potential criminal, and scurried back down the hall to her room.

    Amelia saw the early morning sun outside the inn¡¯s window. Patricia was still out cold, sleeping off some of yesterday¡¯s trauma. Tanya still seemed to be unconscious, and Lily opened her eyes as Amelia entered the room but closed them again once she realized Amelia wasn¡¯t an intruder.

    The Saintess was still tired, but she felt much better after letting out some of her tears in the bathroom. She laid on her bed, and a hard lump poked her in the side. Oh right, the book.

    Amelia took the ominous evil book out of her robes and inspected it again. Curious, she flipped it open to read more. She pinned down both sides of the cover and allowed the pages to part randomly in the middle. Maybe some ¡®fate¡¯ bull-poop would guide her to the page she needed. The page she arrived on was a wall of Infernal text, written in large runic letters that took up most of the page.

    <blockquote>

    Everything that is, was once dust, and in the fullness of time, it shall return to dust. A great work of creation might last a thousand years, but no amount of mortal effort will preserve it forever. All lives will come to an end, and all legacies will some day be forgotten.

    Sloth is not inaction, it is not laziness, it is the understanding that nothing you do matters, no change you create is meaningful. Futility is the true essence of Sloth.

    A spell of destruction is also meaningless. Fire, ice, lightning, are all wasted effort. Everything will become dust, given enough time. If you understand the true nature of Sloth, then you may skip all those tedious intermediaries and simply hasten your target''s inevitable return to entropy.

    In the end, all that which is created will turn to dust. Embrace the futility of creation, the futility of existence, and watch your foes turn to dust before your eyes.

    </blockquote>

    Amelia¡¯s eyes were watering, but she successfully made it to the end of the page. She gently turned the leathery velum to the next page and revealed a diagram of a magic circle. This was the shape of a magic spell. In order to cast that spell, the mage first had to memorize, and fully understand the underlying shape. Depending on the mage, it might take days, or it might take years to make a breakthrough.

    But not for Amelia¡­ She glanced at the circle for only an instant, but in that one sublime moment, she understood.

    Demon Lord Occulith, the all-seeing watcher and collector of secrets, was completely right. Everything was meaningless. Danica had a future, she was going to be a mage, she was going to have babies with a noble lord¡¯s son. Now¡­ she and her dreams were dust. They were never going to happen. All her hoping and dreaming, all her laughing and crying¡­ all of it¡­ her entire life¡­ was wasted. She was only dust now.

    Amelia felt herself being shaken and saw Patricia standing in front of her. When did she wake up? She was sleeping. How did she walk across the room so fast? Amelia looked at the window again. And wasn¡¯t it dawn? Why was it suddenly noon?

    ¡°Amelia, say something.¡± Patricia¡¯s face was concerned.

    ¡°It¡¯s all meaningless you know¡­ Everything is dust,¡± Amelia heard herself mumble. She spoke in Infernal. It was easier. It didn¡¯t really matter if she said something or not, and it didn¡¯t matter if Patricia understood her words or not. She could die now, or she could die later. It would make no difference in the end.

    Patricia nervously reached out, gently closed the book, and took it out of Amelia¡¯s hands. Amelia didn¡¯t bother resisting.

    ¡°Ssh¡­ relax, lie down,¡± Patricia cooed, ¡°You¡¯re incredibly stupid¡­ you know that?¡±

    ¡°Maybe, maybe not. Doesn¡¯t matter¡­¡± Amelia mumbled.

    The Saintess laid back on her bed and looked into Patricia¡¯s eyes. And then she looked into the milky white eyes of the tall shadowy man standing right behind the elf. The intruder was an intangible creature formed of smoky shadow, gaunt and long limbed, taller than any man. It watched Amelia attentively. Its eyes never blinked.

    Part of Amelia¡¯s brain wanted to scream out in terror, to warn her friend. But she also knew it didn¡¯t matter. Everything was dust, including Patricia and herself. Struggle was meaningless. Amelia closed her eyes and fell asleep while waiting for the monster to kill her.

 16 - Unexpected Visitor

    Tanya woke up with the second-worst headache of her entire life.

    ¡°The fuck?¡± she groaned as her blurry eyes focused on the room.

    This was not the mansion¡¯s guest bedroom with a fluffy canopy bed. She was in a normal bed¡­ Tanya looked down and saw a monstrous clawed hand resting against her stomach, a stomach that was covered only by a little frilly apron. She felt the monster herself snuggling against her bare back from behind. There was a suspicious lack of clothes underneath her apron. Why was she in an apron? Did Lily kidnap her? Tanya reached down nervously. Okay good¡­ her panties were still there.

    ¡°The fuck?¡± she tried again, slightly louder.

    Tanya watched Patricia, the sexy evil maid, take away Amelia¡¯s book and gently tuck the girl into bed. The Saintess fell asleep immediately and Patricia stared at the closed black book for a while, as if wondering what to do with it. Was it Patricia that kidnapped them? She wasn¡¯t actually evil, was she? Were she and Lily working together? Was this another one of those weird-as-fuck sex dreams?

    ¡°The fuck?¡± Tanya tried for the third time, this time at a normal speaking volume.

    Patricia jumped, ¡°Oh, hi!¡± she said awkwardly.

    Tanya wasn¡¯t going to repeat herself a fourth time. She just stared at Patricia until the awkward silence forced the maid to explain.

    ¡°Some things happened while you were out¡­¡± Patricia began. ¡°There was an attack. The Montagne estate is¡­ everyone else is¡­ gone.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean gone?¡± Tanya didn¡¯t like the tone in her voice when she said the word ¡®gone¡¯.

    ¡°The mansion was destroyed, everyone who was inside is¡­ dead,¡± Patricia¡¯s voice sounded choked. ¡°Lily managed to save you¡­ your friend Danica didn¡¯t make it. Neither did the Lord, the Lady, the young master, or any of the other maids or servants of the estate. There were 36 of us in total¡­¡±

    ¡°This is¡­ if you¡¯re playing a trick on me, it¡¯s time to stop. This isn¡¯t funny.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not a trick. Believe me, I wish it was.¡± Patricia¡¯s voice was quiet, apologetic.

    The maid continued on, explaining the fireball, the prophetic letter, the evil book, the fact that they were the only survivors, Lily¡¯s outburst in the temple, and their current location.

    ¡°Oh, and to make matters worse, I just woke up to catch Amelia in a trance, staring at the unspeakably dangerous demon book for gods know how long. When I talked to her, she sounded pretty screwed up, so I told her to sleep. She might recover with some rest. Or she might not, I don¡¯t know how Verita¡¯s gift works.¡±

    ¡°Is she possessed or something?¡±

    ¡°No, the book is too powerful to host an envy demon. Reading the book fucks with your brain though. If you survive, that is. We can only hope that Amelia¡¯s brain scrambling is temporary. She¡¯s got the backing of a goddess after all; one would think she¡¯d be resistant to demonic mind corruption.¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ shit. This is a lot to process.¡±

    Tanya shifted over and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. Lily made room for her and settled back down next to Tanya¡¯s ear, draping her clawed arm over Tanya¡¯s chest. Tanya lay in silence for a few minutes, staring at the ceiling.

    Danica was dead? Amelia was mindfucked? All their shit was destroyed? This was supposed to be a nice uneventful trip to Dursten, and they hadn¡¯t even reached the mountains yet. The mountains were supposed to be the dangerous part. Tanya turned her head and looked into the demon¡¯s big red eyes.

    ¡°You saved me huh?¡±

    The demon nodded.

    ¡°Thanks.¡±

    Tanya squirmed a bit and raised her arm, wrapping it around Lily¡¯s shoulders. Lily settled into the crook of her arm and snuggled her face into Tanya¡¯s chest, using her tits as a pillow. Lily loved to cuddle, and Tanya supposed this was a suitable reward for the little hell monster. Tanya would never admit it out loud, but she could actually use a good cuddle right now.

    More people died, eh? And once again, Tanya was powerless to stop it. All the training, all the practice, and it still wasn¡¯t enough. Even now, she was still just a helpless little girl. Powerless.

    After ten minutes of snuggling and staring at the ceiling, quietly reflecting on the situation and trying to suppress unpleasant old memories, Tanya finally worked up the nerve to ask her one remaining question, ¡°Why the fuck am I in an apron?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d rather be topless?¡± Patricia, now sitting on her bed, asked with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯d rather have some real clothes.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your size?¡± the maid asked, ¡°I¡¯ll go to the market and buy some supplies. I¡¯ve only got 6 silver pieces left though so don¡¯t expect anything fancy.¡±

    Tanya shared her measurements with the maid, and shared Amelia¡¯s measurements too just in case. Amelia had her robe, but the girl would probably appreciate a change of socks or underwear at some point. She was glad Patricia didn¡¯t ask why she knew Amelia¡¯s measurements. Suffice to say that bathing in the river with Amelia as a teenager was how Tanya discovered she liked girls.

    ¡°Just buy me something cheap,¡± Tanya suggested, ¡°Pants and shirt if possible. I¡¯d appreciate some heavy boots too. Once I¡¯m decent, I can go earn some quick coin for us and then I can pay you back.¡±

    ¡°Quick coin? how?¡± the maid asked.

    ¡°Dunno, I¡¯ll figure something out,¡± Tanya said, with a grin.

    ¡°Whatever,¡± Patricia shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ll leave for the market and get you some clothes. You¡¯re in charge of Amelia while I¡¯m gone. Don¡¯t leave her alone anywhere. If I had to guess, her infernal rambling sounded somewhat slothful in nature.¡±

    Patricia held up the black book, ¡°I¡¯d say that this was the Book of Indulgences. Thankfully, its victims aren¡¯t often dangerous to others, but they have a nasty habit of engaging in self destructive behaviours. She¡¯ll be a danger to herself until she recovers¡­ If she recovers.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll protect her.¡±

    Patricia left the room and closed the door behind her. Leaving the panty-apron clad Tanya alone in the room with a comatose not-quite-possessed Amelia, and a snuggly demon.

    Tanya looked at the cuddle monster clinging to her chest and saw two red eyes watching her back. She reached down at gently patted the demon on the head. Yeah¡­ this might be the single most dangerous creature Tanya had ever seen, but she was still cute. Cuddling with a cute girl was always nice.

    Lily was warm, a much warmer body temperature than a normal girl. She said she didn¡¯t sweat, but there was still a subtle smell to her skin. It was almost spicy. It was strangely alluring, she was definitely giving off pheromones of some kind, despite the lack of sweat. Curious, Tanya moved on from headpats and tapped a fingernail against one of Lily¡¯s horns, making a clicking sound.

    ¡°Can you feel that?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± the demon replied, mumbling into Tanya¡¯s chest.

    Tanya briefly wondered whether Lily¡¯s interest in her chest was sexual, or whether she just found Tanya¡¯s tits comfy. Perhaps both? In any case, Tanya let the demon enjoy her pillows and continued to investigate the horns. They had a rough texture, with small ridges along their length. They felt quite solid.

    Dad was a hunter and, while Tanya was young when he died, she still fondly remembered a few of his lessons. Ram¡¯s horns were hollow inside, weren¡¯t they? These ones didn¡¯t feel hollow, they were like a single solid piece of bone. Tanya supposed that technically made them antlers, rather than horns. Lily still called them horns though, so maybe that distinction didn¡¯t matter to her.

    Whatever they were called, Tanya gently ran her fingers along the black bony surface, only barely grazing it.

    ¡°What about that?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°No, I don¡¯t feel anything.¡±

    This time Tanya grabbed the tip of the horn, sticking out behind Lily¡¯s head, and wiggled it around, causing Lily¡¯s head to move with it.

    ¡°I feel that,¡± Lily grumbled.

    Tanya moved her hand up, feeling around the horn¡¯s base, underneath Lily¡¯s hair. There was a small ridge of skin where the scalp ended, and the horn began. Almost like a cuticle. Tanya gently brushed her fingertip over the ridge and Lily¡¯s entire body twitched.

    ¡°Sensitive!¡± she said in a scolding tone.

    ¡°Oh really?¡± Tanya said, with a devious smile.

    Her hand returned to Lily¡¯s scalp and she gently ran a finger along the horn¡¯s circumference. Lily carefully kept her face blank, stubbornly pretending like she didn¡¯t feel anything, but Tanya could see the occasional small twitches in Lily¡¯s legs. After a minute or two of torture, a strange sound escaped from Lily¡¯s mouth, halfway between a whimper and a lewd moan.

    Tanya grinned devilishly, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is an erogenous zone for you¡­¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it was¡­¡± Lily mumbled, burying her face deeper in Tanya chest.

    Tanya freed her snuggling arm, and grabbed on to the other horn, mirroring the same movement over both hands. Lily groaned into Tanya¡¯s chest. Tanya was grinning like a madwoman. She found a weak spot and she was going to exploit the fuck out of it.

    Tanya spent the next half hour teasing Lily, gently running her fingers across Lily¡¯s scalp and down her back. It turned out that, yes, those cuticle-like horn ridge thingies were the most sensitive, but Lily¡¯s entire scalp was quite responsive in general. This little slut would go crazy from having her hair pulled. The demon completely melted when Tanya gave her a scalp massage, though in this case it was a more innocent sort of pleasure.

    Massages didn¡¯t get the lewd kind of moans out of Lily. To do that, Tanya had to tease Lily gently, only barely touching her skin. She kept one hand playing with Lily¡¯s scalp, and the other hand was slowly tracing its way down Lily¡¯s spine. Tanya noticed the demon subtly shift her position, straddling Tanya¡¯s leg, and not-so-subtly grinding her pussy against Tanya¡¯s thigh.

    Tanya suddenly grabbed both of Lily¡¯s horns, and, much to the demon¡¯s annoyance, wiggled her head around. Lily didn¡¯t like this much. It was another wonderful discovery Tanya made today, an excellent way to playfully annoy the demon.

    ¡°Hey Lily,¡± Tanya teased, ¡°Are you horny?¡±

    Lily finally unburied her face from Tanya¡¯s chest and pouted adorably as Tanya wiggled her head from side to side.

    ¡°Heh, get it? Horny?¡±

    Lily groaned in absolute misery, ¡°Not funny¡­¡±

    Tanya maintained her sadistic grin. She thought it was funny.

    The torture was suddenly interrupted by a loud knocking sound at the door. Tanya stopped teasing the demon and let go of her horns.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Tanya asked curtly. She didn¡¯t want to be bothered right now.

    ¡°This is Inqusitior Dawkins, I¡¯m here to speak with Saintess Amelia Voss.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s not feeling well right now, can you come back later?¡± Tanya asked. Not to mention that I¡¯m still dressed like a maid-fetish prostitute in a discount brothel, she grumbled quietly to herself.

    Tanya heard no reply other than the sound of a key going into the lock, and the door latch opening.

    <hr>

    Amelia woke up to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Her eyes were blurry, her brain was foggy, and her head hurt like someone was crushing it in a vise while simultaneously smashing it with a hammer. What in the infinite Abyss happened?

    ¡°This is Inqusitior Dawkins, I¡¯m here to speak with Saintess Amelia Voss,¡± the voice on the other side of the door announced.

    What? an Inqusitor? Here? What was going on? Tanya and Lily were shuffling around, disentangling themselves from their snuggle. Amelia sat up, continuing to hold her head, something was nagging at the back of her mind, but she couldn¡¯t remember. A key went into the door, and the latch opened.

    The door opened and a tall man, well over six feet, walked into the room. He wore white armor, embellished with a golden trim. He had a single-handed arming sword on his belt and a shield slung across his back. He was not wearing a helmet so Amelia could see his broad face. The man had blue eyes and blond hair. He had a friendly smile on his face, but his eyes were alert and calculating. He kept his sword arm free, ready to react, and in his off-hand, he carried a black ball of polished obsidian glass.

    ¡°Don¡¯t just invite yourself in, asshole,¡± grumbled Tanya, still clad only in panties and an apron.

    Dawkins glanced at Tanya as she spoke, but his eyes immediately refocused on Lily. Amelia¡¯s groggy eyes popped open. Inquisitors were Holy Knights of Judicast, the God of Valor. They were monster hunters, equipped to deal with the worst threats to mortal civilization. Their only job, pretty much, was to find and kill monsters like Lily. This was bad.

    The Inquisitor stretched out the arm that was clutching the black orb, and spoke, ¡°Command Demon: Sit down and don¡¯t move.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    The stone shone with a red light, and a small ripple of magic pulsed through the air. Lily, who had been halfway to her feet, hesitated, before sitting down on the bed. She stared at the man in¡­ was she confused? Amelia¡¯s head still hurt.

    ¡°Hold on! Lily¡¯s friendly,¡± Amelia called out, hoping to avoid a confrontation.

    ¡°Saintess Amelia, so the rumors were true¡­ Tell me, why are you consorting with demons?¡±

    ¡°Are you going to get the fuck out or not?¡± Tanya interrupted. The Inquisitor ignored her.

    ¡°Everyone shut up for a minute!¡± Amelia massaged her aching temples, ¡°Sir¡­ Dawkins was it? I¡¯ll be happy to explain everything, just give me a few minutes to wake up. Is there a better place to talk?¡±

    ¡°Normally I wouldn¡¯t allow it,¡± the Inqusitor said, ¡°but in your case, I can just ask. Are you or your demon planning on escaping or destroying evidence while my back is turned?¡±

    ¡°No, I just honestly feel like crap and need some time to get this headache under control,¡± Amelia replied.

    ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll give you time to collect yourself, and I¡¯ll ask the innkeeper for a private space where we can talk. I¡¯ll meet you downstairs in fifteen minutes. Bring your demon with you.¡±

    The Inquisitor held up the stone again. Just like before, there was a red light and a pulse of magic, ¡°Command Demon: You can move again, but don¡¯t try to escape or attack anyone.¡±

    Lily stayed where she was, watching the inquisitor carefully.

    The Inquisitor left the room and closed the door. Heavy armored footsteps walked away and down the hall. Amelia sat back on the bed and continued to massage her temples in silence. Tanya pulled the blanket off one of the beds and slung it around her shoulders before sitting on the bed next to Lily. Lily tapped her foot impatiently, occasionally glancing towards the door.

    After half a minute of silence, the demon spoke, ¡°Should I kill him?¡±

    ¡°No, Lily, that would be bad.¡± Amelia replied immediately.

    ¡°What if he attacks us?¡±

    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t do that. He probably just wants to know more about the explosion last night. Remember, we only need your claws if words fail.¡±

    ¡°The fight is less dangerous if I strike before he¡¯s prepared,¡± Lily looked visibly annoyed at being denied her chance to pre-emptively strike. ¡°That sword is Demonbane, I won¡¯t risk my life for nothing.¡±

    ¡°Words first.¡± Amelia repeated firmly.

    The conversation went silent and Amelia continued to massage her head for a few more minutes. The pain was slowly going away.

    ¡°What the fluff happened before I fell asleep? My memory is bit foggy.¡±

    This time Tanya spoke, ¡°You fell into some sort of weird trance while reading your mysterious evil demon book. Patricia said it was the Book of Indulgences, does that mean anything to you?¡±

    ¡°Sloth¡­¡± Amelia said thoughtfully. The infernal words came to her mouth, unbidden, ¡°Everything is dust¡­¡±

    ¡°The fuck does that mean?¡±

    Amelia tried to remember, but thinking about it made her headache worse, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ nevermind.¡±

    The Saintess¡¯ eyes suddenly shot open, she remembered something, ¡°The shadow¡­ Did you see a shadow?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen lots of shadows¡­ which one are you talking about?¡± Tanya¡¯s confusion was apparent.

    Amelia jumped to her feet and looked around the room. Did she imagine it? No, she literally couldn¡¯t hallucinate. Her eyes always saw the Truth. Suddenly terrified she checked every corner while two pairs of confused eyes watched her.

    After a few seconds of watching Amelia¡¯s frantic searching, Lily pointed at Amelia¡¯s bed, ¡°Magic aura there.¡±

    When she saw it, she shrieked and leaped onto the unused bed across from where she¡¯d been sleeping. The darkness underneath her former bed was¡­ darker. Two milky white eyes opened, staring at her. The shadow crept out from under the bed as a shapeless blob, and once out in the open, it slowly morphed back into the shape of a shadowy man.

    He was tall and slender. His torso was the size of a normal human, but thanks to his freakishly long limbs he towered over everyone else in the room. He was as tall as the ceiling and he had to hunch over to avoid bumping his head.

    He seemed to be made entirely of shadow. The edges of his body were vague and undefined like a cloud of swirling smoke. Amelia could just barely make out the shape of her former bed behind his semi-transparent body.

    The shadowy man¡¯s face was completely blank and featureless aside from his milky white eyes. Those eyes were the only part of his body that seemed solid and ¡®real.¡¯ The shadowy man leaned forwards, and slowly sat down on Amelia¡¯s former bed, sitting with his knees together, resting his hands together politely on his lap.

    Trembling slightly, Amelia pointed at the shadow. ¡°T-That¡­¡±

    Tanya looked at her friend like she was crazy. Lily stood and walked over to the shadow man. She walked inside the shadow, seemingly without noticing, and poked at Amelia¡¯s bed, while smelling the air.

    ¡°Can¡¯t see or smell anything¡­¡± the demon girl said, ¡°but I can feel the magic aura. It¡¯s a demon¡­ feels familiar.¡±

    ¡°Y-You¡¯re inside it¡­¡± Amelia said, still pointing at the shadow man.

    The shadow man ignored Lily and continued to patiently watch Amelia with his hands clasped over his lap. He didn¡¯t seem to mind being pointed at and walked through. He was just sitting there, quietly watching Amelia freak out at him. He didn¡¯t seem aggressive at least¡­

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Amelia asked the shadow.

    ¡°Lily?¡± Lily replied, looking slightly confused. The shadow said nothing.

    Realizing that her fifteen minutes were up, Amelia got to her feet again. Everything was dust, Danica was dead, all her stuff was gone, she was about to be questioned by an Inquisitor, apparently, she was being stalked by another demon, but at least her evil book induced headache was mostly gone. Hooray?

    ¡°Nobody cause any trouble while I¡¯m gone¡­¡± Amelia told the room in general, ¡°That includes you too Mister Shadow¡­ whoever you are¡­¡±

    As Amelia went to the door, Tanya stood and stopped her, ¡°Hey Amy, I think I should go with you. You¡¯re not feeling well and I¡¯m not sure you should be alone right now.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine Tanya, this isn¡¯t an interrogation or anything, he just wants to ask some questions,¡± Amelia said dismissively. ¡°I actually asked him for a private place to talk so you wouldn¡¯t have to stand around in your underwear with a strange man in the room. It¡¯s not a big deal, I expect we¡¯ll be back up here in a few minutes.¡±

    ¡°You actually believe that, don¡¯t you?¡± Tanya said, astonished.

    ¡°Yeah?¡± Amelia replied.

    ¡°You¡¯re too na?ve, Amy.¡±

    Amelia gently nudged Tanya out of the way so she could pass, ¡°Look, I don¡¯t want to have this conversation right now. I feel like crap, I don¡¯t have the energy to argue with you. Just let me talk to this stupid inquisitor and get him out of my hair.¡±

    Tanya sighed, ¡°Fine, do what you want. If things go to shit, don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you.¡±

    Tanya and the Shadow watched her leave the room. Amelia walked down the stairs into the tavern with Lily following closely behind her. The tavern was mostly empty at this time of day and Sir Dawkins was waiting for her at the bar. When she approached, the man gestured to a door behind the bar.

    ¡°The inn¡¯s proprietor, Nedry, told me that we can use his special meeting room. Apparently, it has soundproofing runes and everything. He didn¡¯t say why he had a suspicious room like this, but since he¡¯s being so helpful, I¡¯ve been polite enough not to ask him any questions about it.¡±

    Amelia and Lily followed him through the door behind the bar, through a storage room filled with various casks of ale, and past another door. The small dark room beyond it was deathly quiet. All the background noise of the town outside vanished as she entered. There was a round wooden table in the center of the shadowy room. The inquisitor took one chair, and Amelia and Lily sat beside each other, opposite the inquisitor.

    Inquisitor Dawkins placed his elbows on the table, and rested his chin on his hands, he took out the orb again, and placed it on the table, ¡°Command Demon: Stay seated as you are, and answer all my questions honestly.¡±

    Once again, there was a red flash and a pulse of magical energy that seemed to have no obvious effect. The Inquisitor left the stone on the table. Amelia gave him an annoyed glare. He was obviously using some sort of mind control artifact on Lily, stealing away her free will. That annoyed the Saintess, but at least it seemed to only be temporary.

    ¡°Now then, what can you tell me about last night?¡± the Inquisitor asked.

    Amelia answered first, ¡°I was outside, receiving a letter from a messenger when a huge ball of green fire appeared in the sky and crashed down into the mansion. I was far enough away from the blast for me, and the maid accompanying me to survive. Lily noticed the attack too, and managed to carry Tanya, the black haired woman you saw, away from the explosion. As far as I know, we¡¯re the only survivors.¡±

    ¡°Lily the demon?¡± The inquisitor gestured to Lily, apparently confused by the cute name.

    ¡°Yes, Lilizath, I call her Lily as a nickname.¡±

    ¡°Right,¡± the Inquisitor glanced at the demon skeptically.

    Amelia continued, ¡°I spoke with the surviving maid, Patricia, who also happens to be a mage. She told me that the spell used to destroy the mansion was a Fireball modified with Witchfire, and that only an extremely powerful mage would have been able to cast it.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with Witchfire,¡± the Inquisitor admitted, ¡°Where is this maid now? I¡¯d like to speak with her directly.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s out shopping, she¡¯ll be back later today.¡±

    The inquisitor took a second to consider his next question, ¡°Have you had any encounters with the organization known as the Children of Kair Tarost? As I understand it, they¡¯re a dark elven gang operating in these parts. As I understand it, they¡¯re demon worshippers, hence my involvement.¡±

    Both girls shook their heads no.

    ¡°Did you receive any threats or demands from any other parties?¡±

    Again, the girls shook their heads. Amelia interrupted the Inquisitor¡¯s next question, ¡°I¡¯m not sure I was the target. Earlier that day, I met a fugitive mage named Elias Bigby. He told me that he discovered a conspiracy and was wrongfully convicted of treason in order to keep him silent. He was staying at the mansion that night.¡±

    Amelia told the Inquisitor what Elias told her, about how Elias¡¯ former master was sacrificing children and storing their souls in gems.

    ¡°There might be a connection there,¡± Amelia said.

    ¡°Unlikely,¡± the Inquisitor replied. ¡°The Children of Kair Tarost already claimed responsibility for the attack and they have no connections in the capital.¡±

    Amelia carefully hid her surprise. The Inquisitor lied. Well, it didn¡¯t feel like a full lie, but it was a deliberate obfuscation of the Truth. He didn¡¯t lie about the elven gang claiming responsibility, that seemed to be true enough, but he did lie about Elias¡¯ conspiracy being an unlikely motivation for the attack. That was interesting¡­ Amelia decided to not mention anything yet.

    The Inquisitor turned his attention to the demon, ¡°So Lilizath, how did you know about the attack? Amelia survived by chance, but you supposedly had enough warning to flee. Did somebody tell you it was going to happen? Were you in contact with the Children?¡±

    ¡°No, I felt the magic and then I jumped out the window.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ but you¡¯re not a mage, a normal demon shouldn¡¯t be able to¡­¡± the Inqusitor interrupted his own thoughts, ¡°Actually¡­ What kind of demon are you? You¡¯re not one I recognize.¡±

    ¡°Part succubus, part archfiend, maybe gluttony? I don¡¯t know the rest,¡± the demon replied with a shrug.

    The Inquisitor froze, raising his eyebrows in surprise for an instant before regaining his composure. It was a tiny reaction that Amelia didn¡¯t fail to notice. He stared at Lily for a few seconds, thinking carefully.

    ¡°Where did you come from, Lily? And how did you end up in the Saintess¡¯ company?¡±

    Lily told the story of how she met Amelia. She described waking up inside a magical force field, being attacked by inquisitors, killing one, being wounded, and how the archfiend Z¡¯Kraugh ignored his geas, escaped captivity and rampaged through the tower, slaughtering every man inside, demolishing the structure down to its last brick.

    This was new information to Amelia. She fought the urge to smash her own face against the table. Stupid! Why hadn¡¯t she asked Lily about this herself? She assumed Lily had been summoned like a normal demon, and somehow got loose from her summoner¡¯s control. That obviously wasn¡¯t the case.

    Lily escaped from some sort of magical facility, guarded by no less than eight Inquisitors. She was involved in something big. The Inquisitor thought so too, he failed to keep his perfectly blank face, occasionally reacting with obvious interest as Lily told the story.

    Lily continued the story of wandering through the woods and meeting Amelia while she was tied up. There were no more surprises. Amelia kept a close eye on the Inquisitor¡¯s reactions the entire time, but he didn¡¯t seem as interested in hearing this part of the story.

    When Lily finished, the Inquisitor took a moment to digest the information. So did Amelia.

    ¡°What¡¯s this tower?¡± the Saintess asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s an Imperial secret. If you don¡¯t know already, I can¡¯t tell you,¡± the knight replied.

    ¡°Is the tower related to Elias¡¯ supposed conspiracy?¡± Amelia asked, with a slight smile.

    Inquisitor Dawkins made a tiny gesture of denial, shaking his head only a tiny bit before abruptly stopping himself from showing any reaction, ¡°Imperial secret. I can¡¯t tell you,¡± he said.

    Unfortunately for Sir Dawkins, he¡¯d accidentally told Amelia what she wanted to know. His tiny subconscious gesture of denial was enough for Amelia to know it was dishonest. According to what the Inquisitor knew, the tower was connected to Elias¡¯ story.

    ¡°Were the soul gems Elias discovered used by the people in the tower as part of Lily¡¯s summoning?¡± Amelia asked. It was a bit of a stab in the dark, but Amelia could ask more questions by observing the Inquisitor¡¯s reaction.

    The Inquisitor was taken aback slightly, but hid his surprise underneath a veneer of annoyance, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t make up ridiculous theories.¡±

    Not technically a lie, but it was a deliberate deflection. His statement was technically true, but in context it still implied Amelia¡¯s theory was ridiculous. That was a lie, he didn¡¯t consider this theory to be ridiculous at all. It seemed the Inquisitor still hadn¡¯t caught on to the true nature of Amelia¡¯s powers yet.

    A normal truthfinding spell could be defeated by speaking in half-truths, lies of omission, and obfuscations, but Amelia¡¯s gifts were far more powerful. The words themselves didn¡¯t matter, Amelia¡¯s power was closer to mind reading. She could notice the intention to hide the Truth. There was no way to trick it deliberately. She could even tell how certain someone was of what they were saying, whether it was a vague recollection prone to errors, or something perfectly remembered.

    ¡°Do you actually know who destroyed the mansion?¡± Amelia asked, giving the Inquisitor a cold glare.

    ¡°It could be one of the Children of Kair Tarost. Perhaps one of them is a powerful mage,¡± the Inquisitor replied.

    ¡°Liar.¡± Amelia¡¯s icy voice struck the Inquisitor like a slap in the face. ¡°Who killed my friend Danica? You know, don¡¯t you?¡±

    The meeting room went silent, as Amelia and Sir Dawkins glared at each other. The Inquisitor was the first to break eye contact.

    ¡°Sorry, I honestly don¡¯t know who did it,¡± the Inquisitor finally said. His voice was quiet, slightly ashamed. At least this statement was genuinely true.

    Amelia continued her questioning, ¡°You responded to this attack rather quickly, were you in the area? Investigating something else?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not going to tell you that,¡± the Inquisitor replied.

    ¡°Were you sent here to investigate what happened to the tower?¡± Amelia asked.

    Sir Dawkins remained silent, glowering at Amelia. He stopped being careless, too bad.

    ¡°In any case, I think I¡¯ve heard enough for now,¡± the Inquisitor said, returning to his professional tone. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to have to arrest you on charges of consorting with demons.¡±

    ¡°Wait what?¡± Amelia asked, shocked.

    ¡°You¡¯re under arrest,¡± the Inquisitor repeated slowly. ¡°You¡¯ll return with me to the capital, and you¡¯ll get a fair trial, but I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to confiscate your pet demon.¡±

    ¡°Hold on,¡± Amelia said, raising her hand in a placating gesture, ¡°I wasn¡¯t consorti-¡±

    Amelia couldn¡¯t finish her sentence. In a blur of movement, the heavy wooden table flipped over. It crashed against the still-seated inquisitor and knocked him to the ground. The surprised man landed flat on his back and the table teetered over, landing upside down on top of him. Lily didn¡¯t hesitate. She pounced on the table, crushing the Inqusitor against the floor with her considerable weight.

    Despite the weight of five ¡®Amelias¡¯ and one table on his chest, the astonishingly strong Inquisitor managed to push back, shifting the table as he began to squirm out from underneath. Lily didn¡¯t give him that chance. She thrust her claws through the wooden table, stabbing the man underneath. She stabbed again, and again. The vicious attacks were blind and inaccurate, but she continued her unrelenting assault, punching countless holes through the wood.

    Small spurts of blood squirted through the table¡¯s holes. More blood pooled on the tiled stone floor, leaking out from under the table. Amelia remained in her seat the entire time, frozen in shock as Lily ensured her victim was thoroughly dead. A sinister, sadistic grin sullied the formerly cute demon girl¡¯s face as the sound of cracking wood and wet squishing filled the soundproofed chamber.

    After the brutality was over, Lily leaned back, still sitting on the table, and licked the blood off her claws with nightmarish ecstasy on her face.

    ¡°Lily, you killed him!¡± Amelia exclaimed.

    ¡°Mmm¡­ I know,¡± the demon¡¯s voice sounded sultry, almost a moan. It had a sexual edge that made Amelia¡¯s skin crawl.

    ¡°You murdered a holy knight in cold blood!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Lily placed one of the bloodied claws in her mouth and sucked on it suggestively.

    ¡°This was a peaceful conversation. We could have still talked things over, cleared up the misunderstanding! Now he¡¯s dead.¡±

    Amelia stood up, pulled on her hair, and paced around the room. Everything was out of control. Amelia''s throughts were fuzzy. Lily was going around murdering people. Amelia was now accessory to the murder of a holy knight. There was a creepy shadow thing upstairs. The stupid book fucked with her brain and gave her headaches. Even now, her head was throbbing. Everybody was dead except for Tanya, who was still naked. There was no money left. Danica was dead. Everything was dust!

    Everything was out of control, and Lily was making it worse. All of the chaos she stirred up¡­ Amelia had to fix it now. She had to fight back against the chaos, take back control.

    ¡°Lily, we¡¯re done. You murdered somebody. You can¡¯t follow me anymore.¡±

    The satisfied demon froze with a claw in her mouth, mid lick. The sadistic ecstasy drained away from her face in an instant, replaced with shock and disbelief.

    ¡°You murdered a human¡­ an important one. He didn¡¯t attack you first,¡± Amelia explained. ¡°Once the guards find out what you did, they¡¯ll all attack you on sight. You won¡¯t be welcome around humans anymore. I¡­ I need to take responsibility. I need to fix this, and I can¡¯t do that if you¡¯re here. You need to leave.¡±

    ¡°But I want to stay with you,¡± Lily said, in a quiet, pained voice.

    There was sadness in the demon girl¡¯s voice. It was genuine. That¡­ was not a demonic emotion, yet another way that Lily was different than the rest. Amelia choked down her own urge to cry.

    ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± she said, refusing the look Lily in the eye. ¡°We could have still solved this with words, but you killed him instead. So go, now, before the guards catch you.¡±

    Amelia pointed to the door. She caught a brief glimpse of tears in Lily¡¯s eyes, another impossibility for a demon. Lily looked like she was going to refuse, but then her face hardened, and she obeyed Amelia¡¯s demand. The demon girl turned around and walked through the door.

    When Amelia was sure Lily was gone, she fell to her knees, and sobbed quietly.

 17 - A Quiet Moment

    Patricia Thalassa, former demonologist, former pyromancer, former murderer for hire, and now, former maid, walked down the street. Her high heeled shoes, part of the maid uniform and currently her only shoes, clicked against the cobblestone as she walked.

    She was carrying a white linen shirt, a pair of dark grey trousers, and a pair of brown leather, steel toed boots. The pants and shirt were cheap, but Tanya¡¯s boots cost more than she¡¯d hoped. In total, Tanya¡¯s outfit was 4 silver, leaving her only 2 silver and some change in her coin purse. Patricia decided not to buy anything else for the time being.

    Tanya said she wanted to earn money. Patricia was skeptical, but with Tanya clothed she¡¯d be able to do her thing. They could buy more supplies if her plan succeeded. If not, Patricia could always come out of retirement and ask for another contract.

    As she approached the Tarnished Blade, Patricia¡¯s jaw dropped. She stopped and stared at the scene. One of Tanya¡¯s boots slipped out of her hand, clattering on the cobblestone road.

    Amelia was walking down the street, arms shackled together in front of her, surrounded by guards in a humiliating parody of a parade. The Saintess¡¯ eyes were glued to the ground in shame. Captain Richter walked at the front of the procession, completely failing to hide his smug smile.

    ¡°What in the name of Thule¡¯s swinging cock do you think you¡¯re doing Maurice?¡± Patricia scolded. There was nothing wrong with his first name, but the Captain was self conscious about it for some reason, so Patricia liked to use that against him whenever she caught him doing something unbelievably stupid.

    ¡°Arresting a criminal, Patricia,¡± Captain Maurice Richter spat back. He was trying to mimic Patricia¡¯s snarky tone, but it didn¡¯t work on her, she happened to like her name.

    ¡°On what charges?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t need to tell you, citizen.¡±

    The shape appeared in Patricia¡¯s mind. It was an old memory, warm and nostalgic, but tainted by the sounds of screams, and the smells of burning flesh. A ball of supernaturally hot swirling blue flames appeared in her hand.

    ¡°I¡¯m not feeling very patient right now, Maurice.¡±

    Maurice glanced nervously at the flame for an instant, before his cocky expression returned. ¡°Attacking an officer of the watch in broad daylight? You wouldn¡¯t dare,¡± he announced confidently.

    She wouldn¡¯t dare? The peaceful life she built for herself, her friends, her family, her safe place, her fresh start, her redemption¡­ all of it burned away. What was left? Her magic. Fire and death, and nothing more. That¡¯s all she was now. What was left to stop her? Why shouldn¡¯t she just set the world on fire? The power was right there at her fingertips, itching for release.

    The Captain must have seen something in Patricia¡¯s eyes, because he quickly changed his mind about what Patricia would dare, or not dare to do.

    Holding onto his pride, the Captain managed to roll his eyes, but he answered the question, ¡°Accessory to the murder of an inquisitor, aiding a fugitive, and consorting with demons.¡±

    Patricia drew the mana back from the Fireball spell she was holding, and the swirling flames dissipated. Her mind raced. Murdering an inquisitor didn¡¯t make sense, but aiding a fugitive, that was probably the smelly Elias guy. Consorting with demons¡­ that was obviously Lily.

    Patricia knew the dangers of demonkind firsthand. Greater demons weren¡¯t just strong, they were old, and cunning. A few well placed words could destroy civilizations. Making it illegal to speak with demons was a reasonable measure.

    What wasn¡¯t reasonable was the exceptions to that rule. Certain demonologists were given permission to keep demonic familiars. Supposedly these ¡®special case individuals¡¯ were judged to be resistant to demonic influence, which was obviously bullshit. Interestingly enough, these special cases were almost always humans, and never dark elves or other nonhumans. It was mostly mages that were rich enough to bribe the right people, or influential enough to intimidate the right people. Ironically, the only person who would stand a change at seeing through a demon¡¯s lies, and truly resisting demonic influence, was Amelia.

    ¡°That¡¯s all bullshit and you know it.¡± Patricia finally said.

    ¡°She broke the law, she admitted it, and we¡¯re locking her up until her trial. Normally, for those of higher status, the Lord would make a judgement, but Amelia¡¯s demon buddies killed the lord. She¡¯ll have to wait until a proper noble judge can come from the capital.¡±

    ¡°You know it wasn¡¯t a demon that did this right?¡±

    ¡°And how would you know?¡±

    ¡°Witchfire.¡±

    ¡°Is that supposed to mean something to me?¡±

    Patricia clenched her fists. This thick skulled moron¡­ ¡°When investigating a magical assassination, the first fucking thing you should be asking, is ¡®what spell did they use?¡¯ Clearly you didn¡¯t do that, because demons don¡¯t fucking use Witchfire. This was a mortal mage.¡±

    ¡°And why would I believe you? The Inquisitor said it was the Children of Kair Tarost, your demon worshipping kin. Obviously they summoned a demon to do it.¡±

    ¡°Those idiots could barely start a campfire, let alone cast a high tier spell. They couldn¡¯t conjure a demon powerful enough to bypass those wards.¡±

    ¡°Aha!¡± the Captain said triumphantly, ¡°You¡¯re defending them! Typical dark elf¡­¡±

    ¡°Aargh! Fuck it! I don¡¯t care,¡± Patricia couldn''t take it anymore. She walked away from the idiot in a huff, desperately resisting the urge to reduce the smarmy little bigot to ash.

    Amelia stared down at the cobblestone, hunched over, avoiding eye contact as Patricia passed. ¡°We¡¯ll figure something out,¡± the dark elf whispered. Amelia gave no response.

    Patricia let the procession pass, bent down to pick up Tanya¡¯s dropped boot, and continued on to the inn.

    <hr>

    ¡°What did you say?¡± came a growling voice.

    Patricia walked inside the Inn and saw the disturbance.

    ¡°Patricia can you help me here?¡± the soft spoken voice of Nedrithel came from behind the bar.

    ¡°What did you fucking say to me?¡± Tanya¡¯s voice growled louder.

    A scruffy looking young man cowered in terror, dangling helplessly. Tanya, clad only in her panties and a frilly maid apron, held him up by his collar. The other men in the tavern were watching the scene with amused smirks on their faces.

    ¡°I-I said you had a nice¡­ uhm¡­ posterior¡­¡± the scruffy man whimpered.

    ¡°Did I ask for your fucking opinion on my ass?¡±

    ¡°N-no Ma¡¯am¡±

    Patricia walked up to the angry woman. ¡°Hey sugar, nice ass.¡±

    Without moving her body, Tanya¡¯s head turned to face Patricia. The intimidating glare quickly changed into a friendly smile.

    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯m quite proud of it. You¡¯re not half bad yourself¡­¡± The smiling girl said, still holding the man off the ground by his collar.

    ¡°W-why does she-¡± the terrified man started to ask.

    ¡°Because she¡¯s hotter than you.¡± Tanya replied, returning to her low, menacing growl.

    ¡°O-Okay¡­¡±

    ¡°Hey Tanya, stop bullying the guy, and come upstairs with me, we¡¯ve got some things to talk about.¡± Patricia decided to step in and end the fun.

    Patricia walked by and started climbing the stairs to the room. She heard a thump of man hitting the ground, and Tanya¡¯s soft barefoot footsteps following her upstairs.

    They reached their room and closed the door behind them. Patricia handed the clothes to Tanya, and Tanya immediately started changing.

    ¡°So¡­¡± Patricia began, ¡°I saw Amelia outside, being marched down the street like a criminal. What the fuck happened?¡±

    ¡°An Inquisitor came to visit, wanted to talk to Amelia and Lily. They went off to some secret room to talk without me. The next thing I knew, the inquisitor was dead, Amelia lost her mind, confessed to a bunch of bullshit charges, and turned herself in to the guards. I was left here by myself in my underwear. And oh yeah, there¡¯s apparently an invisible demon lurking in our room.¡±

    Patricia looked over her shoulder nervously.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it was Amelia¡¯s weirdness or not, but Lily seemed to take her seriously,¡± Tanya said, passing the maid apron back to the maid.

    Patricia concentrated on a spell and saw a shimmer of mana sparkle over her vision.

    ¡°Woah, freaky,¡± Tanya commented.

    Patricia smiled. The spell made her eyes glow blue. By sheer coincidence it was the exact same colour as her fire. She loved this spell for that reason alone and used to be in the habit of casting it on herself regularly, even when she didn¡¯t need to. Of course, it wasn¡¯t pure vanity, it had a practical purpose too.

    ¡°Arcane Sight, it¡¯s like a weaker version of Amelia¡¯s eyes. It lets me detect magical auras and see through magical illusions,¡± Patricia explained.

    The elf scanned the room. There was no demon to be seen. ¡°Nothing here,¡± she said.

    ¡°So, Amelia was just being crazy?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Maybe, maybe not,¡± Patricia replied. ¡°Did she describe what she saw?¡±

    ¡°Uuh¡­ a shadow, shaped like a man. He apparently sat on the bed watching us and didn¡¯t react. Lily walked through him, felt his aura, and said he was a demon. Other than that, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Invisible and incorporeal, so Sloth or Envy¡­¡± Patricia muttered. ¡°It didn¡¯t attack or try to possess anyone, and its true appearance looked like a shadow? So, Sloth then. Probably.¡±

    ¡°Sloth demon?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, probably a Witness,¡± Patricia said. ¡°What was Amelia doing when he appeared?¡±

    ¡°I think she saw him when you were here, right after she read the book.¡± Tanya explained.

    ¡°Silent Witness of Blasphemy. Lucky her. Witness demons are nearly impossible to track and kill, and we have no idea how many of them have infiltrated the mortal plane, but as demons go, they¡¯re mostly harmless. They¡¯re the eyes and ears of Demon Lord Occulith. He never exerts his power on the mortal plane, but he likes to watch things happen. Apparently having his book read by a mortal was interesting enough to Witness.¡±

    Patricia suddenly stopped, and looked around again, ¡°Speaking of blasphemy¡­ where¡¯s Lily?¡±

    Tanya scratched her head awkwardly, ¡°Uhh¡­ she ran off. Amelia, in her mindfucked state, apparently told her to go away after she killed the Inquisitor. She took off before I noticed the chaos downstairs. I have no idea where she went.¡±

    ¡°That stupid little¡­¡± Patricia buried her face in her palm and paced around the room. ¡°Amelia¡¯s solution to Lily attacking someone is to say ¡®not my problem¡¯? What¡­ Is she going to let the absolutely worthless town guard handle the Inquisitor-killing Greater Demon? Stupid girl¡­ it¡¯s probably just the Book¡¯s influence on her, but she shouldn¡¯t be making these kinds of decisions when she¡¯s impaired. Fuck, I don¡¯t even know if I could kill Lily if I needed to. She¡¯s immune to fire, and lightning could stun her, maybe tear a muscle or two, but she¡¯d be immune to the heat component of the attack. Those are my two strongest elements, by the way. I¡¯d be stuck using lower tier combat spells.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯d attack us.¡± Tanya said.

    ¡°She¡¯s a demon, of course she would.¡± Patricia said flatly.

    ¡°She likes us.¡±

    ¡°She liked us,¡± Patricia corrected. ¡°And now we¡¯ve slighted her. We can¡¯t assume she¡¯ll still be friendly next time we see her.¡±

    Patricia suddenly stopped pacing and stared in horror at the corner of the room. Something was missing. Something important.

    ¡°Tanya¡­ where¡¯s the Book?¡±

    <hr>

    The demon¡¯s foot embedded itself in its target with a crack. Lilizath drew her foot back and kicked again. There was another crack. The third kick resulted in a louder crunching noise, followed by creaking and snapping as the tree toppled over. Finally, there was a crash as the tree landed on the forest floor.

    ¡°Stupid humans,¡± the demon grumbled.

    The tree was just the latest in a long line of recent victims of the demon¡¯s wrath. Lilizath had felled 14 trees, and killed 17 animals, three of which were too shredded to even bother eating.

    Lilizath hadn¡¯t broken her word. ''Against a real threat, I will show no mercy,'' she¡¯d told Amelia that when she demanded to follow the little blonde woman to the town. Inquisitors were a real threat. This wasn¡¯t a normal human. The Inquisitor said he was going to capture her, that was enough to warrant an attack. Lilizath didn¡¯t have the luxury of waiting for the Inquisitor to stand up and draw his sword. The pre-emptive strike was the only safe move.

    She was still curious about what the little black ball was, and why it didn¡¯t affect her. The Inquisitor seemed to think Lilizath needed to follow his orders if he used the ball to say them. Lilizath let him believe that, and the idiot let his guard down, giving her the perfect opportunity to attack. Still, the man wouldn¡¯t be an Inquisitor if he was completely stupid, she had to assume that it would work on other demons. What was different about her?

    Lilizath looked over her shoulder at the town in the distance. She debated going back, seeing Tanya again. No, Tanya would just tell her to go away too. Amelia was the accepting one, and she was the one who sent Lilizath away. She had to face reality. She was a demon.

    Lilizath looked at the long line of smashed trees. Playing pretend was fun, but this was what she was. She was a destroyer. A predator, not a prey. Just like in the story books, she was the wolf, and humans were the sheep.

    It was a shame that sheep were so soft and cuddly¡­

    Lilizath looked ahead again. Back to the original plan, survive and grow. The humans could stay in their town, doing their stupid human things. She still had some mass to gain back. No sense wasting her energy felling trees. She¡¯d focus on hunting for now.

    Moving on from the demolished forest, Lilizath VekxZ¡¯Kraugh went off in search of meat.

    <hr>

    Amelia sat in her cell, watching the sunset. She had certain preconceptions about dungeons, so she was pleasantly surprised by her current accommodations.

    The cell was up on the second floor of the guard barracks¡¯ keep, and it was closer to a bedroom than a dingy dungeon cell. There were no rats, wall manacles, echoing screams or whatever dungeons were supposed to have. It was a small room, with a straw stuffed bed almost as comfy as the one in the Tarnished Blade. There was a desk and a chair. The walls were a pleasant painted stone. She even had a window looking down on the courtyard so she could watch the men sparring with each other outside.

    The only thing that made it a ¡°cell¡± and not a guest room was the heavy iron-reinforced door barring the exit and the wrought iron bars across the open window. Amelia assumed most other ¡°guests¡± of the town watch weren¡¯t given such a nice cell. She supposed this was one of the perks of being a Saintess. She was getting the VIP prisoner treatment.

    With nothing better to do, Amelia reflected on her day.

    Ugh¡­ how did everything spiral out of control so badly. The original plan was, ¡®travel to Dursten.¡¯ Somewhere along the way, that turned into domesticating a demon, unravelling a conspiracy, reading an ominous sounding prophecy, surviving an explosion, and dealing with the aftermath of killing an inquisitor. How did a simple trip to the Imperial capital turn into this?

    Everything was a disaster. It was all falling apart. She was lost, and she didn¡¯t know where to turn. Acolyte Joffrey wasn¡¯t there to guide her. Danica, the smartest of her friends wasn¡¯t there to ask. She couldn¡¯t even talk to Tanya anymore, not now that she was locked up.

    A memory popped into Amelia¡¯s head, one of Joffrey¡¯s first lessons to her. According to him, it was the most important lesson a divine spellcaster could learn: How to talk to a god.

    Prayer wasn¡¯t about ceremonies, and it wasn¡¯t about words. It was about achieving a personal connection to one¡¯s divine patron. When Amelia had first been chosen, it felt blissful. There was a warmth there inside her, the light of Truth shining down and piercing the darkness of deception.

    A sudden pang of despair struck Amelia heart, because she now realized she couldn¡¯t feel that warmth anymore. She didn¡¯t know when it happened, her gifts hadn¡¯t gone away, but Verita¡¯s warmth had left her. Had Verita left her? No, it was Amelia that had closed her heart to her Goddess.

    Lost, and with nowhere else to turn, Amelia took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and she did something she hadn¡¯t done in far too long.

    She prayed.

    At first, there was only the darkness of her closed eyelids. As Amelia cleared her mind and pushed the distractions away, she felt a presence again. The presence reached out and touched her heart, and a sudden, overwhelming surge of emotion struck her. Disapproval. Amelia had failed as Verita¡¯s Chosen. She¡¯d cast aside the Goddess¡¯ Truth. The emotion was so overwhelmingly strong that Amelia¡¯s concentration broke and her eyes opened wide.

    Or¡­ they tried to.

    Amelia realized she couldn¡¯t move. Her body was paralyzed, and she couldn¡¯t open her eyes. She was forced to see what Verita wanted her to see, and to feel what the Verita wanted her to feel. Unbidden, the Truth revealed itself to Amelia.

    Danica was dead. Her body was ash, and her soul entered the realm of Sylene to be judged. She, Lord Roland, Lady Claire, Lord Caiden, all but one of the maids¡­ they were gone too. They were dead. They might someday be reincarnated, but they will never return as they once were. This was the Truth.

    Amelia couldn¡¯t deny it anymore. The grief hit her all at once, and she couldn¡¯t turn away from it. She couldn¡¯t distract herself with other thoughts. Minutes passed, maybe hours, while she was forced to sit there and feel the pain of loss. Tears leaked their way out from between her closed eyelids, and down her cheeks. The only sound in the room was Amelia¡¯s quiet sobs.

    When Amelia ran out of tears to cry, the next emotion struck her. This one was gentler, comforting, almost motherly.

    Demon Lord Occulith¡¯s views were honest, but incorrect. Everything would be dust someday, but it was not dust right now. Life was transient, but at any given moment, it was still sacred, still valuable. A monument that lasted forever was impossible, but a monument could still last long enough to be meaningful. That was the Truth, as Verita saw it.

    Amelia felt a weight lift off her chest. Everything was not dust. Suddenly the words written in the Black Book felt foreign, the thoughts of another, rather than herself. She could now see which thoughts were forced on her by the Black Book¡¯s magic, and which thoughts were truly her own.

    The next emotion Amelia felt, was sympathy. Sadness. Verita had witnessed a tragedy.

    Words might have worked. The Inquisitor was obviously part of some conspiracy, and Amelia might have been able to convince him that arresting her would be risky given her status and ability to perfectly defend herself in a trial. Amelia was right.

    Words also might not have worked. If that was the case, Lily was in danger. The Inquisitor said he wanted to capture Lily. According to the rules Amelia agreed to, the demon was within her rights to defend herself. Lily was right.

    Amelia¡¯s actions had been correct in her own eyes, and Lily¡¯s actions had been correct in her own eyes. Lily did not betray her. She did not act out of malice. She was acting to protect Amelia and herself from the corrupt holy knight. Lily was not a monster. She was not a normal demon. She was special. Sending her away was a mistake.

    Amelia felt a sudden surge of guilt. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lily,¡± she whispered.

    Amelia was released from her darkness. Her eyes opened and she could move again. The sun had gone down while Amelia was lost in prayer, and the moon was high in the sky. Hours had passed. The Saintess gently wiped the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve. Verita was with her again.

    The connection was rekindled, with a warm feeling in her chest just like before. Amelia felt forgiveness flow through the connection, raising goosebumps on her arms. She had failed, but she could try again. She was still Chosen. Verita hadn¡¯t made a mistake. New tears flowed from her eyes, tears of joy and relief.

    Amelia felt emotionally drained, and now that she was free to move, she suddenly felt exhausted. She decided to lie down for a bit.

    The Saintess turned away from the window, and immediately fell out of her chair, yelping in surprise. Sitting on the foot of her bed, hands held politely on his lap, quietly watching her with unblinking eyes, was Mister Shadow. Horror quickly gave way to annoyance.

    ¡°Yes?¡± Amelia asked. ¡°Can I help you?¡±

    There was no response from the shadow.

    Amelia quietly reflected and realized that she should probably be a little bit more scared around this demon. Lily had desensitized her so much that she was treating this unambiguously evil monster with casual indifference. Even so, she still couldn¡¯t get herself to feel scared. He was creepy, but he didn¡¯t feel like a threat.

    ¡°Why are you following me?¡± Amelia tried again, this time speaking Infernal.

    The shadow monster reached inside his smoky mass and pulled out a simple unadorned black book. He gently laid it on Amelia¡¯s pillow, and returned his hand to his lap. Amelia glared at the shadow and the book.

    ¡°You want me to keep reading the mindfuck book?¡± Amelia asked.

    The shadow sat quietly without moving for half a minute, and then nodded slowly.

    ¡°Why?¡±

    The shadow shrugged.

    ¡°Are you going to try to possess me or something?¡±

    The shadow slowly shook his head, no. It was an Honest gesture.

    ¡°Trying to weaken my mind? To corrupt me for your Demon Lord masters?¡±

    Once again, the shadow honestly shook his head no.

    ¡°Then, what do you have to gain from bringing me this book and getting me to read it?¡±

    The shadow shrugged again.

    ¡°Is there some part of the book you specifically want me to read?¡±

    The shadow took a moment to ponder, gently tapping an elongated finger against his chin. He ponded for two entire minutes before he slowly reached out, picked up the book, and flipped it open. It was agonizingly slow, but Amelia watched the demon flip its way through the book, lingering for nearly a minute on each page, for page after page after page...

    Amelia was too nervous to turn away from the monster, but frankly¡­ he was sort of boring. After thirty-five minutes spent slowly leafing through the pages, the demon finally stopped and laid the open book on the bed. Amelia focused inwards, felt her connection to Verita. Ready to spot and ward away any corrupting thoughts, she carefully stepped forward and picked up the book.

    <blockquote>

    The other aspects waste their effort in encouraging sin. When a man reaches out to help his fellow man, or when he inflicts cruelty on his fellow man, there is nothing gained or lost. Both men will die. Suffering and salvation are only temporary. Those created under the aspect of Sloth understand that all effort to kill and corrupt mortals is wasted, and so they gaze upon the world with indifferent eyes.

    To that end, I have created my Witnesses. They exist only to watch evil and do nothing about it. They Witness the ugliness that all men desire to hide. They Witness gruesome murders. They Witness brutal rapes. They Witness cruel betrayals. They Witness merciless torture. They Witness heinous blasphemies.

    They accomplish nothing. They do not instigate, and they do not aid. Such is the nature of Sloth. Yet by observing the evil act, and doing nothing to aid or hinder it, the act itself gains a new purpose. It becomes a living prayer to Sloth. Both victims and sinners are given an indifferent audience for their depravity, and that audience is essential for it to become a truly blessed act.

    </blockquote>

    Amelia laid the book back on the bed. ¡°So you¡¯re one of these Witnesses?¡± She asked.

    The shadow nodded.

    Amelia looked around the room nervously. If a murder or rape were to happen, she knew that she wouldn¡¯t be the aggressor¡­ Thankfully she didn¡¯t see any murder-rapists hiding in the corners and her room had an extremely good lock. Mister Shadow was connected to this book, and this book was definitely blasphemous, so¡­ Amelia decided to make an optimistic guess.

    ¡°Blasphemy?¡± she asked, hopefully.

    Much to Amelia¡¯s relief, the shadow nodded.

    ¡°By giving me this book, aren¡¯t you helping me commit blasphemy? Doesn¡¯t that go against Occulith¡¯s orders to remain indifferent?¡±

    The shadow shrugged.

    ¡°I guess the living embodiment of apathy doesn¡¯t really care that much about enforcing his rules.¡±

    The shadow made no reply, but he took the book again, and flipped the pages. Amelia waited patiently as the demon once again made his way from page to page with agonizing slowness. Luckily, he stopped after only a few page turns. When the demon placed the open book back on the bed, Amelia saw the magical circle again.

    She quickly averted her eyes, glaring at the demon with suspicion, ¡°This is the page that messed with my brain. You want me to read it again?¡±

    The shadow nodded.

    Amelia didn¡¯t budge. She kept staring at the shadow, but he seemed to have no further reaction. She wasn¡¯t going to win a staring contest against a sloth demon. It would be easier to win a staring contest against a rock¡­

    As Amelia tried to recall what the circle did to her mind, she realized she couldn¡¯t remember the magic circle itself. When she first looked at it, there was a sublime moment of understanding, but it felt¡­ incomplete. Patricia interrupted her, knocking her out of her trance. That was probably a smart decision on her part, but because of that Amelia only retained a partial understanding.

    It was a bad idea. An unambiguously horribly bad idea, but she wondered what would happen if she let herself finish studying it. This was a magic circle, that implied it was a spell she could learn to cast. The Saintess¡¯ first spell¡­ learned from a demon book. She had no idea what it would do, but forbidden demon magic sounded¡­ powerful. And the Chosen of Fate¡¯s letter mentioned that she needed power¡­

    This was stupid. Stupid, reckless, and¡­ extra double stupid! And she¡¯d already made enough stupid mistakes for today.

    But¡­ she had help. Closing her eyes again, Amelia focused on her connection with the goddess. She prayed to Vertia to spare her mind from the book¡¯s deceptions. To allow her to learn the contents objectively, without losing herself to them again. She felt a warmth in response, it felt relaxed, and comforting. Supportive.

    With the Goddess¡¯ help, Amelia could withstand the corruption. She could emerge from the trance unscathed. She knew what to look for, how the book altered her mind. She was ready this time.

    Amelia took the book and lay on the bed, placing her feet inside the uncaring shadow man. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself, and looked at the book.

    And once again¡­ she understood.

 18 - Late Night Wandering

    Tanya pulled the chain and watched the water swirl and disappear.

    ¡°Fucking magical¡­¡± she muttered.

    Running water¡­ what a crazy concept. Tanya made the mistake of asking Patricia how it worked, and the dark elf yammered on for half an hour. After ten minutes, Tanya just tuned her out and stared at her kissable lips as she talked. Elves were¡­ elves were great. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t think Patricia noticed her lurid stare.

    Still, she learned the basics. It wasn¡¯t just a water creation rune. Apparently, that took too much mana to use regularly. There wasn¡¯t enough ambient mana around for the rune to draw from. Instead there was a series of mana-efficient filtering and pumping runes. The water came from a cistern in the cellar and was pumped up through pipes to the various faucets and toilets. Then, the water was used and sent to the first filter, which separated the water from the¡­ non-water. The non-water went into a second tank that was collected periodically to be used for fertilizer. The water then went through a cleansing rune to remove all the poisons and diseases. When the water level in the main reservoir got low, that was when it used the water creation rune, fueled by a slowly replenishing mana storage rune, to top itself up.

    Tanya had to admit it was a clever system. It was expensive and overly complicated, but it worked well enough. And it was a lot more pleasant to use than a chamber pot or an outhouse. Just for fun, Tanya pulled the chain again, and watched the water swirl through the toilet bowl. That was not going to get boring anytime soon. Yeah, these were going to become popular with all the rich nobs.

    Once she was finished amusing herself, Tanya made her way back to her shared room. Inside, was Patricia, sitting on her bed, lost in focus. She was doing the same thing she¡¯d been doing ever since she gave up on finding her blasphemy book. She spent the last four hours conjuring a small ball of green flame, no bigger than her fingertip, and dismissing it, over and over. Tanya wasn¡¯t sure what she was doing exactly, but she guessed this was a mage¡¯s version of doing pushups.

    Tanya saw out the window, it was good and dark outside now, about two hours after sunset.

    ¡°Hey Patty, I¡¯m gonna go out for a bit,¡± said Tanya.

    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Patty,¡± the elf replied, without taking her eyes of her fire, ¡°Where are you going?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, Patty-cakes. I¡¯ll just wander around and see if anyone wants to give me money.¡±

    Patty-cakes dismissed her fire and looked at Tanya with an eyebrow raised, ¡°Your big idea for quick money was begging for coin? At night?¡±

    ¡°Not begging exactly,¡± Tanya replied with a grin.

    ¡°Whoring yourself then?¡±

    ¡°Eww no,¡± Tanya said with a shudder.

    Patty-cakes took a few more seconds to figure it out, ¡°Mugging people?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Patty-cakes, I won¡¯t go after nice people. I won¡¯t be mugging anyone¡­ I¡¯ll just be defending myself.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the stupidest idea I¡¯ve ever-¡±

    ¡°See you later, Patty-cakes,¡± Tanya said quickly, before walking out of the room.

    ¡°Don¡¯t fucking call me-¡± Tanya heard the elf say before the door closed.

    Tanya made her way down the stairs, into the main tavern, and out the front door. Truthfully, she knew that playing rape-bait to a bunch of shady potentially armed thugs and kicking their assess was an objectively bad idea. She wasn¡¯t really trying to make money right now, she just really wanted to get in a fight. She was tired of feeling weak and useless and planned on venting her frustration on some unfortunate lowlifes.

    Much to her disappointment, she wasn¡¯t accosted right away. This was probably the biggest town this side of the mountains, but it wasn¡¯t a big city with a proper slum, it was a pleasant little town with a well staffed city guard. Tanya decided to wander in the direction of the town¡¯s shittiest corner, which honestly wasn¡¯t even that shitty. Hopefully she¡¯d find some shady buggers there.

    Along the way, Tanya had to consciously revert back to her old way of walking. Nowadays, she usually walked with a straight back, confident gait, and relaxed shoulders. Tanya consciously shortened her steps, hunched down, and tucked her arms in, making herself look small and scared. The pants, and the short hair worked against her, but she managed to make herself look like a pathetic victim again, and not a confident woman able to defend herself.

    It took almost two hours of wandering before someone took the bait.

    ¡°Hey little girl,¡± came a sleazy voice from behind. ¡°Where are you going so late at night?¡±

    ¡°N-Nowhere¡­¡± Tanya whimpered nervously, trying to hide her smile.

    As she turned, she scanned her surroundings. There was one on the street, and two hiding in the alleys, watching. The men looked¡­ well they looked like thugs. One of the alleyway guys had a decent looking set of chain mail that Tanya was going to take. The other two just had some shitty leather armor. Both Chainmail and Street Guy had shortswords. That was disappointing, she preferred weapons with some reach. She hadn¡¯t seen what weapon the other alleyway guy had. Hopefully he had something worth stealing.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you come with me, sweetheart. I¡¯ll walk you home.¡± Street Guy said with a predatory grin.

    ¡°Really?¡± Tanya said, as meekly as possible, ¡°O-Okay then¡­¡±

    Chainmail was trying to sneak up behind her, and he was doing a really shit job of it. The other alleyway guy was staying where he was. Tanya reached out nervously to take Street Guy¡¯s hand¡­

    Face hit cobblestone.

    Street Guy was upside down and unconscious before he even knew what happened. Tanya let go of her grapple on his arm and turned to face a dumbfounded Chainmail Guy. Before he could draw his sword, Tanya¡¯s steel toed boot reached the side of his head. Chainmail guy¡¯s limp body rolled into the middle of the street. Tanya bent down, drawing Street Guy¡¯s short sword and searched around for the third guy.

    He was nowhere to be found. That was a bit unnerving. He was probably running off to get his friends.

    Tanya quickly patted down the two unconscious men, grabbing two disappointingly small coin purses. She probably wouldn¡¯t have time to strip the armor off Chainmail Guy, so she settled for the swords and their scabbards.

    Tanya heard running footsteps from the alleyway where the third guy had been hiding. That was fast. She should probably run. The smart thing to do right now would be to run. The fucking bandits, the patronizing town guards, the fireball murderer that killed Danica¡­ Fuck this! She wasn¡¯t going to be pushed around.

    Gripping a shortsword in each hand, she dove into an alcove along the side of the street, watching the alley exit. One man came running out, then two, then three¡­ It was at this point Tanya realized that she¡¯d been stupid again. There were a lot of assholes coming. She¡¯d pissed off some sort of gang. By the time the last guy emerged from the alley, she counted eight guys altogether.

    They didn¡¯t see Tanya right away, running to help their fallen comrades first. Tanya picked the biggest and strongest looking guy, waited for him to stop to check his allies, and threw her spare shortsword at his head. The blade embedded itself deep into the side of his skull.

    She had their attention now. Tanya¡¯s next target was the guy furthest from the center of the group. She¡¯d fight from the outside in, being careful not to get surrounded.

    She charged towards her thug of choice. He was conveniently armed with a bastard sword. It was shorter than a longsword but had a grip long enough to be used with two hands. She dodged the bastard sword bastard¡¯s counter-attack and sunk her blade into his throat. She grabbed onto his sword¡¯s guard, and kicked the man hard in the chest, knocking him down and prying the sword out of his hands.

    She jumped back a step, dodging the next-closest man¡¯s swing, and quickly brought her new sword around with both hands. He parried the blow. Another thug came up beside him. Tanya took a step back, trying bait the men into coming at her one at a time. It worked. One guy separated from the pack, and Tanya cleanly countered his strike, severing his arm.

    Two down¡­ six to g-

    Tanya felt somethingstrike her legs. Bolas, two balls connected with a length of rope, thrown from somewhere out of sight, wrapped around her legs and bound her ankles together. Fuck! Tanya lunged back, dodging the oncoming sword swing, but with her feet tangled, she tripped and fell backwards.

    Tanya hit the ground, landing flat on her back. Before she could roll away, a heavy boot stomped down on her chest, knocking the wind out of her lungs. A second kick to the side of her ribs followed the first, and soon a rain of blows fell upon Tanya¡¯s prone body. At some point, the sword was knocked from her hand. Tanya curled up, trying to protect her head and core.

    Eventually the men paused their beating. Tanya¡¯s vision was blurry, but she looked up to see four angry faces staring down at her with cruel grins. Two of the men were apparently off to the side, watching their wounded friend with the missing arm bleed out.

    This wasn¡¯t part of the plan. Tanya¡¯s body was agony, and she felt too weak to fight back. She hoped they hadn¡¯t broken anything, but it was hard to tell.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± she groaned.

    ¡°Now you¡¯ve gone and done it, girlie,¡± said one of the thugs.

    ¡°You killed our brothers,¡± said another.

    ¡°You¡¯re gonna regret this,¡± said a third. ¡°If you were a good girl, we might have been gentle with you.¡±

    Tanya grinned at the men and with a sudden surge of strength, pulled a leg free from the bolas¡¯s grip. Her heavy boot found its way to mister ¡®we might have been gentle¡¯s¡¯ crotch. The man howled with pain, grabbed his nuts, and stepped back.

    ¡°How¡¯s that for gentle? Asshole!¡± Tanya shouted.

    ¡°Bitch!¡± one of the other men shouted.

    Tanya received another stomp on her chest. It hurt like fuck, but her grin didn¡¯t go away. She was still in less pain than the guy she kicked.

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re in for, slut,¡± one of the angry thugs growled.

    ¡°I do, and you¡¯re nothing special,¡± Tanya said, hiding her fear. ¡°It¡¯ll take more than a couple stomps and a few tiny dicks to break me.¡±

    Another vicious kick landed against Tanya¡¯s side. She clenched her jaw, refusing to give these donkey-fuckers the pleasure of hearing her cry out in pain.

    ¡°We¡¯re gonna rape ya, but not with our dicks,¡± One of the men, one that had been quiet so far but had an unsettling look in his eye, held his weapon in front of Tanya¡¯s face. It was a morning star, a large steel ball on the end of a shaft, larger than a fist, covered with hideous spikes. ¡°This is going to be your lover tonight.¡±Stolen story; please report.

    Tanya swallowed her fear, clenched her jaw, and stared back defiantly. Okay, that was a scary threat. The worst part was he probably wasn¡¯t bluffing. These men weren¡¯t content to just hurt and humiliate her, she was going to die.

    One of the men raised his boot for another stomp, but before he could bring his foot down, Tanya¡¯s vision went blue. Bright light seared her eyes. The cone of flame swirling above her prone body was painful to be near, and Tanya could barely hear the men¡¯s screams inside the roaring conflagration.

    The jet of flame vanished only seconds later. Tanya blinked her eyes until the purple spots disappeared from her vision. The men were gone, replaced by smouldering husks sizzling on the ground next to her. There was a scream of terror coming from down the street. Tanya saw the backside of one of the thugs, a sole survivor, fleeing the scene. Tanya heard a sharp crackling sound from behind, and a blinding arc of lightning struck the man¡¯s back. A loud snap echoed through the empty street. The man collapsed like a ragdoll, dying instantly. Steam escaped out of the dead body¡¯s open mouth.

    Tanya turned, searching for the lightning¡¯s source. She saw the silhouette of a maid walking calmly down the street. The only sound in the suddenly-still night air was the clicking of high heeled shoes. With the moonlight behind her, the maid was only visible in silhouette. Her ponytail swished behind her head, and two long knife-edged ears poked out from the sides. Her face was featureless other than two glowing blue eyes, piercing through the darkness.

    Fuck, Patricia looked intimidating.

    ¡°Let me guess, are you going to tell me that I shouldn¡¯t have interfered? That you had it handled?¡± Patricia said, once she got close. The monster-maid¡¯s face was blank and unreadable.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m a stubborn asshole, but I know when I¡¯m wrong. I did a stupid, and I would have ended up raped or worse if you hadn¡¯t shown up. Thanks for interfering. I owe you one.¡±

    Patricia¡¯s face was still mostly blank, but Tanya thought she could see the tiniest hint of a smile on her face.

    ¡°Let¡¯s search the bodies before the guards arrive,¡± Patricia said, offering Tanya a hand up to her feet.

    The two women picked over the bodies, grabbing all the non-flammable loot they could find.

    ¡°¡­And my name is Patricia, not Patty-cakes.¡±

    ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡±

    <hr>

    Lilizath leaned against the tree trunk, watching the stars while lazily eating the last wolf in the wolf pack she slaughtered.

    She¡¯d been putting a lot of effort into hunting. She¡¯d eaten something like forty Amelias worth of meat over the last six hours. That was probably a new daily record. She was almost certain to gain back some mass after all this hunting. It was always hard to tell how much of a change there was though. She never felt any heavier or lighter after gaining weight. She needed to find some sort of reference to compare herself to. It wasn¡¯t like she could use Amelia anymore¡­

    She¡¯d been running at her full speed while hunting, so she¡¯d put a considerable amount of distance between herself and the town. The further she travelled, the less temptation there was to turn back.

    As Lilizath stared at the wolf¡¯s tail, she debated whether or not to eat it. There was some meat there, but it was mostly hair. Hair gave a nearly negligible amount of energy, and it didn¡¯t taste very good¡­ The demon sighed, it was still food, every little bit counted. Every meal was strength and energy, one step further away from death. She took a big bite out of the hairy tail.

    A high pitched feminine scream of terror broke the silence of the night. Lilizath didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Stupid humans,¡± the demon grumbled.

    A few seconds later, there was another scream. This one was lower in pitch, masculine. Lilizath very definitely didn¡¯t care.

    ¡°Stupid humans,¡± the demon grumbled again, slightly louder.

    After a minute of ominous silence, Lilizath rolled her eyes and sighed. Those screams were close. She might as well go see what all the fuss was about. If nothing else, it could mean another snack for her. It would surely taste better than wolf tail.

    The demon refused to run at her full speed, the stupid victim-humans would just have to wait for her. She jogged moderately quickly towards the source of the sound. As she got closer, she noticed a magical aura ahead of her. It wasn¡¯t especially powerful, but it was, without a doubt, demonic. Now that was interesting¡­

    She picked up her speed slightly, and quickly converged on the source of the aura. The demon was male, but about the size of Amelia. In other words, he was tiny. He was short, and skinny, with bright red skin, a bald head, and sharp facial features. There were a pair of short, stubby horns on his head, jutting out from the side. He didn¡¯t look especially dangerous, but his fingertips did end in sharp claws. They were shorter than Lilizath¡¯s claws, but still looked like they could do damage. The demon was also carrying a weapon, a spear with a haft of pale bone, and a bladed head of jagged black obsidian.

    The demon didn¡¯t notice her. He was busy chasing two small humans. These were human-spawn, juveniles past their screechy larval stage, but not yet fully adult. Amelia would call one of them an adolescent, and the other a child. There was a boy and a girl, holding hands, and running away together. The younger girl was slowing the older boy down. If the boy didn¡¯t leave her behind, she was going to get them both killed. Stupid humans¡­

    Lilizath hesitated, trying to decide what to do. This demon was her kind¡­ but the last time she met a demon, it didn¡¯t turn out well. She could save the humans¡­ but humans were stupid. Amelia had always been very protective of the little humans though. She always watched Lilizath more closely when the little ones were present. She valued their lives more, for some reason.

    Ugh. Fine.

    The snarling red demon quickly closed the distance to the human-spawn. He charged towards them and leapt, raising his spear into the air and aiming it down towards the fleeing children. Right before the pouncing demon reached his target, a pale clawed hand caught him around the foot, snatching him out of the air.

    Getting a firm grip with both claws on the demon¡¯s leg, Lilizath twisted her body and swung the demon around by his foot. She swung him in a wide arc, gaining speed before swinging him into a tree like an angry snarling axe. The demon¡¯s head disappeared. It was replaced by an inky splatter of demon blood against the tree trunk and surrounding foliage. Lilizath let go of the demon¡¯s headless body, allowing it to roll away before striking another tree trunk and coming to a stop.

    The two human-spawn didn¡¯t stop running. In their eyes, Lilizath was probably even scarier than the red demon that was chasing them. She couldn''t fault them for assuming she was hostile. Her black dress was in tatters, and she was drenched head to toe in thick layer of sticky red blood, freshly squeezed from the victims of this evening''s hunt.

    If Lilizath was feeling nice, she might¡¯ve just allowed them to run off. But Lilizath wasn¡¯t feeling nice right now. She was going to play a game to see how strong that boy¡¯s desire to survive was. Was he a stupid human like Amelia, or a smart human?

    Lilizath tore up the ground as she accelerated to her full speed. She blurred past the trees and caught up to the human-spawn in mere seconds. She wrapped a clawed hand around the fleeing girl¡¯s throat and snatched her away. The human girl let out an awkward squawking noise as her flight was abruptly halted. The girl desperately held onto the boy¡¯s hand, but the sudden stop pulled them apart.

    The boy, feeling the girl¡¯s sudden absence, skidded to a halt and spun around. Lily grinned at him sadistically, still holding the girl by her throat.

    ¡°Milly! Let her go you monster!¡± The boy shouted bravely.

    ¡°No,¡± Lilizath replied flatly.

    Ignoring the boy, Lilizath picked up the girl, and started walking away. She kept a claw wrapped around her throat, but her second claw wrapped around her hips, taking up her weight so the girl didn¡¯t choke to death.

    ¡°Let her go!¡± The boy shouted again. The little human sounded angry.

    Lilizath felt a weak little kick to the back of her leg. The demon maintained her sinister grin and laughed at his attempt. She spun around to face the boy again, hugging the girl from behind and further staining the girl''s dress with wolf blood. She kept a gentle pressure on the girl¡¯s blood smeared throat. It was a light enough grip that the girl could still breathe, but firm enough that the girl wouldn¡¯t be able to comfortably speak.

    ¡°You¡¯re free to go,¡± the demon said. ¡°I only want to eat her. You can still live if you run away.¡±

    The defiant boy tried to kick the demon again, to no effect.

    ¡°I¡¯m a strong demon, not like that weakling who was chasing you,¡± Lilizath explained. ¡°You have no hope of defeating me.¡±

    ¡°Let my sister go!¡± The boy shouted, tears in his eyes. Lilizath continued to smile. She was enjoying this game.

    ¡°Go on, leave,¡± she said. ¡°If you go now, I¡¯ll kill her quickly and painlessly. If you take too long to go, I¡¯ll kill her slowly, and it¡¯s going to hurt a lot. She¡¯ll be screaming for hours. Do you want that? Do you want to watch your sister suffer?¡±

    ¡°Please¡­ let her go,¡± the boy broke down crying.

    ¡°No,¡± Lilizath replied, with a cold smile on her face.

    The boy hesitated for a few seconds, before quietly saying, ¡°Take me instead.¡±

    Lilizath gave the human-spawn a skeptical stare, ¡°You would offer to die for her? You value her life more highly than your own?¡±

    ¡°I... Mom told me to protect her. I''ll trade my life if I have to¡­ yes,¡± the boy said, nervously.

    ¡°You¡¯re older, you can move faster. There are predators in this forest. If you escaped on your own, you¡¯d have a higher chance of surviving than her,¡± Lilizath said, gesturing to the girl.

    ¡°Please let me take her place,¡± the boy begged again.

    ¡°That¡¯s just stupid,¡± Lilizath said, exasperated. ¡°You have a choice between one of you dying, and both of you dying, yet you are choosing for both of you to die.¡±

    The boy stared at the ground silently, but didn¡¯t move.

    Lilizath sighed, ¡°Stupid humans.¡±

    The demon released the pressure on the little girl¡¯s throat and scooped her up again. She carried the girl over to a tree and sat down cross legged, leaning against the trunk, forcing the girl to sit on her lap. She kept a firm hold of the terrified girl¡¯s neck but didn¡¯t press against her throat anymore. She wiped her other clawed hand on the girl''s dress and gently pet the tiny shivering creature¡¯s head.

    ¡°I won¡¯t eat her,¡± Lilizath said.

    The tear filled boy looked up at her with disbelief, ¡°You¡­ you¡¯ll let me take her place?¡±

    ¡°Nah, I won''t eat you either. I''m done with that game." said Lilizath, with a dismissive hand wave, "It''s so weird... this one¡¯s so small.¡±

    The boy looked confused, ¡°But you¡¯re not¡­ Then¡­ does that mean you¡¯re letting us go?¡±

    ¡°You can go if you want,¡± the demon said. ¡°She¡¯s still mine though.¡±

    The boy stared at the demon with newly regained horror on his face. Before he could ask the obvious question Lilizath explained.

    ¡°I¡¯ll let her go eventually, once I¡¯m bored of her. You can wait for me to get bored of her if you want. I don¡¯t care.¡±

    Lilizath continued gently petting the little girl. She was so weird. She was like a human¡­ but smaller. Tiny! A small human. Adorable!

    The boy nervously sat in front of them, watching the blood soaked nightmare gently pet his kidnapped sister.

    Lilizath leaned in to smell the girl¡¯s hair. The smell was boring, the sweat didn¡¯t smell that interesting either. Adults smelled better for some reason.

    ¡°Please don¡¯t eat me,¡± the girl whimpered.

    ¡°I already said I wasn¡¯t going to eat you,¡± Lilizath whispered gently. ¡°You''re a dumb little girl, aren''t you?¡±

    The girl whimpered instead of answering the question.

    The boy stared at the demon and the girl nervously. He bit his lip, as if working up the courage to ask something. Lilizath waited for him. It took a few minutes, but he finally spoke.

    ¡°Why did you attack us?¡±

    ¡°Because I wanted to play with you and your sister,¡± Lilizath replied.

    ¡°No, I mean¡­ the village. Why did you attack our village?¡±

    Lilizath raised an eyebrow, ¡°I didn¡¯t-¡±

    There was a screeching howl in the distance. Another little red demon, just like the one she killed before, announced its presence. The stupid creature threw away any chance he had of a surprise attack.

    Lilizath placed her palms over the girl¡¯s ears, and spoke infernal, ¡°Go away, these are mine.¡±

    The boy sitting in front of her screamed in pain, covered his ears, and writhed on the ground in agony. Whoops. At least the girl was okay.

    ¡°Murderdeath Killrip!¡± the strange red demon screeched insanely, before charging towards Lilizath, holding his spear.

    Lilizath gently picked up and placed the girl on the ground beside her. She stood and casually walked to intercept the screeching simpleton. The red demon continued his mindless charge, holding his spear out in front of him.

    Once the demon closed the distance, Lilizath dodged the spear tip, and grabbed the demon¡¯s arm. Maintaining a bone-crunchingly firm grip on his forearm, Lilizath kicked him squarely in the chest. There was a dull popping sound as the demon¡¯s shoulder dislocated.

    The screeching demon screeched slightly louder as Lilizath yanked on the dislocated arm and pulled him off his feet. He tripped forwards, and Lilizath placed her foot on his back, pinning him to the ground. With her grip still on the demon¡¯s arm, she pulled hard until his limb tore off completely. The thoroughly disarmed demon howled and thrashed in agony.

    This was a demon¡­ right? His blood was black, and he had the right sort of magical aura. That succubus was one tough bitch. She was strong, and her magic was incredibly powerful. But this guy? He was barely stronger than a human. The only difference Lilizath was able to notice was that he didn¡¯t go into shock from having his arm ripped off. He continued to struggle, attempting to kill her despite his wound. Even so, he wasn¡¯t even strong enough to squirm out from under her foot. Lilizath leaned down, and pierced his neck with her claws, severing the spine and putting the pathetic wretch out of his misery.

    Lilizath grabbed the demon¡¯s body, and the body of the previous demon she killed, and dragged them back to the tree she was sitting against before. As expected, the two human-spawn were gone. That was encouraging, they weren¡¯t completely stupid.

    Lilizath sniffed the air and caught the girl¡¯s scent immediately. They must have run for it at the first opportunity because they made it a decent distance. It took her almost fifteen whole seconds to catch up to them.

    Lilizath gently carried the screaming and begging little girl back to her tree. Her pleading brother followed behind her. She sat the terrified girl down between her crossed legs and began to eat the two demons she killed.

    Ugh. Lilizath forgot the sheer magnitude of awfulness that was demon flesh. She thought she was ready, but she wasn¡¯t. It was horrible and revolting, beyond even the most rotten and decayed corpse. Her instincts rebelled against this horrible act of cannibalism. But¡­ the demons were incredibly rich in mana. They weren¡¯t delicious, but they were certainly nutritious. She was more than willing to suffer the nasty taste if it meant gaining a big boost to strength and mass.

    The two human-spawn watched her cannibalize her fellow demons with horrified stares.

    ¡°Want some?¡± Lilizath asked, passing a severed arm to the little girl. The little girl fainted immediately.

    ¡°Guess not,¡± the demon mumbled, before taking another bite.

 19 - Rip and Tear

    So tiny¡­ So cute!

    ¡°Uuh¡­ Miss Demon? I need to pee.¡±

    It was still night, but the sky was starting to brighten, it would be morning soon. Lilizath stopped petting the tiny creature. She grudgingly unwrapped her arms, and let the little girl go. That was enough snuggles for now. She didn¡¯t want a mess on her lap, after all.

    There were no more disturbances from random demons during the night. After shivering in terror on Lilizath¡¯s lap for the first hour, the girl finally settled down and fell asleep in the demon¡¯s arms. Her brother found another tree nearby to lie against, and eventually fell asleep too.

    The little girl scampered off to some nearby bushes to do her business, and the movement woke her brother. Lilizath stretched out her clawed arms lazily, and yawned.

    ¡°I¡¯ve held the girl enough for now. You¡¯re free to go.¡±

    The boy¡¯s eyes went wide, ¡°You¡¯re¡­ you¡¯re actually letting us go?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t keep you forever, and there¡¯s no reason to kill you,¡± Lilizath explained.

    ¡°Thanks¡­ I guess,¡± the boy said. ¡°But why did you attack us in the first place?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t attack your village.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re a demon!¡± The boy exclaimed.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°A demon army comes and raids Roseglen and you want us to believe you weren¡¯t a part of it?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care if you believe me or not,¡± Lilizath replied with a groan as she stretched her arms. ¡°Where are the rest of you? Dead?¡±

    The boy suddenly looked sad, ¡°Some of us tried to flee the raid but they chased us. I don¡¯t think many of us got away. Mom and Dad, they¡­ they didn¡¯t make it. The ones who stayed behind¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°You should find some humans to protect you. You need human food, don¡¯t you? You¡¯re amusing so I wouldn¡¯t mind catching an animal for you, but Amelia told me humans get sick if you don¡¯t cook your meat first.¡±

    The boy took a deep breath and gained a look of determination. He muttered to himself, thinking aloud, ¡°You¡¯re right. It¡¯s time for me to be a man. I have a sister to protect. We¡¯re going to survive this, there must be other survivors too. The ones who ran got cut down, but the ones who hid might be okay. They would probably try to return to the village once the demons are gone.¡±

    Lilizath had no idea why the boy¡¯s gender had anything to do with having the will to survive, but she decided she didn¡¯t want to say anything that could spoil the pathetic little creature¡¯s newfound motivation.

    The boy went off and claimed one of the obsidian demon spears, and when he returned, the girl had emerged from the bushes. The brother hugged his sister, and the two talked quietly. Whispering so that Lilizath couldn¡¯t hear them. She could, of course. She had good ears.

    They were talking about whether she was going to follow them and kill them, whether the brother could protect them from her if he had a weapon. The answers were no, and no, but Lilizath thought they would get scared if she said anything now. When their conversation was over, they both nervously looked at the demon.

    ¡°Uhh¡­ Bye Miss Demon¡­¡± the boy said, waving at her awkwardly.

    Holding his sister¡¯s hand, the boy doubled back on the path they ran from and disappeared into the woods. Lilizath yawned again and got to her feet. She waited until they were well out of sight, and then slowly walked after the human-spawn, following at a distance. It was easy to track them, she still had the little girl¡¯s scent, and their clumsy footsteps were easy to hear.

    She was curious¡­ curious about these humans, and curious about the demons that attacked them. She decided she¡¯d follow them for a while. She might even protect them for a bit if she felt inclined. They were kind of cute, after all. It would be a shame if they were torn apart.

    Also, she realized she¡¯d been too preoccupied with the little girl. She hadn¡¯t had the chance to hold the boy yet. He was a little bigger than his sister, but still smaller than Amelia, tiny compared to an adult man. If the girl was fully cute, then he was medium-cute, still worth claiming for snuggle time at least once.

    <hr>

    The village wasn¡¯t far away. Lilizath didn¡¯t have to travel very far before she felt the magical auras. Calling it a demon army was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was still probably the largest horde of demons she¡¯d ever felt in one place before.

    At a distance, it was hard to separate the auras and distinguish between them. As she walked, she focused on the auras in the distance and tried to make sense of the signals she was picking up. She wasn¡¯t completely certain, but there were probably ten or eleven weak auras, all of which were about the same strength as the two lesser demons she squashed.

    There was also one more demonic aura that lit up her senses with its power. Comparing this to the other demons was like comparing a bonfire to a candlestick. Eleven weaklings were no trouble at all, even if they scratched her, her regeneration would heal the damage nearly instantly. But this single strong aura made Lilizath genuinely nervous. It was much stronger than the succubus.

    That was a bit concerning. Another concerning fact was that the mini-humans were walking towards the demon horde. Lilizath picked up her pace slightly, quickly closing the distance between them. The stupid things were probably going to get themselves killed.

    The demon girl was pleased to discover that the humans were slightly less stupid than she expected. The village was built into a clearing in the forest, and the two human-spawn remained hidden from sight in the bushes on the forest¡¯s edge. They weren¡¯t smart enough to be alert to movement behind them though. Lilizath crept up undetected and placed a clawed hand over their mouths, muffling two startled screams of terror.

    ¡°Shut up, stupids,¡± Lilizath grumbled. ¡°You¡¯d be dead already if I wanted it that way.¡±

    The two human-spawn glanced back at the demon girl. The muffled screams stopped, and Lilizath let go. The little girl collapsed, having fainted again. Lilizath let the useless little cute thing fall onto a soft looking patch of grass. She focused her attention on the human that actually had a brain.

    The demon girl pointed a claw at the village, ¡°Twelve demons in there. One is very strong. I can feel them.¡±

    ¡°Y-you followed us?¡± the still-shocked boy said in a whisper.

    ¡°Obviously.¡±

    ¡°Why? Wait, the demons are still in the village? What do they want?¡± the boy asked. Stupid questions, but Lilizath appreciated that the last question was at least somewhat smart.

    ¡°Because I wanted to. Yes. Don¡¯t know.¡± Lilizath replied quickly. The boy took a few seconds to wrap his mind around her answers.

    ¡°Is anyone else alive in there?¡± the boy¡¯s voice shrunk down to a barely audible squeak as he asked.

    ¡°I can¡¯t feel humans unless they use magic, but I¡¯m watching.¡±

    Lilizath looked closely. She knew she had better eyes than humans, so it wasn¡¯t surprising the boy couldn¡¯t see anything in the gloom of early dawn.

    The boy could probably see the smoke from here at least. The fires were mostly done burning by now, but most of houses had been reduced to their charred frames. It was hard to see everything from just this one vantage point, but there were figures wandering around the ruined village. A bunch of little red demons were scurrying about, peacefully mingling with two human shaped figures dressed in black hooded robes.

    A bunch of feet were poking out from behind a charred wall. It was obviously a pile of dead bodies, stacked up like logs. These demons weren¡¯t eating their kills. What a waste of good meat.

    Lilizath was about to report that everyone was dead when she saw a new source of movement. Leaving one of the few surviving structures was a human that wasn¡¯t wearing a black robe. It was a younger man, pale and skinny, looking more delicate than most. He had long, shaggy hair. He was being dragged outside by the two robed figures, his arms bound behind him with steel manacles. The human¡¯s face was fearful, but drained of hope, seemingly resigned to his fate. Lilizath assumed it wouldn¡¯t be a pleasant fate.

    ¡°Black robe people walking around with the demons. Big pile of dead bodies. I saw one man alive without a robe, he was chained up,¡± Lilizath reported.

    ¡°What did he look like?¡± the boy asked.

    ¡°Pale, skinny, messy hair. He looks sort of weak, like he would be fun to bully sexually.¡±

    The boy gave Lilizath a look of sheer disgust that the demon girl didn¡¯t fully understand, but he seemed to know who she was talking about. After a few seconds of disturbed hesitation, he spoke. ¡°Probably Eric, the bard. One of the villagers.¡±

    Eric eh? Bards sang and played music. Lilizath was curious to hear music, it was too bad this man would be dead soon.

    ¡°Can you save him?¡± The boy asked.

    Lilizath shrugged, ¡°Maybe? But why would I? I don¡¯t want to risk my life for a single stupid human.¡±

    ¡°But you¡¯re really strong, Miss Demon,¡± the boy said. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to show off how strong you are?¡±

    The boy probably thought he was being clever. His attempt at manipulation was laughable, even if it was sort of working¡­ The weaklings were boring fodder, but part of her did want to challenge that powerful demon and assert her dominance by ripping him apart. She wasn¡¯t quite stupid enough to follow that urge though.

    Just as Lilizath opened her mouth to mock the boy¡¯s attempt, she felt the auras moving. Four weakling demons, running towards them from the village. She and the boy had been talking for a while, and apparently Lilizath wasn¡¯t the only demon with sharp senses.

    Ugh. Annoying.

    It was time to make a decision. She could escape the demons easily, but these humans couldn¡¯t. Doing nothing wasn¡¯t an option anymore, battle could no longer be avoided. It was now a choice between surrendering her cute human-spawn pets to another demon while fleeing like a pathetic coward or fighting a glorious battle, covering herself with the blood and guts of her enemies.

    Lilizath VekxZ¡¯Kraugh bit her lip, growing wet between the legs in anticipation of the violence to come. Tearing flesh with her claws, screams of agony in her ears, the gush of warm living blood filling her mouth as she bit into a victim¡¯s throat¡­ She suppressed a lewd moan, barely able contain her bloodlust. Her eyes stopped blinking as she watched the distant figures running towards her. Mercilessly slaughtering every demon and black robe in this village was starting to sound irresistibly appealing.

    Why not? She was in a Wrathful mood. She¡¯d been holding herself back for too long. She still felt wound up after playing ¡®nice demon¡¯ inside the town for so long. Butchering a few animals didn¡¯t even come close to satisfying her. It was time for a true demonic rampage.

    There were four demons charging, three of which were the same spear toting demons she¡¯d encountered before. One of them looked to be slightly different. This demon was still bright red, but taller than the others, about the size of a typical adult male. His horns were slightly longer, but still short.

    This new type of creature carried no weapon, but his claws were clearly designed for combat. Like his peers, each of his hands had two regular sized clawed fingers and a thumb. But between the two regular fingers was another claw. Really, it was less of a claw, and more of a blade. It was three feet long, and razor edged along the inner side, like a scythe made of bone, embedded into the arm itself.

    Lilizath straightened up from her hiding place, trying and failing to hide the lust in her voice as she spoke. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill everything that opposes me. They¡¯ll die screaming while I shred them all to pieces. If you want to live, run away and hide until it¡¯s over.¡±

    The boy was smart enough not to argue. He grabbed his sister and scrambled back into the forest. They¡¯d probably be alright. Or they wouldn¡¯t. Lilizath didn¡¯t care anymore.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    It was time to rip and tear.

    Lilizath bent down a lifted a rock, about the size of her own head, from the nearby dirt. She planted her feet, wound up, and hurled the rock towards the enemy with every ounce of strength she possessed. Her feet dug into the dirt. The pressure wave released by the thrown rock was strong enough to rustle the leaves of nearby trees.

    The rock was almost too fast to see. It seemed to clear the distance to her snarling spear-toting target in an instant. It missed the demon she was aiming for but hit the one behind him. The rock impacted his chest like a meteor, nearly tearing the demon in half. The rock barely slowed down, continuing on until it reached the village. In the distance, one of the charred house husks collapsed in on itself.

    Lilizath already had the next rock in her claw. This one was slightly smaller, not that it mattered much. Another wave of pressure brushed against the trees. The demon¡¯s feet sunk in slightly deeper. The rock shot across the field, removing the leg of one of the charging demons before sinking deeply into the loose soil. The demon was inconvenienced, but barely slowed down, abandoning his spear and adopting a three legged gait with his clawed arms instead of running on two legs.

    The group was getting closer, and one more rock flew towards them. This time Lilizath¡¯s targets were closer. The rock cleanly decapitated the unique one, the one with the blade arms. The flying rock deflected upwards and flew over the village, off into the distance.

    ¡°Break the bones!¡±

    ¡°Tear the flesh!¡±

    The two surviving demons screeched out their challenge.

    Lilizath roared her own challenge. This was not a sound a mortal throat could produce. This was Father¡¯s roar, the roar of a genuine archfiend demon, deep and resonant, an omen of oncoming doom, a declaration of absolute dominance, loud enough to be heard for miles.

    Leaves rustled again as the demon girl flung herself forwards. Exploding into a charge. The two-legged demon¡¯s spear stabbed into her chest, stopping at the bone plate, and Lilizath ignored it. She grabbed the demon around the throat, lifted him off the ground, and smashed his skull into the other demon¡¯s skull. The impact crushed both skulls, covering the demon girl¡¯s legs with brain goo.

    Lilizath kept her momentum, rolling forward over her shoulder and climbing back to her feet. She continued her charge, barely even slowing down. The small hole the spear poked in her chest was already gone.

    Distant shouts of alarm echoed through the village as Lilizath crossed the field in full sprint. The mortal voices sounded panicked. Clearly the ones controlling these demons weren¡¯t expecting a demon attack.

    ¡°Rape the m-¡±

    The screeching demon began his battlecry, but it was cut short before he could finish. Lilizath crashed through the fire-damaged wall of a nearby house and scooped the demon up before he could raise his useless spear. With one claw buried in his rib cage, and another claw buried in his hip bone, Lilizath tore the creature in half. Demon blood rained on her, staining her white skin black.

    ¡°Imps forward, kill the intruder! Slashers back, protect us!¡± shouted a voice in the distance.

    That must be the one in charge. The dimwit just gave away his location. Lilizath didn¡¯t travel directly to him. Instead she changed course to the right, running in a wide loop around the voice¡¯s source, getting into a better position.

    When Lilizath peeked out from behind a house, she was able to see her target. Two robed figures were standing in the town square. From this distance, Lilizath could see they were both dark elves, rather than humans. That was good news, she¡¯d be able to find out if elves tasted better than humans. Ever since meeting Patricia, she¡¯d been curious.

    There were no spear toting demons there, but the dark elves were guarded by two of those blade-claw demons. Apparently, the spear demons were Imps, and these ones were Slashers.

    Off in the corner was another demon. Without a doubt, this was the source of the powerful aura she¡¯d felt. It looked like a man on horseback. The man¡¯s armor was dull black, as if coated in soot. It was covered in vicious spikes, and two massive horns jut out from the sides of his helm. No face was visible under his visor, but two glowing red eyes peered out into the town square. His horse was pure black as well, with similar matte black armor. Just like its master, the horse¡¯s eyes glowed red as well.

    Neither the elves, nor the slashers had seen her, but this powerful armored demon was looking directly at her. He made no move to alert his masters though. He casually looked away from her and glanced at his distracted masters. Lilizath smirked, she got the message. He was controlled by magic, but not loyal. They probably told him to wait there, and that¡¯s what he was doing.

    The two elves were out in the open, the twilight of dawn made sneaking close a risky maneuver. There was a simpler solution.

    Trying to repeat her earlier success, Lilizath picked up two bricks from her hiding place¡¯s ruined foundation. She targeted the less nervous elf first, assuming he was the one in charge. She stepped out into the open and hurled the brick with her full force.

    The brick impacted against the back of his head, crushing the skull and kicking up a spray of bloody brain matter and smashed brick shards. The extremely dead elf fell forwards.

    Lilizath was already winding up to throw the second brick, but before she could, the two slasher demons suddenly turned on the remaining elf. A whirl of blades, two from each demon, tore the robed elf to shreds before he could react.

    As soon as the elf was dead, the two slashers turned on each other without hesitation. Their bladed arms shredded skin and muscle. After a few seconds of bloody combat, watched by a surprised Lilizath, and an indifferent armored demon, the surviving slasher turned to the armored one.

    ¡°Murderfuck!¡± The idiotic creature screeched, before limping towards the armored demon on an injured leg, blade arms at the ready.

    The armored demon drew a long bastard sword from a sheath on the horse¡¯s saddle. With a lazy chop, as if swatting a fly, he removed the slasher demon¡¯s head.

    Lilizath and the armored demon were alone now. Seeing no further reason to hide, the demoness walked out into the open. The armored demon moved closer to greet her.

    This was the only true opponent here, everything else was fodder. Now that she was closer, she noticed just how huge this monster was. He was at least eight feet tall, and powerfully built. His horse was just as huge as he was. The knight¡¯s bastard sword was the same sort of blackened steel as his armor. It was as long as a human sized greatsword but at least twice as thick. Despite the blade¡¯s mass, the knight easily held it in one hand.

    The hell knight lazily trotted his horse towards the demon girl. He stopped once he was ten feet away and pointed his blade towards the demoness.

    ¡°I am Thossilek, Hell Knight of Aragnok. I am a Greater Demon of Wrath. Who are you to challenge me? Name yourself.¡± The hell knight¡¯s voice was deep and metallic, like a human voice speaking through a metal tube.

    Lilizath was surprised this creature bothered to introduce himself. She didn¡¯t really care what his name was. It¡¯s not like it would matter once he was dead. Lilizath was worried about having to stop a charging horse, but the idiot threw away that advantage by coming so close. Obviously, wrath demons weren¡¯t the smartest.

    Instead of replying, Lilizath did the smart thing, and charged towards her opponent before he was finished posturing.

    Lilizath didn¡¯t know much about mounted combat or fighting against a man on horseback. That was why she decided to solve the issue before it became a problem. The demoness charged towards the mounted knight from an awkward angle, using the horse itself as cover. The hell knight couldn¡¯t strike at her without taking his own horse¡¯s head off, so he awkwardly tried to maneuver his flat-footed horse out of the way. The surprise attack gave Lilizath more than enough time to reach her target.

    The demonic horse shrieked as Lilizath¡¯s claws sunk into its eyes from either side through the armored barding¡¯s eye holes. The horse¡¯s throat and neck were armored, so Lilizath quickly pulled her claws out, and stuffed one hand into the shrieking horse¡¯s unarmored mouth.

    It turned out that this was a bad idea.

    The demon horse wasn¡¯t the sort of horse that ate grass. It didn¡¯t have flat teeth, but sharp carnivorous teeth instead. Once Lilizath reached down the horse¡¯s throat, the horse clamped down on her arm halfway between her elbow and shoulder. Its demonically hardened teeth sunk deeply into her flesh, reaching all the way to her bone. Lilizath gritted her teeth from the pain.

    Frustrated and perhaps surprised that it couldn¡¯t chew through nearly-indestructible archfiend bone, the horse thrashed its head around, pulling the demon girl off her feet. It hurt. Lilizath let out a scream that twisted into a vicious growl of rage. As the demon girl tried to stab into the horse¡¯s eye holes again with her free hand, the demon horse¡¯s teeth tore at her arm¡¯s flesh, tearing open her wounds.

    Seeing that his opponent was trapped by his horse, the knight laughed and casually lined up his sword for a decisive strike. Sensing its master¡¯s intensions, the horse stopped thrashing, keeping Lilizath still instead.

    The sword came down in a brutal overhead chop. Lilizath, still tethered by her trapped arm, flung herself towards the knight, and kicked up her lower body to meet the sword arm. The knight¡¯s armored elbow struck Lilizath¡¯s body before the blade did, taking the energy out of the swing. The blade cut deep into the demoness¡¯ neck and shoulder, but not deeply enough to cause any difficult to heal damage. Lilizath was stunned by the pain. Having her throat slit and her arm cut apart hurt, it would normally feel agonizing. But right now, that pain was comparatively mild¡­

    Right¡­ in¡­ the squishy bits.

    The knight¡¯s elbow made contact right between Lilizath¡¯s legs. Female squishy bits were built to take a pounding, but not to this extent. A full force strike with an armored elbow, and with a greater demon¡¯s strength behind it¡­ Right in the pussy. Oww!

    Tapping into her willpower reserves, she worked through the pain and wrapped her legs around the knight¡¯s arm. If the knight had a visible face, he would have probably looked confused. Lilizath was hanging off his arm by her legs, upside down, while the horse still had one of her arms inside its mouth.

    Seeing a chance to tear her arm off, the knight pulled Lilizath¡¯s body away from the horse¡¯s jaws while the horse tugged in the opposite direction. The demoness took this opportunity to gather up a large clawful of tender, unprotected flesh from inside the horse¡¯s throat.

    Lilizath¡¯s reinforced arm joint was stronger than the horse¡¯s bite strength. Instead of severing her arm, the knight¡¯s efforts slid her arm out of the horse¡¯s grip with a cascade of demon blood. The pain was overwhelming. Lilizath screamed, losing strength in her legs. She was flung away from the knight like a ragdoll and she rolled to a stop several feet away.

    This¡­ this was much worse than being hit in the pussy. Lilizath was stunned by the pain. Her arm was shredded, nearly all of her skin had been left behind, still trapped in the horse¡¯s teeth. The horse¡¯s sharp fangs tore vicious grooves in Lilizath¡¯s arm muscle, as deep as her bone. The damage wasn¡¯t as bad as the succubus¡¯ disintegration magic, but it was far more painful. She hadn¡¯t lost her arm, but she¡¯d been close.

    Not all of the demon blood was her own though. Inside her tightly clenched fist, was a long trail of rather important looking horse guts, torn free with the hell knight¡¯s help. Instead of pink, like human guts, these were as black as demon blood. Lilizath slowly dragged herself to her feet, wobbling slightly, and unclenched her fist, letting the horse offal fall against the cobblestone town square with a splat.

    She caught her breath, and felt the pain die away into tingles while her regeneration worked hard to repair her neck, arm, and somewhat bruised squishy bits.

    On the other side of the square stood the knight, still astride his horse. It was amazing that the creature was still standing. Hadn¡¯t she done enough to kill it? The knight coolly turned the horse to face her, getting ready to charge.

    To the demoness¡¯ relief, instead of charging, the horse¡¯s knees started to wobble. And then it threw up a torrent of black blood that splashed against the cobblestone. Lilizath watched the horse collapse down onto its side, no longer moving. The knight disentangled himself from his downed mount, and stood in place for the second, looking down at his dead beast.

    He turned to Lilizath, giving her a chilling glare with his glowing red eyes, and began walking towards her, sword at the ready. He walked at a slow steady place, giving himself time to savor the wounded demon girl¡¯s fear, knowing that in her weakened state, her death was inevitable.

    It was an intimidating sight, the demoness had to admit. Lucky for her, thanks to his overly dramatic scary walk, he was taking his time to reach her. Every second he wasted, the demoness¡¯ wounds regenerated. This hell knight probably didn¡¯t know she had that ability. Drenched in blood as she was, it wasn¡¯t obvious from a distance that her wounds were closing.

    The knight suddenly burst into a run, roaring out a wordless battlecry, raising his bastard sword in both hands. He probably noticed she didn¡¯t look scared. It seemed Lilizath¡¯s break time was up. Her throat was fixed, but her arm was still missing skin, and a lot of muscle. She¡¯d have to make do.

    Lilizath flashed back to her sparing matches with Tanya. Both the sexy one and the knight wielded two handed swords and their techniques looked surprisingly similar. The demoness walked forward cautiously, focused on her target. Her blood simmered, she was desperate to return her pain to the knight, but she knew that fully indulging in her wrath wouldn¡¯t help her win against a competent fighter.

    Lilizath efficiently dodged the knight¡¯s slash, letting him miss her by inches. He had an advantage in strength, mass, and reach. Despite his demonic advantages, his attacks were actually slower and less refined than Tanya¡¯s. This brute relied mostly on his size and strength to defeat his enemies.

    After the next, easily dodged, swing. The demon girl spotted an opening to counterattack. She ducked behind his sword arm, reached down, and grabbed a clawful of flesh. She tore a chunk of demon flesh free from the unarmored back of the knight¡¯s knee joint as she ducked behind him.

    The knight growled in frustration, spinning around to face his target. He put less weight on his injured leg on the next swing. Lilizath dodged by and struck it again. This time, she delivered a fierce kick to the knee joint from the side. His powerful knee joint didn¡¯t break, but it still twisted inwards, effectively knocking the leg out from under him.

    The massive knight teetered backwards. Lilizath helped him down by grabbing hold of one of the knight¡¯s armor spikes and pulling him to the ground. The knight landed flat on his back with a heavy crash. Lilizath didn¡¯t hesitate to take advantage of the situation. Her claws reached into his visor¡¯s eye slits and sunk into his eyes.

    The knight growled with pain and rage, grabbed hold of the demon girl, and flung her away. Lilizath let him but kept a firm grip on the knight¡¯s helmet as he did so. She landed a few feet away, and quickly scrambled to her feet. Barely holding back her sadistic glee, she tossed the demon knight¡¯s helm aside, into a pile of rubble that was once a general store.

    The blinded knight shakily started to climb to his feet. Underneath the helmet, he looked similar to the imps and slashers. Red skin, sharp features. He was bigger than the slashers, and his horns were longer, sticking out from the side of his head like a bull. Lilizath was surprised to see they were part of his head, not his helmet.

    She moved towards the demon quickly and silently. The knight was halfway to his feet when Lilizath¡¯s knee smashed into his face. The powerful strike knocked him down to his back again, and Lilizath pounced, straddling his chest and tearing into his face with her claws.

    The knight quickly became too weak and incoherent to fight back, but he still took a long time to die. By the time the demon girl was done, several minutes later, she¡¯d shredded his entire head apart, leaving only a stump behind.

    ¡°Cunt¡­ Rip¡­¡± came a pathetic, weak voice from behind.

    Lilizath turned to see a lone imp limping towards her. He was covered in wounds, bleeding profusely and using his spear as a crutch. This was the sole surviving imp, coming to kill his next opponent. Lilizath chuckled playfully, pushed him over, and stomped on his face until he stopped moving.

    She took a deep breath and sighed in satisfaction as she looked at the carnage around her. She felt better.

    A greater demon, and his horse, almost a dozen lesser demons, and an entire stack of human bodies in the corner to cleanse her palette afterwards. That¡¯s not even mentioning the two elf bodies that looked absolutely tantalizing. This was going to be an amazing feast!

    Lilizath ignored the crying humans, tightly bound and huddling together inside one of the nearby houses. She also ignored the other whimpering humans sitting inside some sort of blood-stained magic circle off in the corner town square. They were all doing normal human stuff like begging for mercy, praying for somebody to save them from the horrible monster, and quivering in terror.

    Stupid humans.

    Lilizath dug right in, trying her first bite of greater demon. Blegh! Disgusting.

 20 - Surveying the Ashes

    The last twelve hours of Eric¡¯s life had been a horrible nightmare and it didn¡¯t look like things were going to get better anytime soon.

    The attack started in the middle of the night, when most of the village was asleep, Eric included. He woke up to the agonizing sound of infernal tongue being screeched out across the village. A quick glance out the window revealed a horde of tiny red men, armed with spears, scurrying down the town¡¯s only street. The demons were small, but vicious, easily able to bring down men twice their own size. They were followed by a half dozen dark elves in black robes, flinging fire spells into wooden homes to flush the villagers out of hiding.

    Those who didn¡¯t want to burn to death, fled into the street. Those who came out wielding weapons, were cut down. Those who couldn¡¯t fight, like Eric, were pinned down and captured. Some villagers that lived on the outskirts managed to flee, but the little red demons chased after them. Eric wished them the best, but from the screams he heard through the forest¡¯s gloom, he wasn¡¯t exactly hopeful about their fates.

    The captives were all crammed together in the blacksmith¡¯s home. It had walls of brick, and a roof clad in thinly hammered copper sheets. It was one of the only structures in the village impervious to fire. Inside, Eric huddled next to his surviving neighbours, helplessly awaiting whatever fate these raiders had for them.

    Nearly an hour after the attack, two women were dragged in. They were two of the villagers that ran into the woods, pursued by the spear wielding demons. There was Rose, a young woman of marrying age who most of the young men in town had a secret crush on, and there was Rebecca, wife of the village tailor, and mother of two. Eric¡¯s heart sank. Her husband and her kids weren¡¯t with her.

    Both women were dishevelled, their dresses had been torn open and were now held closed to preserve their modesty. They were both covered in bruises along their arms and legs. Neither of them spoke¡­ Neither of them responded in any way. Eric wasn¡¯t about to ask what happened. It was obvious enough that the demons indulged themselves with the fleeing women before they were brought back to the village. Each woman chose a corner, and stayed there, curling up and making themselves as small as possible.

    Why did these monsters bother to capture them alive? It wasn¡¯t long before Eric found out they weren¡¯t spared out of mercy¡­

    Starting with the more dangerous looking, or defiant villagers, the townsfolk were led out of the house in groups of five. When the screams started, Eric managed to worm his way over to a window to witness their fates.

    The villagers were chained in place around a magic circle. Inscribed within the circle, among a complex weave of magic symbols, was a five pointed star. One villager was forced to kneel at each point of the star. With the sacrifices in position, one of the evil mages activated the magic, and the five villagers died screaming while the blood drained from their bodies. It poured from their eyes, ears, nose, and other more unspeakable orifices, pooling in the centre of the circle. The resulting corpses were pale and bloodless, twisted in agony, with tears of blood and faces frozen in a permanent scream.

    The monsters that appeared inside the circle afterwards were completely different than the little red demons. These were monsters among monsters, on a completely different level than their lesser kin.

    The first demon summoned was beautiful and terrible in equal part. Beautiful beyond mortal ken, with skin as pristine as polished marble, but with an unmistakeable cruelty in his sapphire blue eyes. Black feathered wings sprouted from his back, his shape a mockery of the gods¡¯ own angelic servants.

    The second demon summoned was a titan of impossible size. He was a giant, barely fitting inside the summoning circle, and standing taller than any building in the village, at least 30 feet high. Like the smaller demons, his skin was red, with black horns, and black claws on his fingertips. He was naked, but from the waist down his skin was hidden under a thick layer of black fur. His feet were cloven hooves, and the footprint alone was the size of a wheelbarrow.

    The third demon was a knight in black armor astride a demonic horse. He had a more subdued appearance than his peers. Only the glowing red eyes, and ominous aura betrayed this creature¡¯s inhumanity.

    After the third summoning, four of the elves left, taking most of the little red demons and the three greater nightmares with them. At first Eric was relieved, hoping these bastards had gotten what they wanted. Unfortunately, the remaining two elves gathered up another five townspeople, and placed them in the circle once more.

    The fourth demon summoned was another knight in black. He was similar to his kin, save for the design of his armor. This one was covered in spikes, while the previous knight had armor in a smoother, more conventional design.

    For the fifth summoning it was Eric¡¯s turn to die. He didn¡¯t have the will to resist as the elves and their demons dragged him into position next to the other four victims. He was shackled in iron, tethered to anchors hammered deep into the dirt, forced to kneel. An entire family would die alongside him. Harvey, the baker, Dana, his wife, and their two boys. Instead of panic and terror, Eric felt numb. He idly wondered what sort of monster his life would be traded for.

    Then he heard the roar.

    The sound broke him from his stupor and chilled him to the core. His conscious mind couldn¡¯t recognize the source, but his unconscious mind told him to run, and to run quickly. He desperately thrashed in his chains. A calamity was approaching, and nothing would survive once it arrived.

    Despite his desperation, Eric made no progress towards his escape. At least his death was delayed, thanks to the interruption. The two elves left the villagers behind, rushing off to manage their minions and deal with the source of that terrible sound. Eric watched, cold sweat soaking through his shirt, waiting for the monster to appear.

    She wasn¡¯t what he expected.

    Eric¡¯s unconscious mind screamed as he watched her stalk through the shadows behind the mages. His conscious mind was confused. All things considered, she was pretty normal. She was a girl in a tattered dress, human in appearance aside from her claws and horns. The demon blood splatters that covered her body were evidence enough that she was more dangerous than she looked, but at first glance she was less scary than even the little red spear demons.

    And then she threw a brick. With her bare hands (claws?) she launched it like a stone from a sling, or an arrow from a bow. The mage that killed so many of the villagers and burned so many homes died without even putting up a fight.

    What followed was a scene of carnage and brutality that immediately changed Eric¡¯s perception of the demon girl. His instincts were right. This was the cataclysm the ominous roar predicted. She was faster and stronger than Eric thought possible, his eyes could barely track her as she moved. At one point the knight and his horse nearly ripped off her arm, and Eric watched it regrow. She wasn¡¯t just strong, she was unkillable.

    With the battle over, the demon girl looked over the carnage with a content grin. Eric saw her glance over the villagers, still bound and helpless. When her gaze fell on him, Eric wanted to shrink away. The demon¡¯s eyes were sharp and predatory, and they lingered on him more than the others. She was hungry and Eric hoped he didn¡¯t look tasty.

    As if to confirm his fears, the demon bent down and began cannibalizing her fellow demon. Eric watched the girl eat, black blood dripping down her chin and over her breasts. In a different context, this monster might have been attractive. The shredded dress revealed hints of a very nice figure beneath, every so often a nipple would peek out from behind one of the torn shreds of fabric. But watching the girl tear apart a demon with her teeth alone, drenching herself in blood, killed any lustful thoughts immediately.

    By this point, Eric¡¯s distress had reached some sort of plateau. He¡¯d seen so many terrifying impossible things by this point, that he barely even registered the fact that the girl ate a giant muscular man, and his equally giant horse with no apparent digestive issues. The demon left, and returned minutes later dragging a pile of smaller demon bodies, which she then ate as well.

    When the demons were finished, she moved on to the human corpses. Eric watched the delight on her face as she took the first bite, and then the disappointment on her face as she swallowed. Maybe the bloodless corpses the sacrificial ritual left behind weren¡¯t that tasty. Eric briefly recognized she was eating humans in front of him, but he was already at maximum horror, there was simply nowhere else to go horror-wise.

    Eric actually heard her moan when she ate the elven mages. Perhaps elves were tasty? Eric didn¡¯t really want to know.

    After an hour, the sun had fully risen, and the town square was empty of bodies. 12 demons, 20 humans, two elves, and one demonic horse, vanished into the slim little lady¡¯s tummy. The girl patted her stomach, stretched her arms up lazily, and started walking towards the blacksmith¡¯s house where the villagers were bound. Uh oh, she wasn¡¯t done eating¡­ They were all going to die.

    The villagers inside the house screamed as she approached. Halfway there, she stopped, looked down at herself and turned around. The demon girl walked up to the well on the opposite edge of the town square, drew a bucket of water, and dumped it over herself. She repeated the process until the blood was all gone, revealing the smooth alabaster skin beneath. Eric remained horrified, but he had to admit, she looked a bit better without the blood.

    The screams resumed as the demon girl wandered into the blacksmith¡¯s hut. Seconds later, unbound villagers ran from the house, huddling together in the square, and whimpering nervously. Eric didn¡¯t believe it, was she letting the villagers go? Was this monster here to rescue them?

    With the villagers inside the blacksmith¡¯s house set free, the demon girl walked towards Eric and the four others bound in the circle. Eric watched the girl¡¯s powerful muscles strain and pull apart the heavy chains binding the four other victims next to him. She then turned to Eric, saving him for last.

    She easily tore apart the chain tethering Eric to the ground but stopped there. She didn¡¯t remove the manacles binding his arms behind him. Eric¡¯s eyes went wide. This was different. What was going to happen?

    The demon girl circled around to Eric¡¯s front, and squatted down to his level. She looked deeply in his eyes, inches away from his face. Eric¡¯s glanced at her lips. They were pretty lips, but he couldn¡¯t help but remember how easily she could bite through human flesh. The demon girl drew herself closer, placing her lips against his vulnerable neck. That¡¯s it! He was dead.

    To Eric¡¯s surprise, she didn¡¯t bite him. Instead she inhaled deeply, catching a noseful of his scent. Eric¡¯s body remained tense, not sure how to react. He¡¯d never had a woman walk up to him and smell him before.

    The demon girl moved back, looking into Eric¡¯s eyes again. ¡°I¡¯m going to make you my plaything,¡± she whispered, with a smile.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ what?¡± Eric¡¯s jaw dropped.

    ¡°You¡­ are¡­ my¡­ toy¡­¡± she said, taking her time to enunciate each syllable. Her voice was sultry and playful, completely out of character for the snarling monster that had just slaughtered a village full of demons.

    ¡°Uh¡­ well uh¡­¡± Eric realized he was blushing. Did she mean¡­ that? The other male demons raped two of the women captives, so it made sense in a way¡­ But why him? He wasn¡¯t exactly the manliest, or the most experienced with women. He wasn¡¯t sure how to react.

    ¡°Do you object to being my toy?¡± The demon girl¡¯s voice lost its lust and turned cold. Her unflinching stare suddenly became very scary.

    ¡°No Ma¡¯am!¡± Eric replied immediately. Being a toy was better than being a meal.

    The demon smiled happily, the scary look vanished from her eyes, and Eric allowed himself to breathe again.

    As Eric pictured the bruises and scratches covering the two female victims who had been recaptured earlier, a creeping dread wormed its way into his gut. He wasn¡¯t going to be killed immediately, but now he had to worry about what exactly this demon intended to do to him. If he didn¡¯t struggle, would she spare him the abuse? If not, what horrible tortures did she plan to inflict on her ¡®toy¡¯?

    ¡°W-what are you going to do to me?¡± Eric stammered.

    The demon girl didn¡¯t answer the question. Instead, she straightened up, standing in front of the bound kneeling man. The demon girl bit her lip and stepped forward, lifting the hem of her dress while closing the distance between them.

    Eric caught a brief glimpse of the girl¡¯s intimate parts before she pressed forward and casually straddled his face. His vision went dark as the black skirt fell above his head. A clawed hand reached behind his skull to pull him forward and prevent retreat. His gasp of surprise was cut off. Something hot and wet pressed against his lips.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    ¡°Lick,¡± the demon girl commanded. Eric didn¡¯t hesitate to obey.

    He opened his mouth and ran his tongue between the demon¡¯s pussy lips. The demon¡¯s skin was hot, almost burning to the touch, and her pussy was even more so. She was already turned on, incredibly so, as each brush of his tongue lapped up the demon¡¯s wetness. She tasted¡­ spicy? No, not really¡­ but there wasn¡¯t really a better way to describe it. It was¡­ unique, and not entirely unpleasant.

    His mind was a swirl of conflicting emotions. On one hand, yay for pussy, yay for sex! On the other hand, he was scared out of his mind. To disappoint the monster girl probably meant death. Still, he was relived that this was all she demanded of him for now. Being asked to pleasure an attractive scary woman was hardly the worst thing that could have happened to him today.

    The other townsfolk were nowhere to be found, happy to leave him to his fate. Likely, they were too scared to be near this monster, and wanted to avoid her attention while she was distracted. This suited Eric just fine; he wasn¡¯t exactly an exhibitionist. It¡¯s not like they¡¯d be able to ¡®save¡¯ him even if they wanted to. Plus, he didn¡¯t even really know if he wanted to be ¡®saved¡¯ right now.

    He closed his eyes, pushed the uncertainty from his mind, and focused on pleasing his captor. Eric licked up to her clit, circling it with his tongue before closing his lips around it. A quiet moan escaped from the demon¡¯s mouth. He was clearly doing something right. The clawed hand combed through his hair, massaging his head. The demon girl grinded herself into him, increasing her own stimulation. Eric gently sucked and licked her bud. He felt demonic love juice dripping down his chin.

    Suddenly, the pressure increased, almost crushing him against the demon¡¯s cunt. The grinding became faster and more aggressive. Her soft pubic mound now blocked his nose, preventing him from drawing breath. The claws on his head dug in painfully. Demonic thighs twitched and trembled next to him. Panicked, Eric tried to pull himself away and breathe again, but it was useless. Her grip was stronger than the shackles binding his arms.

    Thankfully, after a few seconds of panic, the clawed hand released him, letting him fall backwards while he caught his breath. At the same time, the demoness herself staggered back. She had a lewd smile of satisfaction and looked a bit shaky on her feet, still twitching occasionally from the orgasmic aftershocks.

    ¡°Good. I¡¯m¡­ aah¡­ satisfied for now.¡± The demoness sighed contently, crouched next to Eric again and tore the last of his restraints apart.

    ¡°Uuh thanks¡­¡± Eric straightened up into a sitting position and wiped the girl juice off his chin. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we just¡­ I don¡¯t even know your name,¡± he mumbled quietly.

    ¡°Lilizath,¡± she replied with a friendly smile. ¡°You can call me Lily if you want.¡±

    ¡°Oh! Uuh¡­ my name¡¯s Eric.¡±

    ¡°I know,¡± the demon girl replied. ¡°The young humans told me your name.¡±

    ¡°Young humans?¡± Eric asked, his voice perking up.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± the demon girl said, with an indifferent shrug. ¡°I think the girl was Milly, and the boy was¡­ Boy. They hid in the forest before I attacked, probably still alive.¡±

    Rebecca¡¯s kids! They survived!

    ¡°I have to tell their mother! We have to find them!¡± Eric sprang to his feet, ready to run off. He stopped himself, glancing over his shoulder at the demon girl nervously. ¡°Can I¡­ can I go?¡±

    Lily, the demon, yawned. ¡°Yeah sure, I¡¯m tired after eating so much. Now that you helped me relax, I¡¯m going to have a nap. I¡¯ll find you again when I¡¯m ready to use you more.¡±

    Having received the demon¡¯s permission, Eric ran off to find the other villagers.

    <hr>

    ¡°Peter! Milly!¡± Rebecca called out frantically while she sprinted across the field to the woods. Several of the village men chased after her, barely able to keep up.

    Eric hoped the kids were still alive. Rebecca was a hollow shell after surviving the Imp demons¡¯ assault. Now that there was some hope of her kids being alive and unharmed, she was animated.

    When Eric returned from¡­ ¡®servicing¡¯ the demoness, the townsfolk gave him sympathetic looks. Looking at the state of the two girls that survived the Imp encounters, he could understand what they were thinking. Demons, especially Wrath demons, were cruel and sadistic by nature. They weren¡¯t known to be gentle lovers. Their concern wasn¡¯t warranted in his case. Eric thought the demoness treated him quite well, all things considered.

    ¡°Mom!¡±

    A tearful boy and girl charged out of the bushes, and pounced on their mother, nearly knocking her down. The two kids looked dirty and scared, but otherwise unharmed. Lily hadn¡¯t abused them either, it seemed; another point in her favour. Eric smiled. Finally, after all this horribleness, there was a small glimmer of mercy. Rebecca lost her husband, was brutally assaulted, but she didn¡¯t lose her kids. She still had a family.

    <hr>

    Eric kicked through the pile of ashes. The other villagers were spread out, doing the same to their own ash piles.

    Like nearly every other structure in the village, Eric¡¯s little shack, and nearly everything inside it, was gone. The village had unanimously decided to pack up a caravan and leave together for a safer town. The demons were still out there, and they could come back anytime. This village was gone. They were still arguing about it, but Eric supposed they¡¯d eventually decide to head to Befield. It was a larger town close by, with a wall and a town guard. He didn¡¯t know if it could hold off a demon army, but it would be better than an isolated little hamlet like this.

    Lily the demoness was still sleeping, curled up near a smouldering pile of embers. Some part of Eric was actually hoping she¡¯d want to ¡®use¡¯ him again when she woke up. The rest of him wanted to slap him for being stupid. That was just asking for trouble.

    He rummaged underneath his ruined sleeping cot and pulled out a small charred satchel. The leather bag disintegrated on contact, spilling out a small shower of coins. Thankfully, silver didn¡¯t burn. He would have liked to save up more before putting his plan into action, but it was probably time to move on to a larger city on the safer side of the mountains and try to start a career as a proper bard.

    He scooped up the coins, stuffing them into a burlap sack he took from the town granary. Thankfully the town¡¯s food supply, while partially looted, was at least spared the fire. Eric¡¯s books of poems, including the songs he penned were all ash now. That was okay, they were still in his heart. There was only one thing he really needed now. He desperately hoped it survived.

    Digging under his bed once more, he dug out his lute. It was¡­ damaged, but not destroyed. The sheep gut strings had snapped from the heat, and the flames had licked along the top side, charring the wood black. It seemed to be whole and intact though, the burnt wood giving it a unique new finish too. Hopefully he still had¡­

    Eric dug under the bed again, and pulled out a small sealed box, containing a replacement set of strings he¡¯d bought recently. Huzzah! They survived too! The snapped ones were getting old anyway. Delicately, the bard re-strung Gloria, his precious lute.

    <hr>

    Patricia, once again, returned to the scene of the crime. She stood on the edge of the crater. Her adoptive family¡¯s gravesite. And now she was going grave robbing.

    ¡°Woah¡­ this is fucked,¡± the always insightful Tanya commented upon seeing the destruction.

    ¡°Yes¡­ Yes it is,¡± Patricia replied.

    There were other looters here too. It was inevitable. The Montagne family was rich. Patricia tried not to let it bother her, it¡¯s not like they were going to find anything. That fire had been hot enough to melt stone and vaporize most metals.

    This morning the two of them went to the market to spend last night¡¯s ill-gotten gold. Most of the ¡®Drake¡¯ gang members didn¡¯t have much on them, but their leader, the one Tanya killed with a thrown shortsword, was apparently carrying the bulk of the loot. They had a ¡®fortune¡¯ of 25 entire gold pieces to their name.

    Both ladies bought themselves socks, underwear, and a few changes of clothes. Tanya got herself a backpack, survival supplies, and a whetstone to sharpen her new blades. She also took a scavenged set of chain mail to a blacksmith to get it refitted to her size. She claimed a bastard sword and a dagger for herself. The former was slung across her back, and the latter was tucked away inside the backpack. They sold the rest of the scavenged weapons.

    Patricia commissioned two more maid outfits for herself. She¡¯d spent the last 80 years dressed as maid, and it had been the happiest years of her life. She knew it was strange, but she decided she¡¯d continue wearing the uniform, as a tribute of sorts. She also got herself a small finely woven silk pouch. If what she suspected was true, she¡¯d need it.

    She was here at the grave site to pick up one last item. An old heirloom she¡¯d hidden in the house¡¯s foundation years ago. One that no amount of money could replace. She activated Arcane Sight and looked around. He lips curled into a grimace. No auras. It was damaged, as expected.

    Patricia walked around the edge of the crater, keeping a close eye on the fence lining edge of the estate grounds, her only remaining reference points. When she found the spot, she climbed down the edge of the crater, descending to ¡®basement¡¯ level, and searched around.

    ¡°So¡­ where am I digging?¡± Tanya asked, holding up the shovel they borrowed from one of Patricia¡¯s farmer acquaintances.

    Patricia quickly scanned her surroundings. No signs of digging nearby, that means nobody found it.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know yet,¡± she replied, ¡°we¡¯re going to have to do this the hard way.¡±

    Patricia sat down cross legged and closed her eyes to concentrate.

    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Tanya asked, breaking Patricia¡¯s concentration and causing the spell to fizzle out before it began.

    ¡°Lesser Detect Metal,¡± the elf grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s a lower tier divination spell I happen to know. I¡¯ll need about an hour to complete it. You can go take a nap or something.¡±

    ¡°An hour?¡± Tanya exclaimed. ¡°I thought you were supposed to be Miss Super Wizard, why does it take an hour?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a Pyromancer, specialized in exploding people, I¡¯m not a Diviner,¡± Patricia replied, somewhat more defensively than she intended, ¡°I learned some low tier divination stuff as part of a proper well rounded magical education, but I haven¡¯t put in the decades of effort needed to master it. I know enough to get by, so just be patient.¡±

    Tanya wandered back up the side of the crater, grumbling something about prissy mages. Patricia settled back into her concentration. Half a minute later, she heard the scraping sound of a sword being sharpened with a whetstone. Tanya was probably fixing up her recently looted bastard sword.

    Patricia concentrated hard on her spell for the next hour. Slowly¡­ very slowly¡­ a faint signal came into focus inside her mind. A faint feeling of presence, resonating from the very rare metal Patricia was scanning for.

    Abyssal Adamantine was a wonderful material. Only the most elite of the demonic horde carried Adamantine weapons. They were rare, even among greater demons, reserved for only the nastiest of the nasty. It was much heavier than steel, but impossibly strong and hard when forged properly. Due to its incredibly high melting point, forging it was obviously a challenge, but thanks to that melting point, it might be the only thing to have survived the Witchfire Fireball¡¯s devastation.

    ¡°Tanya,¡± Patricia called out. ¡°It¡¯s over here.¡±

    Patricia returned to her feet and walked as close as she could to the buried object. Tanya appeared over the lip of the crater, and Patricia pointed.

    ¡°Here.¡±

    ¡°Why am I the one digging?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Because you¡¯re so strong and sexy,¡± Patricia replied, swaying her hips, posing like the dainty little damsel she was while sounding as flirty as possible.

    ¡°Fuck you,¡± Tanya grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re lucky you¡¯re hot.¡±

    ¡°Thank you! It¡¯s about two feet in, and¡­ this high off the ground,¡± Patricia said, gesturing the height to Tanya. ¡°Careful once you get close, we don¡¯t want to lose any shards.¡±

    Tanya got to work, while Patricia fussed about, looking over her shoulder. After five minutes of digging, Patricia yanked Tanya¡¯s shovel away, having spotted her prize.

    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Patricia dove to her knees and started digging through the loose ashy soil with her bare hands.

    The dark elf excavated the object with meticulous care, treating it like an extremely rare and powerful artifact from a dead civilization. It actually was, so despite Tanya rolling her eyes, Patricia took her time.

    The object that Patricia uncovered was a long mage¡¯s staff. It was a smooth solid column, that split into twisting strands near the top. The entire thing was made from rune inscribed black metal. At first glance, one could mistake it for wrought iron, but the metal itself was far darker, as black as the Abyss itself. At the staff¡¯s tip, nestled in the twisting tendrils of adamantine was the shattered remains of a gemstone, damaged by heat. It was a Cerulean Diamond, an incredibly rare gem, and this specific one was about the size of her fist. It was once precisely cut to minimize magical interference, though that obviously wasn¡¯t the case anymore. Even in its shattered state, it was probably still worth a fortune.

    ¡°There it is,¡± Patricia said proudly. ¡°Riftwatcher. The staff of my late mentor, Grandmaster Luthon, inherited by yours truly after his death. It¡¯s an original artifact from the dark elven empire, 400 years old, forged from Abyssal Adamantine, and topped with a Cerulean Diamond focus. It¡¯s a little treasure that I managed to lose and then find again during my journey to the surface. It¡¯s completely irreplaceable and the only thing I have left from my home.¡±

    ¡°Does it still work?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Uuh¡­ no,¡± Patricia replied, suddenly dejected, ¡°it¡¯s just a pretty stick right now, one with immense sentimental value. That said, I might be able to repair it. I know a technique, but it¡¯s sort of¡­ shoddy? It¡¯s better than nothing though.¡±

    Patricia took out her little silk satchel, and gently gathered up the shattered gemstone pieces.

    ¡°Can¡¯t you just put a new gem on it?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Yeah, that would work too,¡± Patricia said. ¡°Just find me another perfectly cut 3000 carat Cerulean Diamond to replace it and I¡¯ll pop it right in.¡±

    ¡°Uuh¡­ I guess those are hard to find?¡±

    ¡°Basically priceless. Existing stones of this caliber are only in private collections. The last one I heard about was sold for a half-million gold,¡± Patricia said nonchalantly, knowing the absurd amount was easily twenty times the value of the entire Montagne estate before the explosion. ¡°They¡¯re only found deep underground, so you¡¯d better prepare an expedition into the Hellmouth if you want to find more of them.¡±

    Patricia very carefully moved the largest piece into her silk pouch.

    ¡°So you¡¯re going to fix it? How?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to glue it together,¡± Patricia explained.

    Tanya did not look impressed, ¡°That¡¯ll work?¡± She asked skeptically.

    ¡°Kinda?¡± Patricia replied. ¡°It¡¯ll mostly work. I just gotta mix up the right kind of glue.¡±

    ¡°What do you need?¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy,¡± Patricia explained. ¡°Silver. I¡¯m just going to melt a couple coins to the right temperature and separate out all the copper, zinc, and who knows what else that the stupid humans, no offence, use to dilute their coinage.¡±

    ¡°Do you know anyone with a forge?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Pyromancer,¡± Patricia said, pointing to herself smugly with her thumb, ¡°I am the forge.¡±

    Patricia finished picking up gem shards, double and triple checking to make sure she didn¡¯t miss any. If there was a silver lining to this dark cloud, the gemstone at least shattered into large pieces. It was in seven large chunks, and three smaller slivers, so piecing it back together wouldn¡¯t be overly arduous.

    Knowing it would get a reaction, Patricia handed Tanya the empty adamantine staff. ¡°Here, hold this.¡±

    Tanya took it gingerly and nearly dropped it, not expecting the weight, ¡°Woah!¡±

    Patricia chucked, ¡°Abyssal Adamantine, aside from the weight, it¡¯s a miracle material. Unfortunately, it¡¯s about twice as dense as steel so it¡¯s hard to use. That staff weighs about 20 lbs.¡±

    ¡°Holy shit, it¡¯s like a mace, I could bludgeon someone to death with this,¡± Tanya said, gleefully.

    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time it was used that way. It looks delicate, but that metal is damn near indestructible once it¡¯s forged. It¡¯s only a shame that the same couldn¡¯t be said for the gemstone.¡±

    Patricia returned to her feet, tucking the silk satchel away, and brushing off the front of her skirt.

    ¡°Behold! The Staff of Bludgeoning,¡± Tanya said, returning the staff to Patricia.

    ¡°Its name is Riftwatcher,¡± Patricia grumbled.

    ¡°Riftwatcher, the great staff of bludgeoning!¡± Tanya called out, kneeling before the once-great artifact.

    Patricia rolled her eyes and decided not to dignify Tanya¡¯s teasing with a response. The two girls climbed their way out of the crater and returned to the inn.

 21 - Exposition and Music

    ¡°No. Not a chance. Don¡¯t even think about it,¡± the dark elven barman scolded.

    It turned out the Nedrithel didn¡¯t approve of Patricia¡¯s plan to refine molten silver inside his tavern. The elven man just snapped his fingers and pointed to the door. Patricia dejectedly dragged her feet outside, shoulders slumped like a scolded child.

    ¡°Told ya he wouldn¡¯t let you,¡± Tanya said, with a grin.

    ¡°He usually lets me get away with worse. I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d suddenly grow a spine,¡± Patricia replied.

    ¡°Yeah, I think his opinion changed when you-know-who murdered an inquisitor and brought the town guard into his little criminal haven.¡±

    Patricia looked dejected, turning the corner and wandering into an alley near the tavern, ¡°I was out shopping. That wasn¡¯t even my fault!¡±

    ¡°You sorta vouched for them,¡± Tanya said, hesitantly. ¡°I mean, thanks and shit, it really helped us out, but trusting Lily to behave herself wasn¡¯t the wisest idea.¡±

    Patricia settled herself down, cross legged on the cobblestone. The alley was deserted, and the stone out here was fireproof enough. She¡¯d just need to be careful about lighting the nearby buildings on fire.

    ¡°Yeah, I should have really known better. To be honest, I let my guard down around her,¡± Patricia admitted. ¡°I know demons. Lily doesn¡¯t act like one. Demons are single minded, ruthless and cruel. They don¡¯t explore, they¡¯re not curious, and they don¡¯t hesitate to act on their sadistic urges. Lily acts more like a mortal, like one of us.¡±

    Patricia absentmindedly cast Demonskin on herself. A faint tingle spread across her skin. Despite the name, it had nothing to do with actual demonic magic. It was an old fire resistance spell invented by the demon-friendly dark elves of old. She opened her purse and picked a few silver coins out, the cleanest ones she could find, and tossed them into a clay mug she ¡®borrowed¡¯ from the tavern on her way outside.

    Patricia placed a hand on the cobblestone, channeling a flameless heat to dry the ground around her. She took out her little silk pouch, laid out the crystal shards, and carefully assembled the crystal into its original shape, laying out the pieces in the correct orientation.

    ¡°Stand back, Tanya.¡±

    Patricia placed the clay mug on the ground and held a hand over the top. She waited for Tanya to move back a few feet before she unleashed her magic. A roar of blue flame erupted from her palm and swirled around inside the pint.

    She had to control the temperature perfectly, heating slowly to keep the heat even throughout the metal. The silver coins started to soften. She was aiming for a specific temperature. She only wanted to melt the silver, not the impurities inside.

    Patricia stopped and lifted her hand away. Inside the mug was a puddle of molten silver, with a film of lumpy crud floating on the surface. Rolling up her sleeve, she reached into the molten metal with her bare fingers, lifted the slag out, and flicked it against the cobblestone where it hissed violently.

    Tanya looked on in horror, ¡°That doesn¡¯t hurt?¡±

    ¡°Nope, it just feels a bit warm. I¡¯m under the effects of a minor heat immunity spell. One of the first things you learn as a Pyromancer is how not to get burned. We wouldn¡¯t survive practicing our spells otherwise. I¡¯ve blown myself up with experimental spells more times than I can count.¡±

    ¡°Neat.¡±

    Patricia grabbed a piece of gemstone, and gently heated it. When it was the same temperature as the molten metal, she scooped up a finger full of pure silver and slathered it along the surface of the fracture. She then took a second piece of heated gemstone and squished it up against the first. She continued piecing the crystal together. It was like building a cobblestone wall, with the shards as the stones, and the silver as the mortar.

    The cerulean diamond was once a perfect icosahedron, a round shape with twenty identically sized triangular facets. The result of Patricia¡¯s attempted fix was an irregular, poorly aligned, mess with smears of gooey molten silver squishing out between the cracks. In other words, she basically ruined her diamond. But there was still another step to the process.

    Patricia placed the makeshift silver crucible to the side and held the gem in her hand, focusing on it intensely. From her hand, she let a gentle blue flame swirl around the gem, keeping the stone warm, and the silver soft.

    She then focused on channeling her mana through the gemstone, like she would for a normal spell focus. It wasn¡¯t easy. The distorted shape caused the mana to scatter and reflect off the outer surface. What mana made it inside felt heavy and restricted. The gemstone resisted her efforts to flow mana through it. This was basically the opposite of what a focus was supposed to do. Straining her mental muscles, she forced the mana through the diamond anyway. Slowly, the resistance inside the gemstone grew weaker, and the weak mana flow turned into a cascading river.

    As the mana cycled through the crystal, the misaligned shards twisted themselves into the position of least magical resistance. The changes to the alignment were subtle, hard to see with the naked eye, but the effect on the mana flow was huge. Maintaining her mana flow, Patricia reached with her other hand, and used her fingertips to wipe away the excess silver, creating a nice smooth edge along the gemstone¡¯s seams.

    The swirling blue flame grew smaller. Patricia began the gradual cooling process, taking care not to cool too quickly and crack open the seams again. She maintained the mana flow the entire time, careful not to let the pieces slip out of alignment as they cooled.

    Nearly an hour later, she was finished. The repaired and cooled mana focusing gem was glittering in her hand. Tanya was sitting cross legged in front of her, watching. She sipped at her pint of ale. She¡¯d gotten up, returned to the tavern, and grabbed a drink for herself partway through the cooling process.

    ¡°Whew¡­¡± Patricia sighed.

    ¡°Shiny,¡± Tanya commented, taking another sip from her pint.

    The repaired diamond was¡­ a functional spell focus. It was certainly better than a glass bead or anything else she¡¯d be able to buy in town. But compared to what it once was¡­ it felt weaker, fuzzier, muddier. It was still powerful, but the feeling of channeling mana through it was like staring at the world through a piece of distorted foggy glass instead of a perfect lens.

    It was shiny though. The gem was a beautiful translucent blue, paler than sapphire, but darker than aquamarine. Thin veins of silver glittered between the cracks like bolts of lightning, reflecting light, causing the gem to sparkle.

    Patricia tucked the gem back into its silk pouch and stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s go put this in my staff.¡±

    The elf kicked the cracked, silver coated, clay mug off to the side. Picking flakes of hardened silver metal out from under her nails, she walked back around the corner to the tavern.

    Once the elf and the human returned to their room, Patricia took her staff out from under her bed. Tanya laid on her own bed and watched the slotting process. It was relatively simple. Patricia channeled a small amount of mana into the empty staff and willed it to open. The adamantine tendrils at the head of the staff bloomed like a flower, and Patricia placed the gem in the center. The tendrils moved back into position, folding over the gemstone enclosing it in a protective cage and automatically aligning it with the rest of the staff.

    The powerful and feared Cerulean Witch held her staff in front of her, struck a dramatic pose and wove a small spell so that lightning crackled between her fingertips. ¡°Aah, that¡¯s better.¡±

    ¡°What does that even do?¡± Tanya asked, suddenly.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Patricia let her spell fade away and looked at the thuggish woman quizzically.

    ¡°You could shoot lightning and stuff before, without it. Why do you need a staff? Seems like it would just be cumbersome and get in the way while walking around.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a spell focus.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that doesn¡¯t mean anything to me.¡±

    Patricia rolled her eyes. ¡°Why do you need a sword? Why not always fight with your fists?¡±

    ¡°Uuh, swords have longer reach and hit harder?¡± Tanya answered.

    ¡°Yeah, it improves your attack, lets you do things you couldn¡¯t with your bare hands. It¡¯s same idea here. The staff makes my spells have more punch and use less mana. That¡¯s the gist of it anyway.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    Patricia raised a finger, entering lecture mode. ¡°What it actually does is stabilize the spells I cast. Without a focus, I have to basically wrestle the spell into behaving itself. Using a staff, the spell becomes self-stabilizing within a certain mana use threshold. Good focuses, like this diamond have larger regions of stability, letting the staff stabilize more powerful spells. With the extra mental power freed up, I can focus on the spell shape precisely, wasting less mana and improving efficiency. For high mana cost spells, the focus is not enough to keep them stable on its own, but it still makes it easier for me to keep control of it and prevent it from reaching the threshold of instability. There are some spells I simply can¡¯t cast without a focus.¡±

    Tanya scratched her head, ¡°I think I understood most of that. Instability is bad, right.¡±

    ¡°Boom.¡± Patricia replied, spreading her fingers out, miming an explosion.

    ¡°Gotcha.¡±

    The conversation fell silent. Patricia proudly gazed at her staff, twisting it around in her hand, watching the gemstone sparkle. The gem was broken and imperfect now, just like her, but thanks to the silver, it was still beautiful in its own unique way. It was a comforting thought.

    ¡°So uuh¡­ what now?¡± Tanya interrupted Patricia, knocking her out of her trance. ¡°Break the princess out of the castle? or should we go beat up some of those Children of Whatsit that claimed to be responsible for blowing up your house.¡±

    Patricia sat down on the bed across from Tanya, gently laying her staff across her lap. ¡°Children of Kair Tarost.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, them.¡±

    ¡°I told Amelia this, but I doubt those guys are actually responsible for that. The spell that blew up the mansion was too powerful. There aren¡¯t many mages capable of doing that, certainly none that would join up with those idiots.¡±

    ¡°Who are these guys anyway?¡±

    ¡°A dark elven rebel group. Their goal is the creation of their own dark elven nation here in the Western Reaches. It¡¯s not a bad goal, we¡¯re treated like shit inside the human dominated Aldmerian Empire, and our fair skinned surface dwelling cousins, the high elves, are even worse neighbours. The problem is, this group also wants us to go back to our old ways, building a society on the backs of enslaved demons. These are young elves, too young to know how stupid of an idea that would be. None of them experienced the horror of a demon invasion firsthand.¡±

    ¡°Right¡­ So what¡¯s the fuck is Kair Tarost then? Some sort of dark elven thing?¡±

    ¡°You mean you don¡¯t know?¡± Patricia asked, astonished.

    Tanya shook her head, ¡°I grew up in a shitty little town, with a shitty little uncle that would never waste his drinking money on books. The only useful thing I learned from him was how to hide bruises. Assume I don¡¯t know anything.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s the capital city of the former dark elven empire. Our empire once controlled the entire cavern network beneath the Wyrmspine mountains. We were so large and powerful, that the dwarves payed us tribute to keep their mines and cities safe from us. Kair Tarost was the center of a spider¡¯s web of tunnels, the midpoint of the cavern network, the hub of our civilization, a glorious underground metropolis that once held close to a million dark elven citizens. Half of the entire dark elven empire lived in that city. It was where I grew up and lived, before the rift was opened.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re old. When did all that Rift and Crusade shit happen again? It¡¯s gotta be more than a hundred years ago right? You do not look your age.¡±

    ¡°It was just over two hundred years ago actually,¡± Patricia replied.

    ¡°How old are you exactly?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rude to ask a lady her age,¡± the dark elf replied.

    ¡°So?¡± Tanya shrugged. ¡°You think I give a fuck about being rude? Just tell me you cocktease!¡±

    Patricia paused for a second, smiling wryly at Tanya. Finally, she replied, ¡°352 years old.¡±

    ¡°Shit!¡± Tanya said. ¡°I¡¯m twenty-fucking-two. You look younger than me, and you¡¯re like¡­ more than ten times my age.¡±

    ¡°I guess you haven¡¯t met that many elves?¡± Patricia laughed smugly. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯d actually be considered old, even amongst elven kind. We can live up to a thousand years, but we rarely have the chance to die of old age. Accidental death, magical creature attacks, and combat with the other sapient races were our number one killers. Before the rift opened, the average age of a dark elf was about two hundred. Now, of course, the average dark elf is even younger. Ned¡¯s only about fifty, for example.¡±

    ¡°So what exactly was this Rift? All I know is it had something to do with demons.¡±

    ¡°Well you¡¯re right about that,¡± said Patricia. ¡°The short version is that a bunch of reckless, overly ambitious, dark elves opened a gateway to the Abyss and the demons gained control of it.¡±

    ¡°And the long version?¡± Tanya asked.

    Patricia returned to lecture mode, pacing around as she spoke, ¡°Normally, demons can only enter our world through a summoning ritual. There are hundreds of ritual variants but they all basically work the same way. The summoned demons appear to be flesh and blood, but in reality, they¡¯re more of a living projection into our world. Their souls stay behind in the Abyss while their minds travel to the mortal plane. It makes them functionally immortal, if they die here then they just go back to the Abyss until summoned again. This projection method also makes them vulnerable to banishment and demon control spells that target the transplanar link between body and soul. They¡¯re fairly simple spells to cast, and advanced variants can be cast over wide areas making them a very effective countermeasure against lesser demons.

    ¡°The aforementioned overly ambitious elves used knowledge they gained from the Black Book of Domination and devised a new summoning ritual to fix that issue. It would open a temporary gateway into the Abyss and bring the entire demon to the mortal plane, soul and all. They¡¯d be permanently killable, but they¡¯d also be stronger than normal, and immune to that little banishment weakness. Well, to make a long story short, the spell worked, and when the gate opened, Lightbringer, Demon Lord of Pride, stuck his metaphorical foot in the door. The rift remained open, and thousands of demons poured out.

    ¡°The rift opened right in the middle of Kair Tarost. My people were overwhelmed, many tried to flee. Our main access to the surface was through the Dwarven cities, but the dwarves collapsed the tunnels to save themselves, trapping the fleeing elves while the demons came from behind. There were other, less travelled, paths to the surface. Elves that had the luck, or foresight to flee through those paths survived. Out of a population of two million elves spread across the empire, only eleven thousand of us reached the surface.¡±

    ¡°Fuck,¡± whispered Tanya. ¡°Which one was it for you? Luck, or foresight?¡±

    ¡°Hah!¡± Patricia let out a sardonic half chuckle. ¡°Neither. I didn¡¯t escape.¡±

    Tanya looked, quite understandably confused.

    ¡°The humans quickly sealed the remaining paths to the surface, and organized themselves for a counter attack to stem the demonic tide. A year later, after much preparation, the Crusade, an army of a hundred thousand of the most elite humans, high elves, orcs and beastmen on the continent went underground through an entrance now known as the Hellmouth. They found me and three other unlucky souls inside a torture pit about halfway between Kair Tarost and the surface. The demons had been healing my body after every ¡®play session¡¯, but my mind was in pretty bad shape by that point. I don¡¯t remember too much about what happened after. All I know is that I found my staff somehow, and was brought to the surface to recover. The Crusade eventually reached Kair Tarost, and not a single one of them made it back to the surface after me. They somehow closed the rift, but even now, the tunnels are swarming with leftover unbound demons.¡±

    Tanya stayed silent for a bit, before quietly speaking. ¡°You were tortured? For a year? That¡¯s fucked up¡­ Really fucked up.¡±

    ¡°You have no idea,¡± Patricia agreed.

    ¡°Need a hug?¡± The vulgar girl asked, without any hint of her usual cavalier attitude. She had an unusually sympathetic look on her face.

    Patricia raised a hand, about to refuse, but then she just shrugged. Tanya came over and sat next to her on the bed, reaching her arms around in a hug. Patricia relaxed, releasing the tension in her shoulders she didn¡¯t know she had. Even two hundred years later, she wasn¡¯t completely over it. Yeah, Tanya was right, she needed a hug.

    <hr>

    A gentle sound rang out across the former village of Roseglen. A horrifying monster was roused from her slumber. The nightmare of nightmares sat up and stretched out her horrible flesh-rending claws. She opened her man eating jaws wide, letting out a yawn.

    Lily got up and brushed the flakey ashes and soot off her body. She stretched her sore muscles, letting out a little groan. She ate a lot, and there was more to the demon flesh than sheer volume. The little demons were much weaker than the succubus but added together they had quite a bit of magical essence overall. And then there was the greater demon¡­ Wow! First of all, disgusting¡­ Extra disgusting. The amount of essence inside that body though¡­

    Tanya described how humans got aching muscles after working out. Lily never had sore muscles before, but she suspected this was something similar. She probably gained a lot of new density in a short time from all that eating earlier.

    The town square was deserted, but she heard humans in the distance, along with a strange noise. It was a quiet repeating tone, somewhat like the ¡®piano¡¯ she poked at in the Montagne house. The humans left the hell knight¡¯s armour behind, along with his sword. She saw scraping marks on the cobblestone, where someone tried, and failed, to lift the sword.

    Lily walked up to the sword, carefully wrapping her claws around the grip. The grip was thicker than normal, built for the massive hell knight¡¯s equally massive hand. It was better than the skinny human grips, but it still wasn¡¯t quite right for her claws. Her first two knuckles were like those of a human, a little thicker than theirs, but still soft and flexible. After her third knuckle, her fingertips turned into hard pointed claws, and stretched out for 5 or 6 inches. She could at least grip this handle firmly without stabbing herself in the palm, but her claw tips had to rest against her wrist.

    She casually lifted the sword off the ground with one hand, holding it with the same ease that Tanya held her wooden practice sword. She gave it a swing, just for fun. It made a low, thrumming, woosh sound as it pushed through the air.

    The sword was taller than her. If she placed the tip in the ground near her toes, her head only reached as high as the guard. The blade itself was dull and chipped, but it was probably heavy enough that sharpness didn¡¯t really matter. The sword wasn¡¯t actually black, it was covered in a thick oily soot. When she scraped the blade with her claw tip, she revealed a shiny, silvery metal underneath, similar to steel in appearance. The metal tarnished before her eyes, slowly turning dark again. After a few seconds the shiny scratch was gone, returned to its original sooty blackness. Weird.

    A quick scratch revealed that the armour was made of the same stuff. Out of curiosity, she pressed a claw against the thick chestplate, using the amount of strength she¡¯d usually need to poke through steel armour. Nothing, barely even a scratch. She pushed harder, the metal started to deform, and the tip of her claw poked through, forming a tiny hole. She leaned forward, and used all her strength, gripping the plate with her other claw to keep it steady. With a metallic creaking noise, cracks formed on the edge of the hole she poked, and the metal bent inwards forming a cross shaped tear. Finally, the metal yielded, and she managed to pierce through.

    Well that was interesting. Assuming she was back to her old density now, she¡¯d be able to tear through steel plate quite easily, but not this stuff. This plate was probably three times as thick as normal human armour, but she was pretty sure this strange metal was also much stronger than normal steel.

    Lily left the armour where it was, it was too cumbersome to bother carrying around and it wouldn¡¯t fit her or anybody she cared about. She hefted the giant sword up and rested it on her shoulder. This sword was a new toy until she got bored of it.

    The demon left the cobblestone town square, and wandered along the dirt path, looking at the burned out houses as she passed. She decided to look for the source of the strange sound that woke her up. Eric¡¯s scent trail led this way too.

    As she got closer, the faint sound got clearer. After turning a corner, Lily saw the humans congregating around a heavy wagon, laden with all sorts of¡­ human things. Food, clothes, tools, and other boring stuff were piled high on the wagon. Instead of horses, a single gigantic forest drake was hitched up, ready to pull.

    The sound was coming from Eric. He had a strange device laid across his lap, and he was adjusting wooden pegs near the tip while plucking the strings. Seemingly content with the adjustments, Eric rested his one hand on the neck of his device, and brushed his fingertips across the strings, creating a complex pattern of tones. It was¡­ pleasant. Lily was overcome with curiosity. Not wanting to scare the humans too much, Lily gently laid the sword on the dirt and crept closer.

    Lily walked directly towards Eric, ignoring the nervous humans that suddenly froze and went silent as she passed. She was fixated on the bard, and the strange tones he was producing. Much to her annoyance, Eric stopped making sounds and froze too when he noticed Lily walking towards him.

    ¡°Was that music?¡± The demon asked.

    ¡°Uuh¡­ that was just a warm up,¡± Eric stammered. ¡°Just making sure it was in tune.¡±

    ¡°Oh,¡± Lily said, letting her disappointment show. She was hoping to hear music.

    Eric flinched, afraid that Lily might attack him perhaps?

    Lily rolled her eyes, raised her claws in a placating gesture, and took a step back, out of swiping distance. ¡°I¡¯m not going to harm you.¡±

    Eric looked a bit less nervous but still didn¡¯t look entirely convinced. ¡°Uh¡­ want me to play something?¡±

    ¡°Play?¡± Lily asked, somewhat confused.

    ¡°Music?¡± Eric said uncertainly.

    Lily nodded and smiled.

    Eric took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let his tension melt away. His fingers played across the strings, producing a cascade of musical tones. It was strange and amazing, completely outside of Lily¡¯s experience. The sounds carried the rhythm and sophistication of expert combat. Eric was fighting both sides of a battle between his fingers. Lily sat down cross-legged, closed her eyes, and listened.

    Soon enough, Lily stopped focusing on the complexity, and technicality of the music, and found herself lost in the sound. The soft tones of the lute were peaceful, relaxed. The wrath, the lust, the gluttony, all melted away. She was content, happy just to sit here and listen. Nothing else mattered.

    The cascade of individual notes almost felt like they had some meaning behind them. There were no words to this song, no literal meaning behind it, but together, the notes conveyed emotion. This was a¡­ sad song. As Lily listened, she began to feel the sadness too.

    Sadness¡­ This is what humans experienced when loved ones were taken away from them. She¡¯d been told this but had always struggled to understand when it meant exactly. This was not a song of wrath, or revenge like she expected. This song was content simply to feel and accept the loss. Sadness was a painful emotion, and humans felt this way when their friends and family died.

    So¡­ this was why Amelia was so adamant about Lily not killing anyone.

    When the song ended a thoroughly relaxed Lily opened her eyes again, looking up at the bard. He was looking back at her nervously, waiting to see her reaction.

    ¡°Beautiful,¡± she said quietly. ¡°That was music?¡±

    Eric nodded sheepishly.

    ¡°You must play more for me.¡± Lily said. It wasn¡¯t a request.

    ¡°Uuh Miss Demon¡­¡± a quiet voice interrupted from behind.

    Lily looked over her shoulder and saw Boy, with his sister Milly huddling behind him. They survived apparently.

    ¡°I wanted to thank you¡­ for saving us,¡± the boy gave the demon a nervous smile.

    What was the polite thing to say again? Oh right. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± the demon replied.

    Nearly all the survivors were nervously watching the exchange. At Lily¡¯s polite words, they all stopped holding their breaths. Driven by some incomprehensible feeling of gratitude, one by one, each of them came to thank the demon for her help. None of them seemed truly relaxed around her. Likely this was meant as a strategy. They were probably just trying to get on Lily¡¯s good side so she didn¡¯t decide to attack them.

    The last person to come up and thank her was a young woman, still brused and scratched up from the night before, who introduced herself as Rose. She was the most terrified of all the villagers. ¡°Th-thank y-you,¡± she squeaked.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± the demon replied for what felt like the sixtieth time. Hmm¡­ this one was almost the same size as Amelia.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to pick you up,¡± Lily said, standing up.

    ¡°W-what?¡± The nervous girl started trembling and took a step back.

    Lily took a step forward. Rose tucked her head down, closed her eyes, and brought her arms up to protect her head. The humans let out another collective gasp and Lily scooped up the terrified girl in a princess carry.

    The trembling girl kept her eyes closed, and remained completely rigid, covering her face with her arms. Hmm¡­ wow she felt light. Lily bent her knees into a squat and slowly straightened back up. Very light. The trembling girl squeaked when Lily did a few short hops into the air. Yes, there was still a small noticeable difference¡­

    The shivering creature in Lily¡¯s arms whimpered helplessly, and Lily finally let her back down. The girl scurried off to hide behind the other humans. Lily ignored the mutterings of confusion from the nearby humans, lost in her thoughts about weight ratios and differences.

    ¡°Eleven Roses,¡± Lily concluded out loud. Assuming one Rose was roughly equal to one Amelia. She was much stronger and heavier than she¡¯d ever been before. Before killing Candy, she¡¯d been around seven Amelias, and after, she was closer to five. Now, she was eleven.

    Finally noticing the terror and confusion in her audience, Lily explained, ¡°I wanted to feel how heavy she was.¡±

    The humans¡¯ expressions did not change. They still didn¡¯t understand. ¡°I weigh eleven Roses.¡±

    Most of the humans remained confused. Rose herself had a whispered conversation with an older man near the back of the crowd. After a few more seconds, he spoke up. ¡°twelve hundred pounds?¡± He asked, incredulous.

    Lily shrugged. She knew humans measured weight in pounds. Patricia said that elves used a unit called the kilogram that was based on the weight of water. Patricia was very adamant that the elven way was better. Lily thought they both missed the point. She wanted to know how heavy she was compared to another person. That¡¯s what mattered during battle, after all.

    Lily faced Eric and sat down in front of him. ¡°Another song,¡± she said firmly. The bard began to play.

    Two hours later, it was mid-afternoon, and the caravan was packed. Not wanting to spend another night in the destroyed village, the humans decided to leave and get as far as they could before the sun went down. Their destination was Befield.

    Some of the humans were alarmed when Lily picked up the massive demonic greatsword and followed along with the caravan. She could tell they weren¡¯t comfortable with her presence, but she wasn¡¯t done with Eric or his music. The humans didn¡¯t try to stop her. None of them were brave enough to risk insulting her.

 22 - Trying New Things

    ¡°Uhm¡­ Hello your Goddess-ness¡­ How do I even address a Goddess?¡±

    Amelia sat on her bed, eyes closed, focusing on her connection to Verita.

    ¡°I¡­ uh¡­ I don¡¯t really have anything important to tell you. I¡¯m just sorta sitting here again. But I did promise myself I¡¯d pray to you once per day unless prevented from doing so for reasons outside of my control. So¡­ here I am¡­¡±

    Amelia scratched her elbow, fidgeting nervously.

    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m still too scared to try casting the evil spell that Lott told me to learn. I feel it there, in my mind, just waiting to be cast, but I don¡¯t exactly know what it¡¯ll do. I mean, I do, kinda. It hastens my enemies¡¯ inevitable decay into entropy, turning them to dust. But that¡¯s sorta vague, and I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯d get into trouble if I accidentally dusted the walls of my cell. I think the sloth demon wants me to try it out, but I¡¯ll exercise my own judgement in this case. I suspect he¡¯s got a biased point of view.¡±

    Amelia turned to look at Mister Shadow, sitting on her chair near the window, watching her with unblinking eyes. He looked bored, but that was nothing new, he always looked bored.

    ¡°I made an interesting observation. When I focus on the spell¡¯s shape, I feel that the spell wants to draw power from an outside source. When I think about that source, I feel a connection to a divine power that is not you. The power feels¡­ I think it¡¯s Occulith! This is a divine spell, granted by a Demon Lord. I didn¡¯t know that was possible. And even stranger, he¡¯s freely offering his power to one of the Chosen. Aren¡¯t you guys like¡­ enemies?¡±

    Amelia waited, but she only felt reassurance through her connection to Verita. The Goddess offered no answers, but it didn¡¯t feel like She was outraged by the idea of Amelia wielding power granted by a Demon Lord.

    ¡°Anyway, I got some of the guards to bring me a divine magic spellbook to try out. It was a book dedicated to Thule and it was full of Thule stuff. You know, beauty glamours, calming spells¡­ stuff like that. I did find some healing spells in there though, but when I tried to memorize the shape, I felt a block. No matter what I tried, the shape wouldn¡¯t stick in my mind. As soon as I looked away from the page, I forgot it. It was like holding onto sand with my bare hands. I think Thule doesn¡¯t want me to wield his power. It¡¯s probably because I¡¯m yours, right?¡±

    Amelia waited in silence. Still focusing on her connection. She got a vague feeling of confirmation.

    ¡°So in that case, I guess I need a Verita spellbook, don¡¯t I? I asked for one, but they couldn¡¯t find one for me. It¡¯s a shame, because having some basic healing magic would be helpful. If I¡¯d been able heal, I could have prevented that whole nasty scene with Lily in the temple. Sorry for that, by the way¡­¡±

    Amelia knew she was rambling again. She felt like a child, asking mommy for a favour. She took a deep breath and refocused herself on what she actually wanted to ask.

    ¡°So, this is just a crazy thought, and I hope it¡¯s not too impetuous for me to ask, but I don¡¯t suppose you could like¡­ divine intervention that knowledge into my head? If you¡¯re already willing to grant me the mana for that spell once I know it, then maybe you could teach the spell itself to me too?¡±

    There was a pause. A hesitation. A feeling of foreboding. And then finally, there was a question. It felt like Verita was asking, ¡°Are you sure you want me to do this?¡±

    ¡°If it won¡¯t kill me¡­ or permanently damage me¡­ then yes please.¡±

    Amelia¡¯s vision went black. Her hearing fell silent. She had no sense of her body anymore. She was a weightless, bodyless soul, floating in the void. A shape appeared in her mind, bypassing her eyes entirely. The shape was bright, too bright for her eyes if she¡¯d been using them. It burned! Oh Goddess it burned! Amelia held on for as long as she could, focusing on the shape, trying not to resist the agony, to allow it to burn her if that was what it wanted. Finally, after what felt like hours, the shape left her vision, and everything went dark.

    When Amelia woke up, she understood.

    She opened her eyes, back on her bed once again. It was still morning when she started praying to Verita, but now, stars and moonlight shined in through the window. She¡¯d spent the entire day unconscious. The Saintess massaged her throbbing temples. Her headache was even worse than the one she had after studying the Black Book for the first time.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ Ffff-freckles,¡± she groaned. ¡°I know I shouldn¡¯t complain, you did try to warn me. Now I see why most of your followers try to learn their spells from a book, rather than directly from you. But thanks, I think it¡¯ll be worth the pain.¡±

    Amelia felt a new spell waiting in her mind, ready to be cast. She felt no connection to Verita when she focused on the spell, but she soon realized that she was already connected to the Goddess, and on a much deeper level than she was with Occulith. It was reassuring. The Demon Lord could grant her a spell, but it was clear that she belonged to Verita alone.

    Compared to the absurdly powerful demonic spell, Verita¡¯s newly shared spell felt small and weak. That was probably for the best. Amelia didn¡¯t want to blow herself up, self-immolate in divine fire, or whatever happened when she messed up while channeling divine magic.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to test it, if that¡¯s okay with you¡­¡±

    By definition, a healing spell needed something to heal. Amelia was treated well, but she was still a technically a prisoner, so she wasn¡¯t allowed anything sharp to poke herself with. She¡¯d have to find another way to damage herself. She stood up, faced her bed and hiked her robe up to her knee.

    ¡°Don¡¯t laugh,¡± she mumbled in the general direction of the sloth demon. He never laughed, but she still felt a bit self conscious in his presence.

    Amelia drew her leg back, and kicked the bed as hard as she could, impacting the wooden frame with her shin.

    ¡°Mother f-word-ing fluffy pancake batter!¡± Amelia hissed.

    The Saintess limped over and sat on her bed again, massaging her sore shin. She could see a line of dark red under her skin. Yep, that was going to be a bruise.

    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s try this out.¡±

    Amelia called the spell into her mind and took a deep breath. Instead of pulling mana from inside herself like an arcane caster, she drew a thin little trickle of mana through her connection to Verita. From that point onward, it worked the same as arcane magic. She directed the flow of mana, and tried to shape it inside herself, mimicking the spell shape she¡¯d been granted as best as she could.

    Almost immediately, she lost control and the spell collapsed. The Goddess¡¯ mana dissipated into her body, giving her a mildly painful tingle in her chest.

    ¡°Ugh!¡±

    It seemed miscasting a small spell wasn¡¯t too bad, but what if she screwed up casting the evil demon spell? Occulith¡¯s spell required a truly ridiculous amount of mana from her demonic patron. She¡¯d explode if she miscast that one¡­

    ¡°Thanks for giving me a weak spell to start with Verita. That was wise.¡±

    Amelia tried again. This time she formed a mostly correct shape and pushed the completed spell to her palm causing her hand to glow faintly. When she tried to move her palm to her leg, her concentration lapsed, and the spell collapsed again. The glow in her hand vanished and she felt the same mildly painful tingle as before, this time, in her hand.

    ¡°Oh crackers!¡± Amelia groaned in frustration.

    Okay, attempt number three. Amelia shaped the spell and pushed it to her palm again. This time she held the spell firmly in her mind, struggling to keep it in the right shape. It was difficult, like trying to grasp onto a squirming slippery fish underwater. She managed to hold on long enough to bring her hand to her leg and directed the spell¡¯s magic into the bruised shin.

    Once the spell left her hand and started working, it became much easier to maintain it. Unlike before, when it was crazy-difficult to keep it stable, the spell seemed to be ¡°stickier¡± while shechanneled it. She couldn¡¯t easily modify it¡¯s shape anymore, but she also didn¡¯t need to spend much effort to keep it in its current shape either.

    Amelia grinned like a madwoman, triumphantly watching her bruise vanish and feeling her pain go away. It took about half a minute to heal the bruise completely. She was pretty sure it would have gone faster if she¡¯d been able to control the mana better, and more perfectly mimic the shape in her mind, but it was a good start.

    A lump of dread formed in her stomach. She was going to have to practice this. She was going to have to practice this until she could do it reliably in the middle of a crisis. Amelia stood, hiked up her robe, and brought her leg back. With a reluctant groan, she kicked the bed again, as hard as she could.

    ¡°Ow! Son of a negligent mother!¡±

    <hr>

    A massive forest drake lumbered through the woods, taking bites from the low hanging tree branches as it walked by. It was pulling a severely overloaded wagon that creaked ominously every time it went over a bump in the thin cart trail. It was followed by a mob of villagers, nervously peering between the forest trees, on the lookout for a demonic ambush.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    After an hour¡¯s march, they reached the main road to Befield, wide enough for two carts to pass each other easily. This road connected a whole line of tiny villages to the larger town. With the smoother, wider road, the wagon was able to move a little faster, at a brisk walking speed rather than a crawl.

    Lily was bored out of her mind. The wagon was so slow. She zipped around the woods, killing every animal she could see with her new toy sword. She didn¡¯t bother to eat her kills, the amount of essence she gained from a mere animal was barely even noticeable now. It seemed the denser she got, the more she had to eat to increase that density.

    She brought the animal meat to the humans instead. They had a lot of mouths to feed, and she overheard how worried they were about supplies. After four hours of hunting, they had enough wolf, direwolf, bear, deer, and rabbit meat to last them several days.

    The toy sword had its merits and its drawbacks. The biggest merit was the added reach. She could decapitate a creature in a single swing without getting bitten in return. The downside was that it was duller than her claws, less effective at tearing through thick direwolf hide. It also got stuck on trees. A lot. Lily was able to cut through the thinner trees, but the blade got stuck inside the thicker ones and had to be pried out. Perhaps a dense forest wasn¡¯t the best place to be swinging around a seven foot greatsword.

    The caravan kept going until late evening, when they decided they were close enough to reach Befield by nightfall tomorrow. The humans set up a large fire pit and spit roasted two of the deer Lily caught them. They skinned and salted her other catches.

    The meat took over an hour to roast, and by the time it was done, the humans were salivating at the smell. Lily was offered a bit of the cooked venison. She liked how the fat melted inside the meat, making it tender and soft, but it was almost too soft, and the lack of a bloody flavour was disappointing. It was close, but she decided she liked the raw meat slightly better.

    While dinner was being served, one of the humans, a rotund man with a bushy moustache, opened a cask of ale he¡¯d scavenged from the basement of the tavern. The bartender was dead, so he couldn¡¯t object to the theft. The man passed out small cups of ale. He didn¡¯t have much, but he made sure every adult got at least a small cup. Lily was also given a cup full.

    This, she liked. According to the man, it was a type of dark ale, a dwarven stout. It was thick, bitter, black in colour, and had a smoky aftertaste. It reminded Lily of the coffee a bit, but it was even tastier. It was liquid darkness and fire, perfect for a fire-friendly demoness. She memorized the name, Kroagom¡¯s Mountain Brew.

    She drank her cup quickly, and was given a second cup full, which she also drank quickly. Unfortunately, by that point, the cask of ale was empty, so she couldn¡¯t drink any more. Two cups weren¡¯t enough to get her drunk unfortunately, so she wouldn¡¯t have the chance to feel what it was like. She suspected she might be immune to alcohol anyway. According to Amelia, alcohol was a mild poison, and she was pretty much immune to every type of poison or venom she¡¯d been exposed toso far.

    After dinner, while everyone was sitting around the fire, Eric sang a song about bravery and valour to lift everyone''s spirits. This song had words. It was about Sir Okrem, an orcish warrior from the Kingdom of Ryth. Apparently, the Aldmerian Empire wasn¡¯t the only major power on the continent. Sir Okrem was Judicast¡¯s Chosen, and it was apparently his deeds that inspired the formation of the Inquisition and their demon hunting ways. According to the song, he died a glorious death 200 years ago, charging forward into a cave known as the Hellmouth with an army at his back, and fighting an endless tide of demons.

    Some of the townspeople were giving Lily nervous glances. She tried to copy Amelia¡¯s ¡®friendly reassuring smile¡¯ when she returned their glances, with limited success. They were probably worried about whether she¡¯d take offence to a song about demon slaying. She didn¡¯t. She was a demon slayer too, after all.

    When the song was over and Eric was packing away his lute, Lily walked up to him and whispered in his ear, ¡°Nice song. I¡¯m horny, I want to play with you again.¡±

    ¡°I suppose I don¡¯t get a choice this time either?¡± Eric said, his annoyance was obvious.

    Lily was confused, ¡°You didn¡¯t say no last time.¡±

    ¡°You would have killed me if I¡¯d refused,¡± Eric replied. There was clearly some bitterness in his voice. He was acting a bit bolder now. He probably realized Lily was more tolerant of insolence than an average demon.

    Lily tapped a claw on her chin. She hadn¡¯t really thought about how she¡¯d respond to refusal. ¡°No, I¡¯d have threatened to kill you, and scared you until you said yes. If you still said no after being scared, then I¡¯d have left you alone and found another man to scare into saying yes.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not exactly consensual. Even if you didn¡¯t plan on carrying out your threat, you were still giving me a choice between submission and death.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s still a choice,¡± Lily replied.

    Eric didn¡¯t say anything, he just frowned at Lily.

    ¡°Ugh fine¡­¡± Lily groaned. ¡°Do you want a blowjob right now, yes or no? There will be no negative consequences for refusal. You will not be harmed either way.¡±

    Eric¡¯s face went completely red, ¡°A blow¡­?¡± he mumbled nervously, obviously worried he misheard the demoness.

    ¡°It¡¯s when I put your dick in my mouth and suck it until you cum. I¡¯ve been told it feels good. Just like having your pussy licked, but for men.¡± Lily explained. Eric¡¯s face went even redder.

    ¡°Uh¡­ okay,¡± He said quietly. His eyes suddenly shot wide with panic, ¡°Wait! You¡¯re not going to bite it off or something, are you?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Lily smirked. ¡°I¡¯m going to make you feel good, and then you¡¯ll do the same for me again.¡±

    Eric nodded nervously, ¡°Can we¡­ uh¡­ go somewhere private?¡±

    ¡°We can go deep into the woods.¡±

    Eric stared nervously into the impenetrable gloom between the trees. Lily guessed his concern, ¡°I''m the most dangerous predator in these woods. I have very sharp senses and perfect night vision. Nothing is going to sneak up on us.¡±

    ¡°Oh, okay, good.¡±

    Lily took Eric¡¯s hand in her claw and led the young man into the darkness.

    The pair crunched through the forest and stopped a few hundred feet away from the campsite. The murmured conversations of the villagers sounded distant and muffled by the dense foliage. When she deemed they were far enough away to avoid discovery, Lily grabbed Eric by the shoulders and pushed his back against a nearby tree trunk.

    The demoness pushed a knee between Eric¡¯s thighs, and pressed her chest against his. She looked into his eyes, and gently kissed him.

    ¡°Take off your pants,¡± she whispered, holding up her claws and wiggling her sharp claw tips, ¡°I can¡¯t do buttons.¡±

    Eric complied. He nervously unbuttoned his trousers, hooked his thumbs into his underpants, and slid both down to his ankles. Lily gently kissed his lips again, and slid down his body, kneeling in front of his crotch.

    A penis. A dick. A cock. A gentleman sausage. A one eyed spitting dragon. There were a lot of funny names for this strange creature dangling in front of her face. Lily learned a bunch of them while eavesdropping on customers at the tavern. Eric wasn¡¯t erect yet, so his pussy-destroyer was drooping sadly. Lily knew how to cheer it up though.

    Lily gently kissed the cockhead and took it into her mouth. She slid her tongue along the underside as she took it in deeper, until his pubic hair tickled her nose. As she gently sucked, and teased it with her tongue, the cock quickly started growing inside her mouth.

    Though she¡¯d never been with a male partner before, Lily was no stranger to the taste and smell of gentleman sausages. She¡¯d eaten plenty of men after all. She¡¯d always liked the smell and taste down there. It was like the smell of sweat, but much more concentrated. It was the scent of sex, of manliness. It was magnificent, she could stay down here forever.

    Lily gently bobbed her head along Eric¡¯s length, feeling his cock grow harder in her mouth. The sensation of a hard cock in her mouth was new. The dead bodies had all been soft. As Eric reached his full length, Lily realized she couldn¡¯t take him all the way to the base anymore. Her mouth alone wasn¡¯t deep enough to hold his entire length.

    It was time for the ¡®advanced technique¡¯ that Candy the succubus told her about. Taking a deep breath, and relaxing her throat, she pushed deeper, swallowing the cock until she felt Eric¡¯s hair tickling her nose again.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Eric groaned with pleasure, gently placing a hand on Lily¡¯s head.

    As the cock brushed the back of her throat, Lily¡¯s pussy started to heat up. Candy told her that mortal women often have trouble with the ¡®deepthroating¡¯ technique because it causes an untrained throat to gag. Obviously, lust demons would never have such a weakness. Instead of a gag reflex, the back of a succubus¡¯ throat is an erogenous zone. Apparently, Lily inherited her succubus mom¡¯s ¡®throat clit¡¯ response.

    Lily gently slid her lips along Eric¡¯s shaft, alternating between teasing the head with her tongue and swallowing it as deep as she could into her throat. After barely a minute of this, Eric¡¯s cock began to swell even further, his legs straightened, and he let out another groan of pleasure. Lily quickly slid the cock out of her throat, and gently sucked on the head. Eric¡¯s cock twitched, and his cum gushed into her mouth. Lily kept her lips sealed around the head, making sure that not even a drop of cum escaped. According to Candy, good girls always swallow.

    When Eric was spent, Lily sucked the last few drops clean from his ¡®bitch breaker¡¯. She slid back and let the softening cock slip out of her mouth. She closed her eyes, and savored the novel taste of cum. It was¡­ a confusing taste.

    Subjectively, it was beyond compare. This was the tastiest thing she¡¯d ever had in her mouth. Ever! Taster than any meat she¡¯d eaten, tastier than any treat Amelia had given her. It was glorious! She eyed Eric¡¯s satisfied cock with hunger, and desperately wanted to earn herself another mouthful as soon as possible.

    But, objectively, if she tried to ignore the source and evaluate it only as a food, it was alright but nothing special. For some reason, the fact that she¡¯d milked it out of a cock was what made it delicious. Knowing where it came from subconsciously influenced how she perceived the taste. This was probably another weird succubus instinct.

    ¡°Wow¡­¡± Eric said breathlessly. ¡°That was¡­ that was really good. I¡¯ve never had a girl¡­ you know¡­¡±

    Lily snapped out of her blissful daze and swallowed the load. ¡°Suck you off?¡± She finished his sentence.

    ¡°Yeah.¡±

    ¡°First time for me too,¡± Lily said, licking her lips. ¡°Never gave a blowjob before.¡±

    ¡°Really? It was incredible. You¡¯re a natural.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m part succubus,¡± Lily said proudly.

    Lily stood again and brushed off her knees. She pressed herself against the man again and gently nibbled on his ear.

    ¡°Your turn,¡± Lily whispered, grabbing Eric¡¯s shoulder and gently pushing downwards.

    Eric quickly pulled up his trousers and dropped to his knees. Lily lifted her skirt and pressed his face against her soaking pussy again.

    ¡°Make me cum while you recover, and I¡¯ll suck you again when you¡¯re ready,¡± she said, biting her lip. Eric, the good boy that he was, hadn¡¯t wasted any time. His tongue was already sliding along the length of her slit.

    They continued until well past midnight. Eric came three times before he was fully spent, Lily came on his tongue six times. She could have kept going, but they stopped once Eric complained that his jaw was too sore to continue.

    <hr>

    Amelia watched another sunset out her window.

    It had been an entire day and night since Verita taught her the healing spell. Once she woke up, she spent nearly the entire day smashing her shin against the bed and repairing herself, over and over again. She¡¯d made excellent progress at learning to control the Goddess¡¯ mana, but she was done for now, she needed a break. Since she wasn¡¯t using her own mana, she didn¡¯t have to worry about physical mana drain, but she could still suffer from mental fatigue. Not to mention that she was probably going to have some sort of long term trauma about bed frames from now on.

    The silence of the late evening was suddenly broken. She heard screams and shouting in the distance. There were other sounds too, roars and screeches that couldn¡¯t possibly be human.

    Seconds later, men were running down the hall, passing by her door, rushing to look out the windows and find out what was going on. Minutes later, the men were organizing themselves in the courtyard outside, strapping themselves into armour, getting ready for serious battle. Nobody had stopped by her room to tell her what was happening, but she could guess it wasn¡¯t good.

    Before the men were ready, a small gaggle of little red men, wielding spears, charged into the courtyard, engaging with the guards.

    ¡°Sodomize!¡± One of the red men screeched out in infernal as he charged. These were demons? Where did they come from?

    The guards outnumbered the demons, and easily cut them apart, but more were coming.

    A lot more.

    The sounds of battle were ringing out across the entire town now. It was an attack.

 23 - Befield Invasion I

    ¡°If you ever get kidnapped by a demon, just pray it¡¯s not a Pride demon.¡± Patricia slurred.

    She was sitting with Tanya in the tavern, enjoying a post-dinner drinking binge. It was either her fourth or her seventh drink so far, and she was sorta definitely maybe feeling the alcohol a lot. Tanya invited her to share what she wanted to share about the year she spent as torture-meat. Sober Patricia was hesitant to open up to a new friend about her traumatizing experience, but Drunk Patricia was more than happy to share all her personal secrets.

    Tanya nodded, Patricia continued, ¡°They¡¯re the cruelest of the bunch. The Wrath demons just beat the shit out of you with the occasional hatefuck added in for variety, nice and straightforward. Pride demons though, they really want to see you suffer. I was spared the boiling oil and branding irons, being fireproof was one hell of an advantage there, let me tell you, my fellow captives weren¡¯t so lucky. The whips were tolerable once I got used to them, but the rack was a total nightmare. Once they dislocate your arms, it¡¯s pure hell. The Pear of Anguish was fucking horrible too, made me regret being born a woman. Then again, it¡¯s even worse with the other hole so¡­ I won¡¯t say any more, if you don¡¯t already know what it is, then you¡¯re better off not knowing. Just¡­ ugh! And the thumbskrews¡­ fuck the thumbskrews!¡±

    ¡°Thanks for the uuh¡­ warning,¡± Tanya said. She was starting to look awkward.

    Drunk Patricia knew she had a tendency to overshare, but Drunk Patricia also didn¡¯t give a fuck. Sober Patricia was the one that had to deal with the consequences of Drunk Patricia¡¯s embarrassing behaviour.

    ¡°The Lust demons were more mindfucky,¡± Patricia continued. ¡°The Pride demons were pure cruelty, and that¡¯s easier to process emotionally, at least, once it¡¯s all over. The Lust demons didn¡¯t just want to hurt me though, they wanted to twist me, corrupt me. They didn¡¯t just hurt me, they trained me to get off on the pain. They wove pleasure and pain together, constantly pushing me to the very limit of my endurance but never crossing the line into pure agony. They pleasured me while they hurt me, kept me hovering at the edge of orgasm, screaming in agony while making me beg for more, and damnit, they got what they wanted. Lucky for me, being brainwashed into extreme masochism gave me a new appreciation for the Pride demon¡¯s cruel affections too. I actually started a fight between them, with the Pride demon claiming that the Lust demon broke me too much and took away his fun. I wasn¡¯t supposed to like it.¡±

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s a good thing?¡± Tanya said, somewhat uncertainly.

    ¡°Eh¡­ maybe? It definitely made my post-rescue sex life a little weird.¡±

    With no warning whatsoever, a little red man smashed through the front door and charged into the tavern, impaling an unfortunate customer sitting at the bar on its spear.

    Acting on reflex, Drunk Patricia cast a Drunk Force Bolt spell at the lesser Wrath demon. The invisible ball of kinetic energy wobbled a bit as it flew but still managed to strike the imp on his side. The shockwave travelled through the imp, turning his bones into powder, and the opposite side of the demon exploded outwards, spraying Nedrithel and his bar with inky black demon blood.

    ¡°What the-¡± Tanya began.

    ¡°-Fuck,¡± Patricia finished.

    The wobbly Cerulean Witch cast a Cleanse Poison spell on herself, and the alcohol vanished from her system, sobering her up instantly. She cast another Cleanse Poison on Tanya, clearing her head too. Finally, she cast Arcane Sight, turning her eyes a glowing blue, allowing her to ¡®see¡¯ magical auras.

    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of demons¡­¡± Patricia said, as she ¡®saw¡¯ several hundred lesser demonic auras scurrying around throughout the town. There were four greater demons too. ¡°Tanya, get your armor on. Everyone else, stay inside and hide. If you have weapons, keep them ready. We¡¯re under attack by an army of demons!¡±

    Tanya responded like a professional. She¡¯d reached the stairs up to their room before anyone else had even left their seats.

    ¡°Get my staff too!¡± Patricia called after the woman as she disappeared around the corner.

    Patricia walked closer, standing next to the bar where she had a clear view of the front door. Another imp charged in from the street and exploded with the help of a sober Force Bolt spell. The unfortunate stabbing victim at Patricia''s feet gasped for aid, and a brave, oppourtunistic bar patron came to his rescue, dragging him into the back and tending to his wounds while covertly pocketing the victim''s coinpurse.

    ¡°Ned, Tanya¡¯s going to need to borrow your father¡¯s sword.¡± Patricia said to the blood-soaked barman, who was still standing at his bar in a daze.

    ¡°Wha?¡± he mumbled, looking up at the black tarnished blade mounted on the wall. ¡°What do you need that old thing for?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re fighting demons,¡± Patricia said, slightly more condescendingly than she intended. ¡°If you can¡¯t tell from the black patina, that¡¯s a poorly maintained silversteel blade.¡±

    Ned stared at Patricia with a blank expression, but after a few seconds he finally seemed to figure it out. Demons were weak to silver. He nodded and ran off to the back room to get a stepladder. By the time he¡¯d taken the sword off the wall, Tanya had come down the stairs. She was ready for battle, dressed in a padded gambeson with chainmail over top. She had a steel open face helm, and gauntlets on her hands. Her bastard sword was slung across her back, and she held Patricia¡¯s staff in her hand.

    Patricia took the staff from Tanya and handed her the silversteel sword. ¡°Use this, it¡¯ll work better than steel against demons.¡±

    Without another word, Patricia strode out of the tavern confidently in her high heel shoes and maid uniform. The street was overrun. Dozens of demons were scurrying about, killing anyone they saw on the street, and breaking into houses to kill anyone they found hiding inside. Half of them stopped what they were doing, watching as Patricia walked out into the open. They looked at the dark elf with vicious bloodlust in their eyes.

    ¡°Mass Command Demon: Kneel before me!¡± Patricia¡¯s magically empowered voice echoed down the street.

    Immediately, every imp that could hear her stopped whatever they were doing and rushed to kneel in front of her.

    Tanya walked out into the street, mouth gaping open in shock from the sight of twenty or more demons kneeling at the dark elf¡¯s feet.

    ¡°Tanya, take care of these with your sword please. I have to conserve mana.¡±

    ¡°Y-yeah sure!¡± Tanya held the silver sword, and cleanly took their heads off, one by one. The silversteel blade sliced through their necks with barely any resistance, like a scythe through wheat.

    ¡°There he is,¡± Patricia mumbled.

    In the distance, at the far end of the street, a dark elf in a black robe was pointing, giving the imps directions. A barely visible aura shimmered around him. Patricia identified it as Lesser Magic Warding, a basic aura providing general resistance against magical attacks.

    The Children of Kair Tarost? Really? Patricia couldn¡¯t believe it. These wannabe idiots didn¡¯t know the first thing about demon summoning, they could probably conjure an imp or two, but nobody could survive summoning a greater demon unless they actually knew what they were doing. These guys were practically begging Patricia for help a few months ago. She refused to join their stupid rebellion, of course. Did they find someone else to help them?

    Patricia held her staff in front of her and channeled her mana through the focus. The energy gathered in her palm. She held out her hand and conjured a full power Lightning Bolt.

    Tanya was finishing off her last demon when Patricia unleashed the spell. She nearly dropped her sword. This wasn¡¯t the same as the tiny little zap of electricity she used the other night. This was, literally, a bolt of lightning. A thick arc of white-hot plasma connected Patricia¡¯s palm to her victim down the street in an instant. The dark elf¡¯s Warding aura didn¡¯t help him at all. He exploded into a cloud of vaporized blood and bone fragments, leaving behind only a pair of smoking boots. Ear splitting thunder echoed across the town and surrounding region, the shuttered windows lining the street shook from the impact.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Holy fucking shitballs!¡± Tanya shouted over the echoing thunder.

    ¡°Their controller is dead, that should slow them down. Protect me, I need five minutes uninterrupted to cast my next spell. It¡¯s a big one,¡± Patricia told her friend.

    ¡°What?¡± Tanya yelled, cupping a hand over her ear so she could hear Patricia clearly.

    The Cerulean Witch buried her face in her hand and repeated her instructions to the temporarily deafened fighter a little louder.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Tanya yelled back. She held her sword at the ready and scanned her surroundings.

    Patricia closed her eyes and started to channel a big spell. She focused on the insanely complex shape, relying on her staff to keep it stable while she worked on perfecting the finer details. Targeting one demon was difficult, but targeting all demons was even harder. This was a Master-level demonology spell.

    As she constructed the shape, she was vaguely aware of Tanya moving around her. She vaguely heard the sounds of Tanya shouting out swear words, and imps dying. Hell, if Tanya kept up this pace, then perhaps this spell would be redundant.

    After five minutes of intense mental exertion, Patricia finished weaving the shape and held the spell stable in the focusing crystal of her staff. She then started to pump it full of mana. The artifact-grade staff kept the spell stable as Patricia overloaded it with half her mana pool, a truly ridiculous amount of power for a single spell. The enemy had hundreds of lesser demons, but only four greater demons. She focused on modifying the spell for greater radius of effect, rather than magnitude of effect.

    ¡°Mass Banishment!¡±

    Patricia raised, and slammed the foot of her staff into the ground, creating a rippling shockwave of invisible power spreading out from her, enveloping the entire town, and a good deal of the forest surrounding it. Patricia opened her eyes, and the tingling feeling of raw magical power all over her body faded away.

    The air was full of swirling ash. The horde of demons that Tanya was only barely managing to fend off was gone. Demon corpses littered the ground around her, but only those who fell victim to Tanya¡¯s sword before the Banishment spell was cast could be seen. No trace of the others remained. The ash slowly settled on the cobblestone, piling up like black snow, forming large heaps inside alcoves and against the walls of nearby buildings. The streets fell into an eerie silence, as even the distant sounds of battle faded away.

    Patricia looked around with her still-glowing eyes. Every single lesser demon in the town was ash, their abyssal souls severed from their material bodies. There were four powerful greater demonic auras left that she could sense, too powerful to be banished by such a diluted spell. Greater demons required a much more focused variant of Banishment. Two of the greater demons were near the front gate, fighting each other. It seemed their summoner lost control of them. One demonic aura was deep inside the town. The last demonic aura was¡­ It was above her and flying down towards her fast.

    ¡°Incoming greater demon!¡± Patricia shouted to Tanya. ¡°Let me handle it. Hide and take cov-¡±

    The demon streaked down from the sky and smashed into the ground in front of Patricia like a meteor. The ground shook. The creature climbed to its feet and took a step forward out of the small crater he¡¯d created in the road.

    He looked almost like a human man. He was tall, muscular, and perfectly toned. His skin was white and smooth, like a marble statue. He was completely naked and seemed to feel no shame at his nudity, his masculinity on full display. The only hair on his perfect untarnished body was on his eyebrows. Two black feathered wings revealed his inhumanity. They sprouted from his back and spread out majestically. His crimson red eyes regarded the mortals before him with disgust.

    ¡°Pathetic worms. You dare to fight back? It is useless. Kneel down, accept your fate, and I might end your lives quickly,¡± the creature spoke in infernal with a calm, authoritative tone.

    Tanya groaned in pain and fell to one knee. Patricia didn¡¯t even flinch. She was fluent in infernal, and even before her torture, she¡¯d built up a tolerance to its effects.

    Great. It was a fucking Pride demon, A Fallen Seraph, to be specific. He was nowhere near the most powerful of his kind, but he was still a deadly threat. Even the weakest of Pride demons were dangerous, there was no such thing as a lesser Pride demon. The Seraphs were strong warriors, and even stronger mages. The only consolation was that, like the angels they tried to copy, they weren¡¯t naturally immune to fire or lightning.

    One of Patricia¡¯s tormentors inside the tunnels had been a Seraph. His cruelty and penchant for innovative torture had its place inside her fucked up fantasies, but she had no intention of becoming a real-life victim again. Burning this monster to ash was going to be an excellent catharsis for her.

    Lightning Cloak, Demonskin, Force Shield: Contingency Variant Kinetic, Mindblank¡­ Patricia let the proud demon do his taunting and posturing while she silently piled enchantments onto herself. An invisible barrier formed a bubble around her, distorting the light slightly and sparks of lightning arced between her fingertips.

    ¡°Tanya, go take cover!¡± Patricia yelled to her friend, who was still recovering from hearing the demon¡¯s voice.

    The Pride demon didn¡¯t wait for her. He raised a hand, sneering with contempt. Patricia knew what to expect and began to cast a Suffocating Miasma spell on herself and the human. The Pride demon¡¯s palm glowed with divine light. An instant before he completed his spell, Patricia finished her own spell, and both she and Tanya were swallowed by a bubble of pure necrotic darkness that began to slowly drain the life out of their bodies.

    With her darkvision, Patricia saw through the shadowy cloud of undeath and watched the monstrously powerful beam of holy light crash into the blob of cursed darkness and slowly burn it away. The blob of suffocating shadow flowed like a liquid and rushed the fill the gap, negating the Holy Lance spell with its own unholy energy.

    After eating the beam of light, Patricia cancelled the spell before the cursed shadow could fully strangle the life out of them. The evil darkness melted away into a faint smoky mist. Tanya took her chance and scurried away into a nearby alley to take cover. Patricia held out her palm and unleashed the overcharged Lightning Bolt that she¡¯d been preparing under the cover of darkness.

    The arc of blinding plasma was too fast for the demon to dodge. This bolt was thicker than before, Patricia dumped a massive amount of extra mana into this spell and the results were explosive. The thunder was louder than before. The shockwave caused two of the nearby shops to collapse. The Pride demon was sent flying backwards from the force. Landing on his back, fifty feet away from where he¡¯d been standing before. His perfect skin was scorched and steaming.

    ¡°Worm!¡± the pride demon sat up and screamed with rage.

    Patricia activated her Lightning Cloak. Her body was consumed by lightning and converted into pure energy. The bolt arced towards the demon, crashing into him explosively and knocking him flat again. Patricia rematerialized next to the demon, where the bolt struck him, and she immediately started casting her next spell.

    The Pride demon sat up again, growling with rage. He was just fast enough to see a ball of pure shining white appear in Patricia¡¯s hand. A globe of swirling fire and plasma, a miniature sun, crashed into the demon from point blank range. It engulfed the demon, Patricia herself, and the surrounding cobblestone in impossibly hot fire.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ V-vermin!¡± the demon groaned, half-sunken into the molten stone and still burning.

    Patricia was worried now. She¡¯d burnt through nearly all her remaining mana by throwing around those big spells, hoping to kill or at least disable the demon quickly. The Pride demon¡¯s beauty was marred. His entire front side was charred black and disfigured, but the tenacious creature still managed to pull himself to his feet.

    Patricia began to cast another white-hot Fireball, but the demon was too fast for her. He lunged forward, a shining blade ofhardened holy light formed in his hand, and he swung his blade at her. The conjured sword impacted against her Force Shield, shattering it. With the protective enchantment shattered, the next part of the spell activated, creating a small explosion of kinetic energy at the impact site. Patricia was sent flying backwards, slamming into the cobblestone road, and rolling several times before coming to a stop.

    The demon was knocked off balance, but he remained on his feet. He growled, disappointed that he hadn¡¯t managed to cut Patricia in half with his swing. He held out a palm and began to cast another Holy Lance at the stunned dark elf lying prone on the ground.

    His spell was interrupted when a silver sword impaled him through the chest from behind. With his concentration interrupted, the conjured energy sword faded from his hand.

    When Tanya ran off, she didn¡¯t hide. She circled around into a flanking position and waited for her opportunity. This was it. Before the Pride demon could turn and strike back, Tanya unleashed a flurry of quick cuts, slicing through the demon¡¯s tough hide with ease. The silver blade failed to cut through the greater demon¡¯s bones, but Tanya targeted the joints, decapitating him, and slicing off his wings and limbs.

    She continued hacking the demon apart into smaller pieces until Patricia limped up to her.

    ¡°It¡¯s okay. The aura¡¯s gone. He¡¯s dead,¡± she said.

    ¡°Yeah! Fucking pretty boy bitch! Put on some pants, you fucking dickwad!¡± Tanya cursed, and spat on the dead body.

    <hr>

    The sun was starting to set as the caravan of villagers finally reached the outskirts of Befield.

    Lily was bored. For the last three hours she made a game of sneaking up behind various unsuspecting villagers and tickling their necks with her claws. The reactions were endlessly amusing. Mostly, people reacted with terror, but there were different kinds of terror. There was shrieking, there was running away, there was clutching weapons nervously, there was helpless crying¡­ all of the reactions were unique and wonderful in their own way.

    A shocked murmur started near the front of the crowd and slowly spread. Lily pushed her way through the humans and saw for herself what they were murmuring about.

    Befield was under attack.

    Screams and sounds of combat were vaguely audible from a distance, but Lily¡¯s demonic eyes could also spot a swarm of little red demons scurrying along the streets, fighting against squads of guards and slaughtering unarmed humans. Focusing on the magical auras, Lily felt three greater demons as well. Two of the three were more powerful than the knight she killed.

    Lily felt a lump of concern for Tanya and Amelia, wherever they were. She hoped they were safe. She was eager to charge forward into the fray, but it wasn¡¯t entirely for the sake of her former pet humans. Lily really wanted to kill those greater demons. The hell knight was a magnificent opponent, and there were three more demons like him in the town. She was getting wet just thinking about it.

    ¡°This is going to be fun,¡± Lily utterly failed to suppress the wanton bloodlust in her voice as she rested her massive sword against her shoulder.

 24 - Befield Invasion II

    Lily looked down at the town from her vantage on the hill. The human villagers she was travelling with were murmuring nervously. Lily ignored them, focused entirely on what was happening inside the town walls.

    Little red demons, they were apparently called imps, were scurrying around slaying humans. The humans were slaying them right back. The guards could handle the little guys, or maybe not. The little guys were boring though. Lily would slay them if there was nothing else to kill, but she was much more interested in the three greater demons she could sense.

    The closest one was easy to spot. He was a giant. Like the imps, he had red skin, but unlike the imps, he was at least 30 feet tall. His head could be seen peeking over the rooftops of the town. His lower half was covered in black fur, and he had cloven hooves like a goat. He was rampaging through the streets unopposed. He ignored the arrows loosed at him, and any human that got too close was crushed underfoot. He had a strong demonic aura, even stronger than the hell knight. This would be her target.

    ¡°I¡¯m going to go kill the demons now,¡± Lily announced to the crowd. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, stay back and hide inside the woods until it¡¯s over.¡±

    The humans said some human things, like ¡®good luck,¡¯ ¡®be safe,¡¯ and ¡®careful with that sword, you almost hit me.¡¯ Lily ignored their comments, focusing on the town and the demons inside.

    The demon girl leaned forward and dug her toes into the soft grassy dirt. Shredding apart the ground beneath her feet, Lily took off sprinting down the hill, charging towards the town with inhuman speed. She steered towards the demonic giant stomping around inside the walls.

    Out of the corner of her eye, Lily noticed something interesting. Two black robed dark elves, surrounded by imps, were standing outside the walls, watching the invasion in progress. They were casting spells that felt familiar to Lily¡¯s magical senses. It reminded her of the stupid control stone the Inquisitor was trying to use on her. She remembered what happened last time she killed a black robed dark elf, the imps went berserk and started attacking each other. Assuming she wasn¡¯t dead already, Tanya would obviously be out fighting them right now. Lily decided to give the sexy fighty woman some aid.

    The elves were facing the town, not looking behind themselves. As she ran, Lily tucked the sword back against her hip, trailing behind her, parallel to the ground. There was enough noise coming from the town to mask Lily¡¯s heavy footsteps. The dark elves didn¡¯t notice her until it was too late.

    ¡°Look out-¡± one of the dark elves tried to warn.

    With her last step, Lily lunged forwards and threw all her strength into a sweeping horizontal cut. The seven foot long greatsword cleaved through the two elves and the six imps guarding them without even slowing down. The dull blade separated all eight torsos from their hips and sent the dead and dying chunks flying away, splattering the field with gore.

    Lily stopped for a second to listen but didn¡¯t notice any difference in the sounds of battle. Disappointing. Perhaps the elves were sharing control. There must have been some other controlling elves still alive somewhere.

    A flash of light filled Lily¡¯s vision. Her magical senses lit up, detecting a powerful magic spell of elemental destruction. A low rumble of thunder filled Lily¡¯s ears. She glanced upwards but couldn¡¯t see any storm clouds. Magic to conjure a lightning bolt? Interesting. Perhaps it was one of the elves she had yet to kill.

    It was neat, but the magic was happening on the other side of town, far away from the giant. Not her problem for now.

    Lily was close to the walls now. She could still feel the demonic giant¡¯s aura, and he hadn¡¯t moved much. She reluctantly turned away from the bodies, this was no time for a snack. Resolving to return later to eat the delictible dark elves, Lily ran at full speed, charging towards her opponent.

    The demoness reached the wooden palisade walls, and cleanly leapt over the ten foot wall. Without slowing down, she crunched through a lovely little garden, tearing apart a bed of flowers that happened to be in her way. She quickly reached the road.

    Imps swarmed through the streets, screeching and slaughtering everything in sight. As Lily ran towards her opponent, the imps tried to stop her. Lily didn¡¯t even bother to swing her sword, she just ran through the imps, trampling them underfoot. The imps only weighed as much as a normal man and their crude spears left behind only shallow scratches, unable to even penetrate through her recently toughened skin.

    A low rumbling laughter echoed down the street. The giant was in the middle of ripping up the floorboards of a demolished house. His evil laugh was directed towards a family of humans hiding in their cellar.

    With the giant distracted, Lily took the initiative. Charging up behind, Lily put all her weight and strength into a vicious chop to the back of the giant¡¯s leg, just above the ankle. The sword bit in deeply, and the giant roared in pain.Unfortunately, itbecame stuck in the giant¡¯s leg, partially embedded in his bone, failing to slice completely through. Lily tried to pull the sword back, but it was firmly wedged in place.

    Lily tugged harder, bracing herself against the leg with her foot, trying to recover her sword. At the last second, she noticed the other hooved foot flying towards her. It was too late to dodge the giant¡¯s kick. Lily let go of the sword¡¯s grip and brought up her arms to block.

    The kick knocked the air out of her lungs and sent her flying backwards at high speed. Lily felt a rapid series of heavy impacts against her head and upper back and rolled to a stop the next street over. She quickly climbed back to her feet, mostly unharmed, and watched the building whose walls she¡¯d just smashed through collapse.

    Lily had the giant demon¡¯s full attention now. The family of humans hiding in the cellar took their change to escape, fleeing down the street, searching for a new hiding place.

    The giant casually reached down and pulled the massive sword out of his ankle. In his hands, it looked like a table knife. Lily spread her claws and charged towards the giant again. The giant watched her and grinned cruelly. He flexed the sword in his hand, bending it into an arc until it finally snapped in half. No! He broke her toy! She was having fun with that sword¡­

    With deceptively fast movement, the giant flung both shards of the sword into the charging demon girl¡¯s path. She had to dive to the side to avoid getting impaled by the sharp, high speed projectiles. Lily pulled her dive into a roll to preserve her momentum, but with her arms and legs tucked into a roll, she wasn¡¯t able to dodge a second time. She rolled right into the path of the giant¡¯s foot.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Lily caught a glimpse of the giant¡¯s massive hoof crashing down towards her from above.

    The heavy stomp crushed Lily flat on her stomach against the cobblestone road. The stones beneath her cracked. She reached out with her claw and tried to pull herself away, to roll sideways out of the giant¡¯s reach, but another stomp crashed down. This time she felt the stone beneath her crumble completely, and she ended up fully embedded in the road.

    Lily was in pain, the muscles in her core were torn to shreds from the impact. Despite her weakening strength, she made another attempt at pulling herself out of the giant¡¯s reach, but the foot came down again before she could escape. Again and again, stomp after stomp, the giant crushed her deeper into the ground.

    The giant took no chances. He wanted to make sure she was thoroughly dead. He brought his foot down again, and¡­ Crack! Lily felt a new type of pain. Crack! Crack! Lily bones snapped and cracked apart under the giant¡¯s relentless onslaught. Arms, legs, hips, ribs, spine¡­ she felt her entire skeleton breaking apart under the giant''s heavy hooves. The pain grew faint and foggy, she found herself unable to move at all. Finally, she felt her skull break apart, and darkness instantly took her.

    Lily woke up again.

    Searing pain overwhelmed her when she tried to move, so she remained calm and still, playing dead while her regeneration did its work. Even while staying still, she was in agony. The bones shifting under her skin, assembling themselves back together hurt almost as much as breaking them in the first place. Slowly the pain faded into a dull ache, as the aligned bones knit themselves back together. Once her muscles and ligaments rebuilt themselves, the ache faded away entirely.

    Fixing a series of fractures didn¡¯t take as long as regrowing a missing body part from scratch. It barely took longer than a minute to reassemble her shattered skeleton. Fully repaired and ready for the next round, she cautiously peeked her head up above the crater. The giant hadn¡¯t gone far. He was only about ten houses down the street, crushing someone¡¯s home into rubble. Aside from the sound of demolition, the streets were eerily quiet. Ash swirled through the air, collecting in clumps on the ground. All the lesser demons were gone.

    Lily quietly pulled herself up into a crouch. She looked down at the her-shaped impression in the ground. There was a single black horn, two feet long and deadly sharp, lying in the compacted dirt. Lily frowned and touched the side of her head feeling the rough, splintery stump left behind. Her left horn had been broken off at the base.

    Lily poked despondently at the broken horn half-buried in the ground. It would grow back eventually, but losing her horn was a terrible blow to her pride. She didn¡¯t exactly know why breaking a horn was such an emotional blow, but it felt intensely humiliating, much worse than losing an arm or a leg. This must have been another strange demonic instinct that nobody explained to her. Bones were the slowest to regenerate, and Lily¡¯s horns were the thickest bones in her body. She¡¯d be forced to bear this humiliation for at least an hour¡­

    Lily turned to look at the giant again, still oblivious to her. She felt the Wrath coursing through her, simmering to the surface. She would not accept this humiliation¡­ This demon had to die. A sinister smile crept across her face as she plotted the giant¡¯s demise. Yes¡­ she was going to rip him apart from the inside.

    Lily climbed to her feet. Her little black dress was destroyed. The few remaining shreds of fabric slid down her body and bunched up at her ankles. The last shreds tore as Lily took a step forward without shame. Aside from the missing horn, her powerful body was beautiful, and she wasn¡¯t pretending to be civilized right now. She didn¡¯t need clothes. The giant was crouched down, pulling up another floor. He was preoccupied by grabbing and ripping apart a newly found group of cowering humans one by one.

    Lily moved as quietly as she could. Lining herself up for the charge. She approached directly from behind, and slowly sped up into a run. The giant, to his credit, managed to hear the footsteps, but by then Lily was already airborne. The giant failed to twist away in time, and Lily landed against the giant¡¯s back, sinking her claws in deeply and grabbing ahold of his flesh.

    The giant howled with rage and stood again. The surviving humans he had cornered fled.

    The giant stretched his arms behind himself, but Lily had placed herself right in the middle of his back, the one spot that the broad shouldered and bulky armed demon couldn¡¯t reach. As the giant thrashed around, Lily ripped up handfuls of flesh, soaking herself in demon blood. Most of what she tore out of the giant landed on the road below, but some of it made its way into her mouth. Lily was feeling hungry. She had to regain the energy she lost from regenerating her skeleton.

    Lily started carving herself a little cavity in the giant¡¯s back. Baring his rib cage. Theory confirmed¡­ Just like the other types of Wrath demon she¡¯d eaten, his bones were white. She guessed only archfiends like her and Father had black skeletons.

    Realizing he couldn¡¯t reach Lily and pry her away, the giant leapt backwards and threw himself onto his back, trying to smash her against the ground. Lily¡¯s upper body and head were safe inside the hole she was digging. Her legs were crushed beneath the giant, but the the weight of his upper body alone wasn¡¯t enough to break her leg bones again.

    Lily tore at the giant in a vicious frenzy, continuing to rip him apart. She chipped away at his bones with her claws and managed to carve out a hole in his rib cage. Her bones were much stronger than his. The hard tips of her claws didn¡¯t even dull. She continued digging deeper, tunneling towards the giant¡¯s heart. It took ten minutes of excavation to reach it. The entire time, the giant writhed on the ground in helpless agony. His heart was huge, easily the size of her own torso. She pierced into it with her claws and tore it open. What little of her skin wasn¡¯t soaked with blood before became drenched in the inky black deluge.

    The giant died shortly after his heart was destroyed, but it took another ten minutes for Lily to escape the giant¡¯s insides. He was flat on his back, blocking her entrance tunnel, and his limp body was too heavy for her to lift. She ate her fill of demon flesh as she dug her way out. As expected, the taste was horrendous.

    She finally burst out of his chest, gasping for fresh air. By this point, a crowd of humans were gathered around the dead demon¡¯s body, nervously poking at the giant corpse. They screamed in panic and fled at the sight of a naked blood-soaked terror ripping her way out of the demon¡¯s chest.

    Lily freed her hands and leaned back against the side of her newly excavated tunnel, taking a moment to relax and breathe in the fresh air. That was¡­ a glorious battle. She wasn¡¯t even that horny. This battle had been immensely satisfying, in a pure way. To dilute that with her perversions would be to desecrate a work of art.

    Lily glanced around, focusing on the auras around her. To Lily¡¯s disappointment, the second strong greater demon was gone. Only one greater demonic aura remained. This one was more or less equal to the hell knight she fought before, not quite as powerful as the giant or the¡­ whatever the other demon was.

    Pretty much every lesser demonic aura was gone too. The air was saturated with magic, traces of demonic aura were everywhere, and the source of the aura was the particles of ash floating through the air. They were likely the remains of the imps, all killed somehow.

    Aside from the greater demon, she could still sense one¡­ maybe two¡­ demonic survivors. Their auras were so faint that they could just as easily be large ash piles too. There was definitely one... A surviving demon lingering near the greater demon. She was certain it wasn''t an ash pile. It was much more powerful than an imp, but still incredibly weak compared to the greater demon.

    The greater demonic aura suddenly vanished from Lily¡¯s senses.

    Lily blinked in surprise. Oh¡­ It looked like somebody killed the last greater demon. Was there another powerful demon here like her? No, she¡¯d feel the aura. Were these humans? Humans were pathetically weak though. How could they kill two greater demons, on opposite sides of the town, in the amount of time as it took her to kill one? Was there an Inquisitor here?

    Well whatever. There was still one demonic aura she could sense, the weaker, boring one. It was strange though. Somehow it was able to survive what the imps and the greater demon couldn¡¯t. Perhaps it was good at hiding? It was hiding near the guard barracks where she¡¯d sparred with Tanya. Lily dug herself out of the giant¡¯s chest and started running towards the demonic aura to investigate.

 25 - Befield Invasion III

    Xvxcid¡¯anil, He of Many Faces, was standing in the courtyard of the town barracks, wearing the body of the dark elf Aronden. He was panicked. He¡¯d expected some resistance, but he hadn¡¯t expected this.

    A Mass Banishment spell, powerful enough to envelop the town, and strong enough to actually hurt him¡­ Banishment, on its own, was a mid tier spell, difficult to cast but dreadfully commonplace, much to the Envy demon¡¯s chagrin. It wasn¡¯t easy to use in the middle of battle though. It required the caster to be able to see and target an individual demon, and the caster also had to know the demon¡¯s name.

    Mass Banishment, on the other hand, was extremely advanced magic, top tier stuff, many times more complex than a single target Banishment. The spell had to be constructed in such a way that it could automatically divine the demon¡¯s true name, detect and target the link between the demon and the Abyss, and do that for each individual demon inside a certain radius. To cast such a complex spell over an entire town? He would have considered it ridiculous if he had not seen it for himself. There was obviously a powerful demonologist working against him, intent on foiling his plans.

    This mystery mage also managed to kill a Fallen-fucking-Seraph! The imps were free disposable fodder, but each of the greater demons he¡¯d summoned required an hour long ritual, a fortune in silver dust, and five mortal lives to summon. That Pride demon was the strongest type of demon he could summon using that five-person ritual. And that was the most potent ritual he could reliably perform! Not only that, but the Pride demon was the perfect choice for killing mages. With his strength, speed, and the magic he wielded, he should have had the advantage against a single opponent. And he was still defeated somehow.

    That master demonologist must have their own greater demonic familiar too. Xvxcid kept a Sense Aura spell active most of the time, so he could sense them. This demonic servant was powerful enough to kill a Wrath Giant by itself. What ritual did this demonologist use? What kind of demon was it? How many lives had that one cost to summon?

    The demonologist was unexpected, but it was okay. He wasn¡¯t supposed to conquer the town. He was only supposed to raze half of it and retreat. If he died, it wouldn''t matter, he would simply return to the Abyss until he was summoned again. He¡¯d probably destroyed enough of the town to serve the intended purpose. The letters had already been sent. The humans would read Aronden¡¯s insane manifesto and blame all this on the ¡®evil, demon worshipping¡¯ dark elves.

    It was pure luck that a dark elf decided to summon him. He broke the flimsy magical geas, took over the poor fool¡¯s body, and assumed control of this little dark elf cult of his. Scanthe, Lord of Envy was overjoyed by the news. It fit in quite well with his other plans.

    It was quite convenient. The dark elves were already thought of as shady and untrustworthy. Now, the people would have proof to back up their prejudices. The Inquisitors were going to be busy investigating dark elf commoners, and consequently, they¡¯d fail to notice the quiet work his peers were doing.

    There was still one loose end he had tie up. The Chosen didn¡¯t know much, but she knew enough to ask some dangerous questions. Her powers made her a threat, so she had to die.

    Xvxcid sighed. That walking corpse acted like he was so great. Sure, he was terrifyingly powerful, but he was a lousy assassin. He didn¡¯t even bother to confirm his kills. And now, thanks to his incompetence, the Chosen was Xvxcid¡¯s problem.

    It was supposed to be an easy problem to solve¡­ she was just a little girl. Verita gave her no combat oriented Gifts, she relied on her absent bodyguards for protection and she couldn¡¯t even wield magic to defend herself. Sending a hell knight into the barracks to kill her should have been overkill. And yet he was dead, and she wasn¡¯t. He died in an instant. It wasn¡¯t even a fight. What in the infinite Abyss happened? What sort of magic did she wield?

    Xvxcid touched the charred finger bone in his pocket. Yeah¡­ if Ugudrox the hell knight couldn¡¯t beat her, then he certainly couldn¡¯t. It was time for reinforcements. He didn¡¯t trust the corpse¡­ he wasn¡¯t one of them. He was cooperating, but he wasn¡¯t loyal. He screwed up last time, but the power he wielded could not be denied. Whatever magical trick the Chosen was using, the Envy demon doubted it would work on the corpse.

    Xvxcid¡¯anil, wearing the body of a dark elf pulled the finger bone out of his black robe and broke it in half. The dried bone cracked easily, and a faint tingle of magic was released.

    <hr>

    Patricia breathed hard and ignored the pain in her chest as she ran to the barracks. She was tempted to just Fly there, but it was an expensive spell and she¡¯d wasted almost all her mana on the stupid Pride demon. Tanya ran along beside her. Despite the forty pounds of chainmail she was wearing, Patricia was the one lagging behind. That girl had crazy endurance.

    The siege had started nearly an hour ago and night had already fallen. The streets were dark and empty. Patricia watched Tanya run and idly wondered how humans managed to live without darkvision. The moon was out, so Tanya would be able to see¡­ probably? Patricia found it hard to imagine what darkness looked like through human eyes.

    The greater demonic aura had vanished a few minutes ago, but Patricia could still ¡®see¡¯ the aura of an Envy demon with her Arcane Sight. Envy demons had no bodies of their own. They wore the bodies of mortals, but they were as dangerous as any demon, despite their mortal body¡¯s relative frailty. They were generally mages with respectable magical power, more than enough to threaten someone like Amelia.

    Patricia ran up to the town¡¯s fortified garrison. The portcullis at the entrance was closed, but it had been crumpled and bent inwards, opening a wide path through. Inside the courtyard stood a dark elf in a black robe, one of the Children of Kair Tarost. He looked normal to the eye, but his demonic aura shone like a beacon to Patricia¡¯s Arcane Sight. This was the Envy demon she sensed.

    ¡°Oh, that explains it,¡± the elf said wearily as he looked her over. ¡°Lady Thalassa, the dreaded Cerulean Witch¡­ I wasn¡¯t expecting to find you alive. Of course the fool would fail to kill the Lord¡¯s pet mage too¡­ Two priority targets left alive¡­ Did he deliberately spare you from the explosion? Did he do it to spite me? What a fucking joke.¡±

    Patricia readied a quick Fireballand held it stable in her staff, ready to blast the demon back to the Abyss before he could try anything dangerous. But she hesitated¡­ It sounded like he knew something about the one who killed her family. She held her tongue and waited, hoping he would divulge more secrets if she let him rant.

    Before he could open his mouth, a massive surge of raw arcane power sparked into existence in the courtyard. It sent a shiver down Patricia¡¯s spine and made her hair stand on end.

    A tear in reality opened. The jagged rift slowly grew wider, into a circular portal five feet in diameter. Inside the circle, she could see another place. It was the interior of a castle, made from dark stone, subtly carved with a macabre motif of human bodies writhing in agony, all of it beautifully detailed.

    From inside the castle walked a beautiful high elven woman. She had dark red hair, almost black. Her skin was pale as snow. She wore a billowing formal gown, red in colour and decorated with black lace. Her dress was cut to reveal her cleavage, and her corset pushed up her modest bust to provide that cleavage. A brilliant ruby necklace was visible around her neck and she had blood red lipstick to match her outfit. She also had crimson red eyes, which was not a natural colour for a high elf.

    The woman walked out of the castle and into the barracks courtyard. The Gate closed behind her, the rift in reality repairing itself. Patricia had to fight to keep the expression on her face neutral. A stable portal, conjured from only one side, spanning an unknown distance, with no physical runes or structure to hold it steady¡­ This was teleportation magic of the highest tier, archmage-level stuff. Whoever opened that Gate wielded magic well beyond what Patricia was capable of. It was a troubling thought. The high elf took a quick appraising look at Patricia and Tanya, and then faced the Envy demon.

    ¡°You disturb my Master for this?¡± the high elf sounded unimpressed.

    ¡°The dark elf is powerful, and she¡¯s got some sort of demon familiar too,¡± the demon replied. ¡°And the target managed to bring down a hell knight by herself.¡±

    ¡°My Master is quite cross with you. He does not appreciate being squandered like this. Your peers had to offer something quite valuable in exhange for those bones, you know. You won¡¯t be getting any more once they¡¯re used up. You shouldn¡¯t keep wasting them on such mundane little chores. They¡¯re beneath Him.¡±

    ¡°Yeah? Well, maybe he can complete the tasks we give him first before you go on about how it¡¯s all beneath him. Your master failed to kill two of his targets and you¡¯re only here because of his failure.¡±

    ¡°His task was to blow up a heavily warded mansion and he did.¡±

    ¡°We implied he should kill everybody inside too¡­ Why would we only want a building destroyed? The people inside were the targets! And why are you here? Why is he not here himself? It¡¯s insulting that he only sent his minion when he himself promised to come when called." The Envy demon calmed down and caught his breath. "Well whatever, let¡¯s hope you can do the job. Kill those two first, and then the blondie upstairs.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the ¡®minion¡¯ said flatly.

    The possessed elf gave her a confused look.

    ¡°You do not give me orders,¡± she said with a voice like ice. ¡°I am Lady Vivian, Mistress of Blood, Vampire Matriarch, and one of the eldest of my kind. I am among the most powerful and the most trusted of my Master¡¯s servants. I drank the blood of thousands, crushed entire armies under my feet, and I kneel only before Him. You will address me with the proper respect, as befitting my station. The Agreement grants you a request, it does not let you order me around.¡±

    The exasperated Envy demon held up his arms dramatically, ¡°O Lady Vivian, Great Mistress of Blood, I humbly beseech thee to kill those three stupid mortals. Preferably before they die of old age!¡±

    ¡°You are being sarcastic¡­¡± Vivian replied with a warning tone. ¡°I do not appreciate your sense of humour.¡±

    ¡°Ugh!¡± the demon threw up his hands. ¡°And where¡¯s your respect for me, huh? I¡¯m the one organizing this whole thing, and you¡¯re the help. I shouldn¡¯t have to play these stupid power games with you. Just honor the Agreement!¡±

    Lady Vivian dissolved into a cloud of red, a fine mist of blood droplets. The mist quickly enveloped the dark elf, swirling around him, condensing into the shape of a high elven woman again. The mist faded away and she now stood behind the suddenly-fearful dark elf with a hand placed gently over his throat.

    ¡°Orders received Sir,¡± she spoke gently into his ear, the last word dripped with sarcasm.

    The vampire opened her mouth, revealing two long fangs, and bit down on his neck. The dark elf struggled desperately, but he wasn¡¯t strong enough to squirm out of the woman¡¯s grasp. The vampire kept a grip around his throat with one hand, and sensually caressed the elf¡¯s chest with the other as she drained him dry of blood. Her eyes rolled back, a look of depraved ecstasy on her face. The victim¡¯s helpless struggles grew weaker. The vampire made eye contact with Patricia as she drank the last of the dark elf¡¯s life away.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    A Vampire. A powerful type of sentient undead, vulnerable to natural sunlight, silver, and holy attuned magic. Lucky for Patricia, they also had a lesser weakness to fire.

    The vampire licked her lips and casually tossed away the drained corpse, ¡°Thank you for waiting for me to finish. I must say, you¡¯re far more polite than this annoying little insect was.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re willing to walk away? We were fighting the demons. We have no issue with you if you¡¯re willing to leave the town in peace,¡± Patricia tried.

    She was lying of course, she desperately wanted revenge for what happened to the Lord and his family and it looked like this woman or her master was responsible for that. But Patricia was practical. She was exhausted, drained of mana, and she wasn¡¯t looking forward to another difficult fight right now.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not, dear,¡± Vivian replied. ¡°As much as it pains me, I really must kill you.¡±

    Patricia shifted her weight back, clenching her staff firmly, ready to react.

    ¡°Oh don¡¯t worry dear,¡± she replied. ¡°You waited for me after all. Go on, take a moment to get yourself ready. Let me know when you want to begin.¡±

    Patricia held her ground near the portcullis for several seconds, watching the vampire closely. Vivian just stood patiently with a polite smile.

    ¡°She¡¯s weak to silver,¡± Patricia spoke under her breath at Tanya. The fighter responded with a subtle nod. No doubt the vampire heard it too, but she¡¯d be able to tell the sword was silver right away by looking at the tarnish.

    Patricia and Tanya walked out from under the gatehouse and into the middle of the garrison courtyard where they had room to maneuver.

    Tanya got her sword ready, sizing up her opponent. Patricia had never fought a vampire before, but she knew this waif-thin woman in her impractical gown would be much stronger and faster than she might appear at first glance.

    When she was in position, the Pyromancer held out her hand, and a cone of red-orange flame spiralled out from her palm, completely engulfing the vampire. The spell was unimaginatively named Cone of Flame.

    As expected, the vampire had an answer to her fire. She didn¡¯t even flinch. The flames collided with an invisible barrier, splitting in half and flowing around behind her. Flame Shield, Patricia suspected. It was a mid-tier spell, hard to overwhelm with brute force but it was only usable while stationary. It required intense focus and a lot of mana to maintain. This vampire clearly had some decent magical skill on top of whatever natural gifts her vampirism gave her.

    Patricia held out her hand, and another cone of red-orange flame shot out from her hand. She strained with effort, and with a sputtering start, a tongue of blue fire appeared inside the cone, growing until the entire cone was blue flame.

    The vampire rolled her eyes. The Flame Shield shimmered into existence again and deflected the attack. ¡°Is that really the best you¡¯ve got?¡± she chuckled.

    Patricia gasped and hunched over. Exhausted from the ¡®strain¡¯ of casting a low level fire spell with a simple modifier. As a ¡®last desperate effort,¡¯ she held up a trembling hand, ready to unleash another cone of fire. The vampire looked unimpressed. She maintained her Flame Shield and waited, confident that whatever spell this pathetic pyromancer tried to cast wouldn¡¯t work on her.

    Patricia dumped a lot more mana into her cone this time and wove a curse into the flame. A swirling jet of green fire, hotter than before, engulfed the unsuspecting vampire. The Witchfire flame burned away the Flame Shield near-instantaneously, and the overconfident vampire, suddenly stripped of her protection, had no time to react and dodge out of the way. The jet of flame engulfed her and set her alight. She let out a scream of agony as the flames spiralled around her.

    A cone of blood shot from the vampire¡¯s palm, hissing and turning to steam as it absorbed the flame¡¯s heat. At the same time, a long tendril of misty blood shot out behind the vampire. Vivan¡¯s body dissolved, compressed, and flew through the misty tether in an instant, rematerializing where the tendril had touched the ground. She was now out of reach of the flame jet, but Patricia¡¯s flames burned away all the blood mist that was left behind.

    Vivian hunched over slightly from the pain. The front of her body was charred black and her dress had been reduced to ash. Blood flowed from underneath the crust of burnt flesh, and the blackened skin started to flake off, revealing perfectly smooth regenerated skin underneath. Flakes of charred fabric broke away and regenerated in much the same way. After a few seconds, the vampire was left with perfect unmarred skin, and a pristine ballgown, free of damage.

    ¡°You tricky bitch!¡± the vampire said, half in anger and half in admiration. Her bloodthirsty grin revealed her horrible fangs.

    Vivian¡¯s expression suddenly changed, she glanced towards the open gate to the barracks. Moments later, a terrifying monster, claws spread wide, passed under the bent portcullis and charged towards the vampire. Lily was butt naked, soaked head to toe in black blood, and seemed to be missing one of her horns. Vivian¡¯s eyes went wide with surprise as Lily closed the distance to her. Then, the vampire¡¯s expression turned into a smirk.

    Vivian extended a hand towards the demon and swiped upwards, over her shoulder. Lily was lifted off the ground by an invisible hand. Now airborne, her momentum carried her past the vampire, and she flew over the opposite wall of the garrison at high speed. A second or two later, there was a distant crashing sound, as Lily flew through a building somewhere on the other side of the wall, causing it to collapse.

    ¡°Was that one yours?¡± Vivian burst out laughing. ¡°How dumb do you have to be to charge directly at a hemokinetic vampire while completely covered in blood?¡±

    Patricia returned the smirk, earning herself a dirty look from Tanya. On the inside, she wasn¡¯t laughing. Lily was a dangerously cunning demon and she hoped Vivian would continue to underestimate her.

    Patricia was trying to come up with another plan. Now that Vivian knew about Witchfire, the same trick wouldn¡¯t work again. She was also getting dangerously low on mana. She didn¡¯t even have enough left for a proper Lightning Bolt.

    Outraged by the vampire¡¯s taunt, Tanya charged at her, sword held high. No Tanya! Bad idea! Vampires were deadly up close. The vampire stood patiently, maintaining her smug smile, waiting for Tanya to close the distance. Tanya swung down, and the vampire blurred, shifting out of the way of the sword blade faster than Patricia¡¯s eyes could follow. Tanya maneuvered her blade into a second attack. The vampire dodged that one easily too.

    Tanya didn¡¯t give up. She swung her sword around in a whirlwind of silversteel. The vampire masterfully dodged every blow, but her playful smile vanished. She was focused, taking Tanya¡¯s barrage of blows seriously. Tanya wasn¡¯t as fast as the vampire, but she had the advantage of reach and technique. She left no openings for the undead to land a counterattack.

    Finally, the vampire burst into a fine mist of blood. The silversteel sword swung through the cloud, burning the blood on contact, carving a sizzling line through the mist. The mist cloud lunged forward and engulfed Tanya. The vampire rematerialized beside her with one hand gripping her throat. Taking a step forward, Vivian lifted Tanya by the throat and threw her. She went flying towards the far wall where she crashed into a hay-stuffed archery target.

    Vivian straightened up. Her smile was gone, and her face was serious. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll admit that my assistance was warranted. I can see how you might have been able to disrupt that fool¡¯s plans. Congratulations, I deem you worthy of my attention.¡±

    A monstrous roar echoed through the town. Patricia¡¯s blood ran cold. She recognized it immediately. It was the sound of destruction and despair. She¡¯d heard a roar like this only once before¡­ two hundred years ago, when Kair Tarost fell. She still heard that roar in her nightmares. The pitch was a little high, but the timbre was unmistakeable.

    A moment later, a monster, wreathed in flame, leapt over the 15 foot high wall, and landed inside the courtyard with an earth shaking impact. Lily¡¯s body was engulfed in red-orange flames, the black blood now burnt away. To Patricia¡¯s Arcane Sight, it looked like the flames were being controlled somehow, but not with an arcane construct. Just like the vampire¡¯s hemokinesis, this was a natural ability. Lily controlled the fire on a basic, fundamental level. It wasn¡¯t a spell.

    Patricia knew hundreds of variants of demons. She¡¯d studied and memorized everything the former dark elven empire knew about demons. All that meant now was that she knew hundreds of variants of demon that Lily was most definitely not. The prominent rear-facing horns¡­ the claws¡­ natural pyrokinesis, and that unmistakable roar¡­ The dark elves knew of only one demon that had those traits. Lily was an archfiend? An elf-sized archfiend? That didn¡¯t make sense.

    The flames lapping gently against Lily¡¯s skin burst into a swirling firestorm at her command. She charged towards the vampire.

    Vivian cast a Fire Ward spell. It granted a passive resistance to fire, like Patricia¡¯s own Demonskin spell. It was weaker than Flame Shield, possible to overwhelm with enough heat, but this spell would allow the vampire to move, and she didn¡¯t have to maintain focus on the spell or constantly feed it mana.

    Lily reached Vivian and lunged forward, claws extended. The flames swirling around her licked against the vampire but caused no damage. Vivian blurred out of the way and grabbed Lily¡¯s claw by the wrist. She twisted and threw the demon into the wall behind her.

    The thick stone crumbled from the impact, causing a rain of heavy stone blocks to fall on Lily¡¯s head. The demon was completely buried, and without air, her flame was extinguished. Lily kicked and thrashed, quickly digging her way out of the rubble.

    ¡°Tenacious little thing, aren¡¯t you?¡± The vampire said, grinning and showing her fangs. Her voice was growing more vicious, and less playful.

    ¡°Give me your green fire!¡± Lily yelled to Patricia, reaching out a hand towards her.

    Patricia grinned savagely. Now that was a fun idea. She held up her palm, and conjured a small Firebolt spell, empowering it to blue flame temperature, and weaving the Witchfire curse into it. The little bolt of green flame streaked towards the demon like an arrow. When it got close to Lily, the Firebolt¡¯s path twisted and it started to orbit her body. Lily returned the vampire¡¯s bloodthirsty grin, and the firebolt exploded into a whirlwind of green flame.

    Lily breathed deeply, focusing on the flames around her. The swirling vortex of fire grew to a ten foot radius, engulfing a sizeable chunk of the courtyard and setting the practice equipment alight. Patricia was amazed. Growing a Witchfire flame to that size and maintaining it required a considerable amount of mana. Even Patricia would struggle to maintain a firestorm that size for any reasonable amount of time. Lily¡¯s pyrokinesis was powerful, but it must have been consuming an incredible amount of energy. Lily¡¯s demonic aura had grown a lot stronger since the last time Patricia saw her. Demons didn¡¯t gain power that quickly, and certainly archfiends didn¡¯t. Just what exactly was she?

    The demon charged towards the vampire. Vivian hesitated. A brief glimmer of panic washed over her face, and then she seemed to get an idea. She stretched out a tendril of mist, and shifted over next to Tanya, who was just getting back on her feet. The vampire grabbed Tanya by the throat again and hoisted her up, cutting off her air. She turned away from the human and looked back at the demon. Lily maintained her firestorm but hesitated before getting too close.

    ¡°Come on then¡­ burn your ally-¡±

    Tanya¡¯s silversteel blade sliced through the vampire¡¯s arm while she wasn¡¯t looking. Tanya landed on her feet. The limb that had been grasping her throat splatted on the ground and melted into a sizzling bloody puddle. Vivian stared in disbelief at the stump of her former arm. Flakes of scabbed blood rained down as it slowly regenerated. The regeneration was far slower than before. Vivian was starting to weaken, she was running out of blood. Tanya seized the opportunity and took another swing at the stunned vampire. But Vivian had enough presence of mind to dodge backwards and shift away.

    The vampire shifted around the courtyard, being chased by Lily. There was real fear on her face now. She flung the occasional quick spell at Lily when she could, bolts of shadow, arrows of acid, spears of frozen blood, but the demon seemed to shrug them off, regenerating faster than Vivian was able to damage her. Lily occasionally managed to catch the vampire with her flames, but Vivian mostly kept her distance. Still, the vampire found herself unable to retaliate.

    Patricia watched from the sidelines, keeping a Witchfire modified Cone of Flame ready to cast. Vivian eyed her, but probably realized that taking Patricia hostage was an even worse idea than taking Tanya hostage.

    The vampire suddenly turned her head, noticing something inside the garrison¡¯s keep. Someone had made her way downstairs and was watching the fight from inside the building. She grinned with delight. She stretched a tendril of blood into the building and there was a choking sound from inside. The tendril retracted, and a tiny blonde woman in a white robe was dragged out the garrison door. The tendril was wrapped around her throat, and when she got close enough, it shifted and morphed back into the vampire¡¯s hand.

    With an unhinged manic grin, the vampire turned back to Lily. ¡°Now, as I was saying¡­¡±

    ¡°You are Dust¡­¡± Amelia rasped quietly, struggling to breathe.

    The blond girl stretched out her hand, and it began to glow red. An astonishing surge of raw demonic power overwhelmed Patricia¡¯s magical senses. This was a ridiculously powerful spell, magic of the highest tier, but the effect wasn¡¯t as explosive as Patricia expected. There was a quiet pulse of magic, a faint distortion in the air, and then the vampire soundlessly disintegrated into a puff of fine grey powder. The previously intense sounds of battle suddenly went silent as the dust drifted away on the wind. A large red ruby, once held in an ornate golden necklace around the vampire¡¯s neck, was the only thing left of her. It fell and clinked quietly against the ground.

    Patricia was too stunned by the staggering display of magical power to move. Lily let the swirling flames dissipate and warily approached the Saintess. Tanya limped up to the group, rubbing her bruises, also stunned into silence.

    ¡°Hey guys,¡± Amelia said, with forced cheerfulness. ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re alri- Uuuagh¡­¡±

    The Sainted dropped to her knees, bent over, and threw up.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ sorry. Don¡¯t worry, this happened last time too. I just need a little- Uuuuagh¡­¡±

    Amelia threw up again, splattering the shiny ruby on the ground with bile.

    ¡°Give me a minute,¡± the Saintess groaned in misery.

 26 - After the Battle

    Tanya rubbed Amelia¡¯s back as she barfed up the last of her prison food. There was nothing left in her stomach, but she kept retching and dry heaving. Cold sweat formed on her skin, and she sat there shivering. Demon magic was not kind to her body. She was able to cast Minor Healing all day and feel fine, but not this spell.

    The first time she cast Occulith¡¯s Dust she felt awful. Either through luck, or Verita¡¯s will, she¡¯d somehow been able to kill the demonic knight that smashed through her cell door in one shot. Immediately afterwards, she felt overwhelmingly nauseous, and her muscles lost their strength. She¡¯d been almost too feeble to walk. This time the effect was even worse.

    ¡°Probably mana burn,¡± Patricia said, standing in place, looking weary and learning on her black metal staff for support.

    ¡°Euagh!¡± Amelia¡¯s body tried to throw up again, but nothing came out. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t hear what you said.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a common affliction for novice spellcasters relying on external mana sources. That spell looked simple on the outside, but I could feel its power. That was a lot of mana. Your body isn¡¯t used to handling that much magical power, so this happened¡­¡± Patricia gestured to the kneeling Saintess. ¡°Acute effects usually last between one to three hours. Continuous overexposure to mana can cause some minor¡­ flesh melting. But if you don¡¯t cast¡­ whatever you just cast again before your body recovers, you¡¯ll probably be fine.¡±

    ¡°Oh. Good.¡± Amelia tried not to think about the flesh melting.

    ¡°Care to explain what you just did?¡± Patricia asked.

    ¡°I learned it from the Black Book. It¡¯s a divine spell granted by Demon Lord Occulith, Lord of Sloth. It seems to be¡­ Euagh! ¡­pretty powerful.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s an understatement,¡± Patricia replied. ¡°You just killed a vampire with a single spell. A powerful vampire¡­¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t seem very powerful,¡± Lily said, with a nonchalant shrug.

    ¡°She moved faster than I could see, and she flung you through a stone wall like it was nothing¡­ She would have utterly destroyed you if not for the combination of my Witchfire and your pyrokinesis.¡±

    ¡°Pyro-what?¡± Lily asked.

    ¡°Fire control.¡± Patricia replied.

    Lily nodded. Amelia groaned and rubbed her tummy.

    The nausea was becoming manageable but her legs still felt like cooked noodles. Tanya continued gently rubbing her back. Lily stood and watched them awkwardly. Now would be a good time¡­

    ¡°Lily, I want to apologize for what I said earlier,¡± Amelia said. ¡°Thank you for coming here to help us. Back with the Inquisitor, I realize now that you were trying to protect us both, and I shouldn¡¯t have reacted like that. I was overwhelmed and emotional, and I lashed out at you unfairly.¡±

    ¡°Yes, you did,¡± Lily replied.

    ¡°I still think we could have still talked him down with words. Something seemed shady about him, but I could have used my abilities and status to threaten him. That said, I do understand why you decided to attack early. It made sense¡­ tactically.¡±

    ¡°He wanted to ¡®confiscate¡¯ me. I don¡¯t know what he planned to do, but he would have likely tried to kill me. Anyone who threatens my life dies, and he wasn¡¯t someone I could ignore. I had to take him seriously.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I understand. Regardless of whether talking would have worked or not, I didn¡¯t handle the aftermath of the situation well. I¡¯m sorry for reacting the way I did.¡±

    The demon stared at Amelia silently.

    ¡°Are you willing to forgive me?¡±

    The demon closed her eyes, and thought for a moment, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll forgive you.¡± Her face softened slightly as she replied. ¡°And I¡¯ll try to wait a bit longer before attacking the next Inquisitor that threatens us.¡±

    ¡°Thank you. I haven¡¯t talked about it with everyone, but I think Tanya and I should leave the town soon and head to Dursten. You¡¯re welcome to come with us again, if you¡¯re still interested.¡±

    The demon nodded.

    ¡°What about Patty-cakes?¡± Tanya asked. ¡°She coming with us too?¡±

    ¡°Patty-cakes?¡± Amelia raised an eyebrow towards the delinquent. Tanya gestured at the dark elf mage.

    ¡°My name is Patricia. Don¡¯t you dare start calling me Patty-cakes too.¡± Patricia glared down at Amelia.

    Despite her apparent fatigue, an ominous aura seemed to surround the dark elf. The air was charged with the residual magic of elemental destruction. Patricia¡¯s eyes still glowed blue, revealing the monstrous power dwelling inside her.

    ¡°Heh. Patty-cakes.¡± Lily giggled to herself, earning an angry glare from the dark elf. ¡°Is it because dark elves taste good? Like a cake?¡±

    ¡°Taste good?¡± Patricia looked at Lily nervously.

    ¡°Oh yes,¡± the demon replied. ¡°I ate some of the demon summoner people¡­ Dark elves. They tasted way better than humans.¡±

    Patricia kept staring at the demon.

    ¡°You¡¯re my new favorite meat!¡± Lily gave Patricia a sinister grin, bearing a full row of shiny white man-eating teeth. They looked so normal¡­ but Amelia had seen what they could do.

    ¡°Lily, please don¡¯t eat Patricia.¡± Amelia said. ¡°Patricia, you¡¯re welcome to come with us if you like. The church can hire you as an interim protector. I¡¯ve been told the pay is pretty good, though I don¡¯t know how much you¡¯d get exactly. You also don¡¯t have to swear an oath like Tanya if you¡¯re not aspiring to be a holy knight. You just have to promise not to quit the job while I¡¯m in peril.¡±

    ¡°You might offend your peers offering such a position to a dark elf.¡± Patricia replied, with a slight smirk that said she¡¯d enjoy offending Amelia¡¯s peers.

    ¡°That would be the least of my blasphemies. I¡¯ve got an unbound demonic guest in my personal entourage, and if you didn¡¯t notice, I just directly manifested the power of Demon Lord Occulith in the material plane.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, that spell felt sinister as fuck,¡± Tanya said. ¡°Are you sure you should be playing with demon magic?¡±

    ¡°Verita is still with me,¡± Amelia said, straightening her back confidently. ¡°She¡¯s¡­ not exactly happy to see me wielding the Lord of Sloth¡¯s magic, but she doesn¡¯t disapprove either. I feel that she tolerates it, she¡¯s a refreshingly pragmatic goddess.¡±

    ¡°Candy the succubus used that spell too¡­¡± Lily said. ¡°It couldn¡¯t damage my bones, but it ate away my flesh. It was probably the most damage I¡¯d ever taken during a fight, and Candy wasn¡¯t even that powerful of a demon.¡±

    ¡°Candy¡­ that was the succubus Elias Bigby summoned right?¡± Amelia asked.

    Lily nodded. She stepped closer, and her attention was captured by the blood-red ruby on the ground in front of Amelia¡¯s knees. She pointed at it.

    ¡°Feels weird,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s too empty. Not magical enough.¡±

    Amelia gave the demon girl a confused look.

    The ruby was quite large, probably about an inch in diameter. It had been the centerpiece of a beautiful ruby necklace worn around the vampire matriarch¡¯s neck. When Lord Occulith¡¯s spell turned her to dust, the elaborate gold setting, and the smaller gems around it was reduced to dust as well. Only this single gem remained, completely undamaged by the magic.

    Amelia delicately picked the ruby out of the dusty pile and wiped it off on the hem of her robe. She couldn¡¯t feel any sort of magical aura coming from it, but that was normal. Her senses weren¡¯t as sharp as Lily¡¯s.

    ¡°May I?¡± Patricia asked. Amelia handed her the stone.

    Patricia walked a short distance away, and sat down, inspecting the gem carefully. Every so often she cast a small spell at it, observing the reaction. She even held it over a small Witchfire flame, to no obvious effect. She reached over and scraped the surface of the gemstone against the head of her black metal staff, trying to scratch the perfect surface. After a couple minutes, she shrugged, and returned the stone to Amelia.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know what it is,¡± Patricia said. ¡°It¡¯s giving off no aura, but it¡¯s obviously magical. It seems to be enchanted to negate magic. All I can see with Arcane Sight is a stone shaped void where no mana exists, not even the normal ambient background mana. Divination magic has no effect. Witchfire doesn¡¯t burn it, because, when looking from the outside, there¡¯s no magic to burn. It¡¯s got some sort of physical protection ward on it too. I can¡¯t detect it, but it¡¯s obviously there. Adamantine is harder than ruby, but I¡¯m not able to scratch the surface with my staff. All I can say for certain is that this gem was meant to survive anything we could throw at it. Someone really didn¡¯t want it getting destroyed.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°I could crush it,¡± Lily volunteered.

    ¡°Maybe,¡± Patricia replied. ¡°Depending on the strength of the ward it¡¯s using, it could be pretty hard to break, even for a demon like you.¡±

    Lily thought for a moment. ¡°I could eat it,¡± she volunteered again. ¡°I can eat anything and things that go inside my stomach never come out.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ a Gluttony demon?¡± Patricia mumbled, before returning to a speaking voice. ¡°Just what kind of demon are you Lily?¡±

    Lily shrugged, ¡°A mix of many. One father is Z¡¯Kraugh, one mother is Nixxildraz, and the other mothers and fathers I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Z¡¯Kraugh¡­ I know that name¡­¡± Patricia mumbled to herself. She snapped her fingers, trying to goad her memory into recalling some old, barely remembered detail. Suddenly her eyes went wide. ¡°Eternal Champion of the Endless Battlefield?¡±

    Lily scratched her head. ¡°I think he said something like that, yes.¡±

    Patricia smiled distantly, and her eyes became glassy. Amelia looked at the dark elf with concern. ¡°I don¡¯t get it. What does that mean?¡± she asked.

    ¡°The domain of Aragnok, Lord of Wrath, is a layer of the Abyss known as the Eternal Battlefield. It is a fiery landscape of jagged volcanic rock, choking toxic fumes, and rivers of molten rock. Inside Aragnok¡¯s domain, Wrath demons fight each other to grow stronger. When they are defeated, if they fought with enough brutality to please their lord, Aragnok resurrects them to fight again. My demon lore is about two hundred years out of date, but last I heard, Z¡¯Kraugh, the Archfiend, was still the undefeated champion, stronger than any other demon on the battlefield. He¡¯s never been killed, not even once. If Lily¡¯s right, she inherited her Archfiend traits from the single strongest Archfiend in existence.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Amelia wasn¡¯t sure how to reply. She looked at Lily, who was smiling proudly at hearing her father being praised. ¡°And what about Nixxildraz?¡± Amelia asked.

    ¡°Don¡¯t know anything about that one,¡± Patricia replied.

    ¡°She¡¯s a succubus,¡± Lily added helpfully.

    ¡°Huh? That doesn¡¯t make any sense,¡± Patricia buried her head in her hands. ¡°Then again, nothing about you makes any sense¡­¡±

    Amelia and Lily both looked at her, waiting for an explanation.

    ¡°Lilith and Aragnok do not get along. Aragnok, Lord of Wrath, wants to kill every living thing in the material plane. Lilith, Lord of Lust, wants to corrupt everyone into self-indulgent sexual depravity. Their goals conflict. A hybrid of multiple demons of the same aspect is¡­ plausible, but to the best of our knowledge, there¡¯s never been a multiple aspect demon. None of the demon lords trust each other enough. And if two demon lords were to make a multi-aspect demon together, it wouldn¡¯t be those two.¡±

    Lily seemed unconvinced, ¡°I am Wrath and Lust, I know that for sure. I think I might be Gluttony too because I like to eat¡­¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Patricia said. ¡°Gluttony demons gain strength from eating. They¡¯re the only demon type that feels hunger for food. The other aspects can eat, but they don¡¯t need to.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s three types. I don¡¯t know what else I am.¡±

    Patricia cast her gaze over Amelia¡¯s shoulder, and Amelia turned to look. She saw Mister Shadow, limping out from inside the barracks. He¡¯d disappeared when the wave of magic turned all the imps to ash. Amelia thought he¡¯d been killed too. Apparently not.

    Still, the Sloth demon looked¡­ weaker. His movements were jerky and slow, and his smoky silhouette looked less coherent than before. No longer was he a nine foot tall slender man made of shadow, he looked more like a vaguely humanoid cloud of smoke.

    ¡°Another demon,¡± Patricia raised her hand, readying a spell. It seemed her Arcane sight was capable of perceiving the otherwise-invisible demon.

    ¡°Stop, it¡¯s okay,¡± Amelia said, raising a hand to stop Patricia. ¡°He¡¯s¡­ an acquaintance of sorts, and he helped me out. He¡¯s Witness of Blasphemy. He¡¯s been following me ever since I picked up the book, and he hasn¡¯t hurt me yet. He doesn¡¯t speak, so I named him Mister Shadow.¡±

    Patricia looked incredulous, ¡°Sloth demons aren¡¯t pets. They¡¯re only mostly harmless. They¡¯re still cunning and subtle. They¡¯re not supposed to do anything, but they still can. The older ones can occasionally develop¡­ quirks and act according to their own whims. Occulith doesn¡¯t keep a tight leash on his Witnesses.¡±

    That made sense to Amelia, Mister Shadow brought her the Black Book and told her what pages to read. That was much more active than just being a witness to blasphemous acts. ¡°Mister Shadow,¡± she asked, ¡°Do you think you qualify as an older sloth demon, like Patricia is suggesting?¡±

    The sentient cloud of smoke took a moment to think, and finally nodded. It was an Honest nod.

    ¡°He says yes,¡± Amelia translated. She wasn¡¯t sure what Patricia could see with her glowy eyes, but Tanya and Lily couldn¡¯t see him nodding.

    Mister Shadow walked over to Lily, and hovered an incorporeal hand over her head, making it look like he was affectionately patting her. Lily¡¯s sole remaining horn pierced through his smoky chest, but he didn¡¯t seem to mind. The demon girl looked around warily, able to feel his presence, but not see what he was doing. A strange thought occurred to Amelia. Mister Shadow had revealed himself while they were talking about Lily¡¯s ¡®parents¡¯. That surely wasn¡¯t a coincidence.

    ¡°Mister Shadow, are you¡­ trying to tell us you¡¯re one of Lily¡¯s fathers?¡±

    The shadow man nodded.

    ¡°He says yes,¡± Amelia smiled. ¡°Lily, apparently one of your dads is right here. You¡¯re part Sloth demon too.¡±

    Lily gave Amelia a dirty look. ¡°I like napping sometimes, but I¡¯m not lazy¡­¡±

    Mister Shadow extended a smoky finger and tapped it against his own white eyeball. He moved his hand and tapped against his forehead. Amelia wasn¡¯t sure what he meant, so she just explained the gesture he was making.

    Patricia apparently understood, ¡°Witnesses have the sharpest senses of any demon, including a natural gift for detecting magical auras at a distance. They¡¯re also highly intelligent, gifted with excellent memories. It is said they can perfectly recall every act of depravity they¡¯ve ever witnessed. That¡¯s probably why you were able to learn Common so quickly, Lily. Those are both good traits to inherit.¡±

    Mister Shadow nodded and walked away. He stopped when he reached a stone wall and lay down in the shadow of a moonbeam. He seemed to melt into the shadow, and only two little eye-shaped white dots revealed that he was still watching them.

    ¡°Okay, so what¡¯s next? This is all very interesting, but...¡± Tanya broke the silence, but trailed off, waiting for someone else to figure out the next step.

    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve discovered I¡¯m an assassination target. The Envy demon said so, right? It¡¯s not safe for me in this town anymore, and I¡¯ll probably cause them further harm by staying here. Like I said, I should probably get myself over to Dursten, hole up in Verita¡¯s temple, and surround myself with holy knights until whoever is plotting my demise gets caught,¡± said Amelia.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t you still under arrest?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Eeh¡­ Technically? I think I¡¯m done letting myself be an easy target though. If the town guard have a problem with me walking away to seek better protection after they let a demon knight walk into my cell, they can voice their grievances to the church. If they make trouble, I think either one of you is scary enough to intimidate them into letting me go,¡± Amelia gestured to Patricia and Lily.

    ¡°And the sketchy magic gem thing?¡± Tanya asked, gesturing towards the ruby in Amelia¡¯s hand.

    ¡°I¡¯ll hold onto it. Verita will help me resist any potential mental corruption, and I have a bit of practice resisting the Black Book. If the gem carries some sort of brainwashing curse, I¡¯ll probably be able to resist it for a while. I¡¯ll ask Verita about what this gem is next time I pray. Hopefully she¡¯ll have some guidance for me.¡±

    ¡°Verita talks to you?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Umm¡­ not exactly, not with words anyway. It¡¯s more like she shares vague impressions of her will and helps me realize the Truth behind things I¡¯ve seen. That¡¯s how I realized the Black Book was messing with my head.¡±

    ¡°Right. So anyway, I am fucking done for the night. Let¡¯s get back to the tavern, and hope it¡¯s still standing,¡± Tanya said. ¡°You coming too Lily?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to eat the giant first,¡± Lily said. ¡°Greater demons have powerful essence, and I need to get my strength back after turning so much of it into fire.¡±

    ¡°Should we come with you? The humans are going to be nervous around you if you go off by yourself¡­¡± Amelia started.

    ¡°You can come if you want, but I can also scare them off without hurting them,¡± Lily said.

    Amelia looked at the others. Patricia didn¡¯t seem to care. Tanya looked exhausted and beaten up. Even though she said it would be fine, Amelia was still worried about leaving Lily to her own devices inside the town.

    ¡°I think it¡¯s better to stick together for now,¡± Amelia decided. ¡°Here Tanya, this might help.¡±

    Tucking the gemstone into her pocket, Amelia stood again and walked over to the fighter. She pulled off Tanya¡¯s gauntlet, and held her hand. Focusing on the shape of Verita¡¯s healing spell, she channeled the magic into Tanya¡¯s body. Tanya¡¯s expression relaxed a bit as her pain faded away. Amelia started feeling a bit queasy again. It was probably the mana burn that Patricia was talking about, but this much was tolerable. This was a much weaker spell than Occulith¡¯s Dust.

    Lily turned and started walking. Amelia led Tanya by the hand, still channeling healing magic into her. Patricia followed behind, propping herself up with her staff. The exhausted women walked out of the garrison.

    <hr>

    The throne room was silent. No living soul walked the halls of the once glorious castle. Dust covered the floors and statues, left undisturbed for centuries. It formed a continuous layer over most of the white marble floor. The vast hall had a high vaulted ceiling, held up by thick, grey stone columns lining the sides of the room. The ceiling was painted with beautiful artwork of gods and angels, but the color had faded from the art over the years, leaving behind a dull grey reflection of their former beauty.

    The room once held hundreds of nobles, guards, and petitioners but it was nearly empty now. The room¡¯s sole occupant was sitting on an ornate golden throne on a raised dais. He was dressed a simple black robe, devoid of all the usual trappings of royalty. While he had access to the lost kingdom of Ossa¡¯s entire treasury, and several magnificently crafted robes embroidered with silver and gold thread, he disliked such audacious displays of wealth.

    He¡¯d watched his servant¡¯s disgraceful defeat through her own eyes. She had been foolish, toying with her prey until it was too late. She should not have held back her lethality. It would have been trivial for her to slaughter the mage and the knight by ambushing them and attacking before they were ready. She thought herself invincible and had been proven wrong.

    It wasn¡¯t entirely her fault, however. He carried some of the blame as well. Delegating the task to one of his servants was meant to be a statement to those who squandered his good will and tested his patience. He had not been delivered the payment he was promised, and already they had used two bones. There were only three fingers left on the hand he gave them.

    His mistake was giving the task to Vivian without investigating the nature of the task first. She was the most deadly of his servants, able to shift into mist form and drain the life from all she touched. But the enemies she faced had been unexpectedly competent, and their abilities had been perfect for countering hers. She might have been the worst possible choice of servant to send against that particular group of foes. The use of Witchfire had surprised even him, it had been centuries since he¡¯d seen it used by another mage. In retrospect, he should have sent one of the Death Knights to perform this task instead.

    It was a small humiliation, but ultimately there was little harm done. The soulstone had survived. He would not punish Vivian for her defeat, but once resurrected, she would still be punished for her arrogance and lack of judgement.

    As for the soulstone, he could sense its location and he could tell it was still intact. But it wasn¡¯t guaranteed that it would remain so indefinitely. His wards were powerful, but not impenetrable. Vivian was quite valuable, he couldn''t care less about what the stupid demons wanted, but this was a serious matter that deserved his undivided attention.

    Zal¡¯Gotherak, King of Undeath, held out a fleshless skeletal hand, and an unadorned staff made of black wood flew into his grasp from the shadows. Giving a mental command to all eleven of his elite Death Knights, he rose from the throne, staff in hand, and went to meet them in the courtyard.

 27 - Tense Encounter

    Amelia stood next to Patricia and Tanya, watching the demon eat.

    ¡°Yes, definitely Gluttony,¡± said Patricia.

    Lily dug herself into the wrath giant¡¯s body and was eating him from the inside out. It should have been horrifying to watch, but Amelia was getting used to seeing this sort of thing. It barely bothered her anymore.

    The carnage around the giant was horrible. Buildings were levelled and more than a few crushed human bodies littered the streets. There was even a strangely shaped crater in the street. It was a large circular hoofprint, obviously made by the giant. Inside the hoofprint was the outline of a human body, pressed into the earth. Amelia saw a single black horn lying in the dirt and she recognized it instantly.

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Lily¡¯s missing horn,¡± said Amelia, digging it out of the compacted dirt.

    Patricia seemed to appear out of nowhere, looking over Amelia¡¯s shoulder with interest. ¡°An archfiend¡¯s horn, or pseudo-archfiend, whatever Lily qualifies as¡­ I¡¯d hold onto that if I were you. If it¡¯s anything like Daddy Z¡¯Kraugh¡¯s body, it¡¯ll have some potent magical properties. I knew of a few famous dark elven artifacts that were crafted from carved archfiend bone or horn.¡±

    ¡°Can you make something with it?¡± Amelia asked.

    ¡°Nope, crafting artifacts isn¡¯t my area of expertise. I can do basic maintenance for existing magical items, and that¡¯s about it.¡±

    ¡°Woah freaky,¡± said Tanya, looking through a pile of rubble.

    Amelia looked up. Tanya was holding a huge sword hilt. The metal was tarnished black, like the sword she was borrowing, but the tarnish looked different. Thanks to some strange dark iridescence, it created the illusion of smoke shifting around the surface as Tanya changed the angle of the blade. Patricia, sensing another cool thing, scurried over next to Tanya to check it out.

    ¡°Demonsteel,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s a common material used by most weapon wielding demons. It¡¯s basically normal steel, but alchemically treated with demon blood during the forging process. Dark elven smiths were once able to work with the stuff, but unfortunately, the method to reproduce it has been lost to us. The smiths in question all died, and nobody thought to bring heavy textbooks on smithing techniques with them while they fled the demon horde. Carrying food and water was more important.¡±

    ¡°So this could be worth something,¡± Tanya perked up.

    Patricia shrugged, ¡°Maybe to a collector of demonic artifacts. It can¡¯t be repaired. If you heat it to forging temperature, it turns back into normal steel. To restore it, you¡¯d need to re-imbue the blade after reforging, and nobody knows how to do that anymore.¡±

    ¡°Well I guess I¡¯ll take it anyway, sell it as a spooky art piece¡­ ooh! here¡¯s the other half.¡± Tanya dug a long blade out of the rubble and mated it to the guard she was holding. ¡°Wow, this thing¡¯s huge.¡±

    Amelia felt a tingle in the air, a crackle of arcane power. Patricia felt it too, and immediately straightened up and grabbed her staff.

    A rift appeared in midair. The rift crackled and widened, opening up to a ten foot wide portal. Amelia glanced around and saw there was another one behind her. Each portal stood in the street, on either side of the group, as if to block their escape. Amelia caught a glimpse of the place on the other side of the portal. It was an overgrown courtyard, inside a castle. The grass outside was yellow, and the sky was grey and stormy. There wasn¡¯t much time to look at the details, men in black full-plate armour were charging through the grass towards the portal.

    The armored men charged out of both portals, six through one portal, five through the other. Once through the portal, they fanned out to intercept any escape attempts.

    The armored men, (and two armored women as well, Amelia realized), had matte black armour and brightly shining two handed longswords made of a meticulously polished silvery metal. There was an illusions in place, making it impossible for normal eyes to see any trace of who was inside each of the armored helms. But Amelia¡¯s eyes could see through the magical illusion. The people inside the armour were withered corpses, leathery skin stretched tight over skeletal faces, no eyes in their dark eye sockets.

    Tanya dropped the Demonsteel weapon and drew her sword. Lily scrambled to climb out of the hole she¡¯d dug in the demonic wrath giant and charged towards the nearest knight without hesitation. The knights reacted to her instantly. All five knights on that side of the road moved as one to intercept her. Blue fire sprouted from Patricia¡¯s fingertips, and Amelia stood in place, unsure how to respond to this sudden attack.

    Immediately following the undead knights¡¯ entrance, another undead stepped through the portal. This one was a simple fleshless skeleton, tall and slender, wearing a black robe and holding a plain wooden staff in his hand. A small pinpoint of blue flame sat in each of the skeleton¡¯s eye sockets. It felt different from Patricia¡¯s fires. It was a cold light, like a distant star.

    As soon as the skeleton crossed the threshold of the portal and set foot on the cobblestone road, the space around him distorted and he disappeared.

    Amelia heard choking behind her. She spun around and saw the skeleton standing in front of Patricia, holding her by the throat. Her feet dangled in the air, and she kicked at the skeleton uselessly. Amelia could see wisps of shimmering energy flowing out of Patricia, and into the skeleton. The blue fireball Patricia still held in her hand dwindled and disappeared. Patricia¡¯s struggles started to weaken.

    Tanya saw this too, and she charged at the skeleton. Still holding Patricia, the skeleton twisted around to face the others, and tapped the cobblestone with his staff. An inky black darkness spread out from where he touched, swallowing the entire battlefield in shadow. Black tentacles, covered in octopus-like suckers, emerged from the shadowy surface and wrapped around Amelia¡¯s legs. She struggled to disentangle herself, but they were too strong, she couldn¡¯t loosen their grip at all. Tanya was grabbed too, the tentacles wrapped around her legs and dragged her to the ground. More tentacles wrapped around her upper body and she was completely enveloped and pinned against the ground.

    ¡°Raagh!¡± There was a roar of rage and pain from the other side of the battlefield.

    Amelia glanced over her shoulder and saw one of the knights cleanly slice through Lily¡¯s midsection, separating her hips from her ribs. A silver sword¡­ They came prepared to fight her. The five knights had Lily completely surrounded and were attacking from all angles. Lily growled and started to crawl to the knights. Two more knights casually cut off her arms. Lily was out of the fight.

    There was no other choice. Amelia had to use it again.

    She opened her connection to Lord Occulith and felt the dark demonic energy flow. Working as fast as possible, she wove the power into the shape of Occulith¡¯s Dust. Tentacles wrapped around her waist and slid along her spine. Amelia shifted the completed spell to her hand, and it started to glow with red light.

    The skeleton¡¯s cold eyes focused on her for an instant. A wave of the skeleton¡¯s mana washed over her and seeped inside her. Amelia suddenly felt the spell in her arm unravel. She struggled to regain control, to rebuild the shape, but it was too late.

    ¡°Aaagh!¡±

    Amelia¡¯s arm exploded. Half of it turned to dust, and the other half turned into a bloody pulp that splattered against her white robes. The shock and terror of what just happened was worse than the pain. Her arm was gone. A gnarled, bleeding stump extended from her shoulder.

    Amelia felt lightheaded, on the verge of fainting. She struggled to remain conscious. She could feel the warmth leaving her body, and she could hear the splatter of blood leaking from her arm stump. There was too much blood, she was going to die.

    Unbidden, something wormed its way out of her memories and into her consciousness. Her foggy mind recalled the letter she¡¯d received from Lott¡¯s chosen.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    When Death returns to greet you, make sure to introduce yourself politely.

    This was Death right? Here stood a mythological being, a skeletal reaper of souls who could not be stopped. In a metaphorical sense, at least, the reaper was standing over her now. Some part of her knew this was what Lott meant. What was left of Amelia¡¯s rational mind told her that introducing herself was a stupid idea that wouldn¡¯t make a difference, the skeleton wouldn¡¯t care who she was, but in her daze, her rational mind didn¡¯t hold much sway anymore.

    ¡°I am Saintess Amelia Voss, Chosen of Truth!¡± Amelia shouted. She couldn¡¯t tell who she was talking to anymore, so she spoke to world in general as her vision started to blur.

    A few seconds later, Amelia heard a voice. It was a deep voice, carrying the coldness and finality of a long forgotten mausoleum, ¡°Stop dying.¡±

    The words entered Amelia¡¯s ears, and the warmth stopped leaving her. Her vision was still blurry, and she felt herself shiver from the chill, but she was stable, for now. In front of Amelia stood the skeleton, gazing down at her thoughtfully. Patricia was nowhere to be seen.

    ¡°Now repeat what you said¡­¡± the skeleton told her.

    ¡°What did I say?¡± Amelia was barely coherent.

    ¡°You said your name and title. Say it again.¡±

    ¡°I am Amelia Voss, Chosen of Truth.¡±

    The skeleton paused for a moment, and then replied with a hint of amusement in his voice, ¡°An honor to meet you, Your Eminence. I am Zal¡¯Gotherak, King of Undeath. I will return in a moment to kill you slowly if you are lying.¡±

    The skeleton walked away with no further comment.

    ¡°Wake up,¡± the skeleton¡¯s voice came from a different direction. ¡°Your blonde companion, is she the Chosen of Truth?¡±

    ¡°What? Why?¡± Patricia¡¯s exhausted voice mumbled.

    ¡°Yes or no.¡±

    ¡°Yes?¡± Patricia replied, still sounding disoriented.

    Another brief silence passed, and then Amelia heard the skeleton¡¯s voice. ¡°Your blonde companion, is she the-¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Tanya interrupted.

    ¡°¡­is she the-¡±

    ¡°Your mother sucks dog cocks!¡± Tanya interrupted again.

    There was another brief pause, and a shimmer of magic. The hissing sound of hundreds of skittering and clicking insects immediately followed.

    ¡°Wha- what the fuck is this?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a minor conjuration spell that produces two hundred carrion beetles, a minor flesh eating pest from my homeland.¡± the voice replied calmly. ¡°They burrow into dead bodies and eat them from the inside out. They rarely attack the living, but they can be compelled to do so. They will persist for one hour. Ten seconds from now I will instruct them to slowly eat you until you decide to answer my question.¡±

    ¡°Yes she¡¯s the fucking Chosen of Truth.¡± Tanya replied quickly.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Amelia saw the shadow-cloaked skeleton approach her again. ¡°The odds of all three of you defeating my Truthseeker spell is very low. I will assume you are telling the truth for now.¡±

    ¡°Wha?¡± Amelia asked. Truthseeker spell? Was that a spell?

    The skeleton sighed.

    Amelia felt a burning pain in her shoulder that knocked her out of her daze. Horrible agony tore through her body, and she felt her consciousness fade.

    Amelia opened her eyes again, and her world returned to focus. She felt weak, but no longer incoherent. She realized her arms were free, no longer held by the tentacles. Instead, the tentacles curled under her armpits, holding her up.

    Oh, and she had an arm again. Amelia¡¯s sleeve was missing up to her shoulder, but a brand new, and slightly sensitive arm was attached. The only difference was the lack of callous and the fact that the old scar she had from playing with knives as a child was gone.

    That was impressive. Only the most powerful of healing spells were capable of restoring a missing limb.

    ¡°How?¡± Amelia asked.

    The skeleton returned to her line of sight. ¡°Necromancy is a magical understanding of death. One cannot truly know death without an equivalent knowledge of life.¡±

    ¡°Thank you?¡± Amelia said, somewhat uncertain about whether she should be thinking the skeleton considering he just attacked her.

    ¡°You will give me the gemstone now or I will fish it from your pocket.¡± The skeleton held out his hand.

    Amelia could easily guess which gemstone he wanted. She reached into her pocket and handed the red ruby over to him. There wasn¡¯t much of a choice, he could take it either way.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Amelia asked.

    ¡°Irreplaceable and precious to me,¡± the skeleton replied. He didn¡¯t volunteer any other information. Amelia decided not to press him for an answer and risk pissing him off.

    ¡°Is everyone else okay?¡± Amelia asked.

    ¡°Your companions are alive for now, and I will not hear any more useless questions from you.¡± the skeleton¡¯s tone deepened, and the cold blue pinpricks of light in his eye sockets conveyed an unspoken threat.

    ¡°In exchange for the lives of you and your companions, you will perform an act of service for me.¡±

    ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± Amelia was wary. What sort of evil thing would he demand of her?

    ¡°In a few days, perhaps a week from now, I will collect you and bring you to my castle. There will be a prisoner, and I will ask them questions. You will use your ability to tell me if they¡¯re lying or not. Then, you will be returned safely to your companions.¡±

    That was it? It sounded too easy. Didn¡¯t he have a truth spell he just used? ¡°You can¡¯t use your Truthseeker?¡±

    ¡°The spell detected no deceit, but it is merely difficult to defeat, not impossible. I suspect the individual in question is capable of defeating that spell and it is possible I have been deceived. The Chosen of Truth¡¯s Gift is absolute, enforced by Verita herself. Even I couldn¡¯t lie to you.¡±

    ¡°I see.¡±

    ¡°Do you agree? Will you perform that act of service in exchange for you lives? Or will I kill you?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I agree. I¡¯ll do it if you promise not to harm us anymore,¡± Amelia said. That was hardly a choice.

    ¡°My servants and I will not seek revenge for the death of Vivian, our score will be settled, and we will seek no further conflict. But if you attack us in the future or knowingly disrupt our plans, we will, of course, kill you.¡±

    ¡°That sounds fair. I agree,¡± Amelia replied.

    ¡°Good.¡± The skeleton turned away and started to walk back to the portal.

    ¡°Did you do it?¡± Patricia said, groaning and trying to squirm free of the tentacles binding her. ¡°Did you kill everyone in the mansion? Was that fireball yours?¡±

    ¡°Which mansion?¡± the skeleton asked. ¡°I¡¯ve destroyed several.¡±

    ¡°The one in this town, the Montagne family¡­ my family!¡± Patricia¡¯s voice started to crack.

    ¡°Yes, I destroyed that one.¡±

    ¡°You bastard¡­ why did you do it? Why did they have to die? What did they ever do to you?¡±

    ¡°I was offered payment,¡± he replied coldly.

    ¡°By who?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s enough questions. I have what I came for and I have little interest in wasting more time on you. You¡¯re lucky that I chose to spare you.¡±

    The skeleton gestured with a dismissive wave. The eleven knights fell into formation and marched through the portals. Zal¡¯Gotherak followed them. The portals closed, and a few seconds later the tentacles and carrion beetles dissolved into smoky darkness and dissipated.

    Amelia¡¯s knees couldn¡¯t support her anymore. She collapsed and passed out.

    <hr>

    Lily lay on her back staring at the sky. This was humiliating defeat.

    Those knights weren¡¯t normal humans. They smelled wrong, they didn¡¯t breathe or speak, and they were stronger and faster moving than the hell knight. They weren¡¯t demons either, the aura they gave off was different.

    Eleven of them had appeared out of nowhere. Lily could have defeated one¡­ probably, but two? Nope. And why did they have silver weapons? Did everyone have silver weapons?

    ¡°Lily? Are you okay?¡± Tanya came into view, looking down at Lily.

    ¡°No. I¡¯m a torso,¡± Lily replied.

    She dodged most of the blows, but a single sword strike had landed, and that was enough to cut her in half through the midsection. The two, almost casual, slices that followed severed her arms. The knights didn¡¯t even bother to finish her off, deciding she wasn¡¯t a threat anymore. It was pathetic. Lily didn¡¯t even manage to touch them before she was cut apart.

    She replayed the battle in her mind. Her conclusion: She¡¯d been stupid and overconfident again. She¡¯d forgotten the lesson she learned from her spar with Tanya. Like back then, she should have stayed calm observed, anticipated movements, and planned her approach instead of relying on the element of surprise. Normal humans could be surprised, but these creatures weren¡¯t surprised. They weren¡¯t caught off guard by her charge, and they didn¡¯t hesitate to punish her for her attempt.

    ¡°Can you¡­ regenerate this much?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°Ugh¡­ eventually¡­¡± Regenerating this much of her body was going to take a long time and a lot of energy. The silver seemed to be suppressing her regeneration too, slowing it down temporarily. It was lucky the wrath giant was still lying around; she¡¯d have to eat even more to make up for the lost energy and mass.

    ¡°These are clean cuts. What if we like¡­ reattach your parts?¡± suggested Tanya.

    ¡°Dunno, maybe. Try it.¡±

    Tanya bent down, grabbed Lily¡¯s severed hips and grunted. The hips did not move.

    ¡°Holy fuckballs, I can¡¯t even budge it. How much do you weigh?¡±

    ¡°Eleven Roses?¡± Lily replied, uncertainly. Tanya probably wouldn¡¯t know what a Rose was.

    ¡°What¡¯s a Rose?¡± she asked, predictably.

    ¡°It¡¯s pretty close to an Amelia.¡±

    ¡°Okay, and what¡¯s an Am¡­¡± Tanya thought for a second. ¡°You weigh as much as eleven Amelias?¡±

    ¡°Close to that, yes.¡±

    ¡°So if we call your legs five Amelias¡­ Shit I¡¯d need a lever or something to shift that much weight. I can lift two¡­ two and a half Amelias at most.¡±

    ¡°Try an arm,¡± Lily suggested.

    Tanya did so. She found an arm, bent down, and managed to lift it. She leaned it against her knee, adjusted her grip, and lifted with her legs. She staggered over to Lily¡¯s torso, leaning the weight against her hips. When she reached Lily, she lowered herself a bit, and then dropped the arm nearby. Making sure she got the correct side of Lily¡¯s body, she dragged the arm into position, pressing it against the severed stump.

    Lily felt a strange tingle as a small forest of fleshy tendrils crept out of her shoulder stump and connected to the severed arm. The tendrils pulled back and shifted the arm slightly, perfecting the alignment. She felt more tingles, as her bones started knitting back together.

    ¡°It¡¯s working, can you do the other arm? I can drag my own legs over after.¡±

    Tanya repeated the process for her other arm. Around ten minutes later, Lily could move her arms again, so she dragged her torso over to her severed legs and started the reattaching process once more.

    Lily didn¡¯t bother to wait for the delicate nerves to repair themselves. Once enough of the ligaments and core muscles were reattached, she dragged herself over to the wrath giant, and started eating again. She would eat the whole thing. She had to get stronger.

 28 - Preparations

    Morning sunlight shone through the recently cracked stained glass windowpanes of the Tarnished Blade. Amelia, Tanya, and Patricia made their way downstairs for breakfast.

    The tavern¡¯s tarnished namesake hung, once more, above the bar. It was Ned¡¯s heirloom and despite Tanya¡¯s pleading, she wasn¡¯t allowed to keep it as a reward for her part in defeating the demons.

    ¡°Hey Ned,¡± Patricia called down to the exhausted barman. ¡°What¡¯s for breakfast?¡±

    ¡°You breakfast? or normal-people breakfast?¡±

    ¡°Me breakfast.¡±

    Ned rummaged through his shelves, ¡°Are you looking for bitter?¡±

    ¡°Possibly¡­ Do you have anything burny?¡± Patricia asked.

    ¡°If you¡¯re looking for bitter, we still have a bit of Helbog Witches¡¯ Brew left, nobody buys it but you. For burny, there¡¯s Turlen¡¯s Widowmaker, quite popular among visiting dwarves for drinking dares and tests of manhood. We also have a new bottle called Dragonsbane that someone dared me to try to sell. It¡¯s halfway between an herb bitter and an Alchemist¡¯s Fire.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had Turlen¡¯s, it¡¯s not so bad. Let¡¯s try the new one, I¡¯m feeling lucky. Pour me a triple,¡± Patricia said.

    Ned dug out a small bottle, made from black obsidian glass. There was a stylized picture of a dragon skull, with ¡®X¡¯s over its eyes and its tongue hanging out, on the side. Ned put on a pair of leather gloves before opening the bottle and kept his face well clear of the fumes. The liquor itself was bright orange in colour, cloudy and opaque. Not wanting to ruin one of his good bar glasses, Ned served it in a copper cup. The alcohol hissed and bubbled against the metal, slowly turning the shiny copper green.

    Patricia gingerly took a sip and felt the fiery concoction burn its way down. It hurt so good¡­

    Tanya and Amelia each ordered some ¡®breakfast¡¯ too. Tanya chose a hoppy red ale, and Amelia settled on a light wheat ale with notes of citrus. The two humans ordered some slices of cured ham as well, but Patricia didn¡¯t order any food. She didn¡¯t want anything to dilute the burn. Taking their respective drinks and meals from the bar, the trio sat at one of the tables.

    Patricia took a sip of her drink and swallowed it with a grimace, ¡°So you know how I said that guy who blew up the mansion was powerful? It turns out I was even more right than I thought.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ he sorta fucked us, didn¡¯t he?¡± replied Tanya.

    ¡°Actually, come to think of it, I was only partially right,¡± said Patricia. ¡°I said Archmage, but if the title of Archmage means someone who is at the pinnacle of all known magic, then Zal¡¯Gotherak is actually one step beyond that. The King of Undeath is closer to a force of nature than he is a man. He¡¯s more than a millennium old, and despite numerous attempts to reclaim the lost kingdom of Ossa, none have succeeded. It¡¯s like the Red Dragon Patriarch suddenly waking up, flying over, and blowing up some random lord¡¯s mansion in the middle of nowhere. This whole situation is ridiculous.¡±

    ¡°Seems like you know a lot about this guy,¡± Tanya commented.

    ¡°You live a while, you learn things,¡± Patricia replied with a shrug.

    ¡°Could you tell us what you know?¡± asked Amelia.

    ¡°I just know the basics you¡¯d learn from any history book. Ossa was once a prosperous human kingdom with technology and magic that was centuries more advanced than the other nations on the continent. Their military was massive, and their population was more than ten million. They were an unrivaled superpower, even the Aldmerian Empire of today pales in comparison.

    ¡°The exact reason for the coup d¡¯¨¦tat is lost to history, but the human who would become Zal¡¯Gotherak apparently had some grievance with the royal family of Ossa. He turned himself into a lich and raised an army of undead. He slaughtered his way through the entire nation, and every human he killed was added to his ever-growing army. He was unstoppable. His horde was endless, and his elites were nearly unkillable. He exterminated every sentient creature within the borders of Ossa, raised them all as undead, named himself king, and stopped.¡±

    ¡°He stopped?¡± Amelia repeated.

    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the weird part. He could have continued and conquered the whole continent. At the time, nothing could have stood up to his army. Even now, it¡¯s questionable whether Aldmeria or Ryth could stand against him if he chose to unleash his horde. But for some reason he stopped his conquest. Ossa has been completely silent for the last nine centuries. That makes his recent career change into mundane mercenary even more puzzling. It¡¯s totally out of character for him.¡±

    ¡°So that¡¯s who attacked us? Wow, I knew I was good at pissing off powerful people and picking unwinnable fights, but this is taking things to a whole new level,¡± said Tanya.

    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t know we were dealing with somebody like that,¡± said Amelia thoughtfully.

    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that we¡¯ll be off his shit list soon, once he has you interrogate his mystery prisoner,¡± said Tanya.

    ¡°He was honest about that part,¡± said Amelia. ¡°He truly intends to leave us alone if I do what he asks and stay out of his way in the future. I¡¯m a bit worried about who he¡¯s taken prisoner though. What sort of secrets is he trying to uncover?¡±

    ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll find out soon,¡± said Patricia. ¡°It¡¯s not like you have a choice now that you promised him.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s something truly heinous¡­ I could break my word and refuse to help. I would fall out of Verita¡¯s graces, and I would likely be killed by the lich in retaliation, but it¡¯s still technically an option available to me,¡± said Amelia.

    ¡°I guess that¡¯s¡­ good?¡± Tanya said skeptically. ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing we can do about the almighty lich guy right now, so let¡¯s switch back to practical stuff. What¡¯s our plan going forward?¡± Tanya asked.

    ¡°I guess we¡¯re back to the original plan we had back in Greenvale before¡­ everything happened. Get to Dursten as quickly and safely as possible,¡± Amelia replied.

    ¡°The late Sir Thomas, our old protector, told us the road through the Wyrmspine Mountains was dangerous. Though since we have Lily and Patricia with us now, I¡¯m not sure how much of a danger it would actually be.¡± said Tanya.

    ¡°Aren¡¯t dragons supposed to be stronger than demons? I don¡¯t know how much help Lily would be if a dragon chose to attack us. I know there¡¯s a safe passage agreement, but not all dragons are friendly to humans, right?¡± said Amelia.

    ¡°For strength, it depends on which dragon and which demon you compare,¡± Patricia said. ¡°Don¡¯t count on me to fight one though. They¡¯d shrug off my strongest magic and incinerate me in seconds. Dragonfire can¡¯t be defended against, even by a pyromancer. But that shouldn¡¯t be an issue. I¡¯m not actually worried about dragons. The unhindered passage agreement way back when extended to all dragons, even the unfriendly ones, and they¡¯re known for keeping their word when they make a promise. Also, the¡­ mostly friendly Golds patrol the route occasionally, scaring the more hostile dragonflights away. So long as we stick to the path, no dragon will try to hinder us.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good, but then why is the mountain pass considered to be dangerous?¡± asked Tanya.

    ¡°The Golds only care about keeping their word not to hinder us. They rarely bother to remove non-draconic threats. Drakes, Basilisks, Stone Giants, Vampire Trap Spiders, Hellwasps, and Goblins, among other things, can still be found along our route,¡± Patricia said.

    ¡°None of those sound very fun to deal with,¡± said Tanya.

    Patricia nodded, ¡°The mountains are home to some nasty creatures. It¡¯s part of what drove the first dark elves underground.¡±

    ¡°Oh? I sort of figured dark elves had always lived underground,¡± Amelia said.

    ¡°Quite a few humans seem to think that, but nope. Once upon a time, several thousand years ago, there were no dark elves or high elves, there were just elves. Things changed when the Orc and Beastmen tribes, in what is now known as the Kingdom of Ryth, made peace with each other and thrived. They expanded their territory and forced the elves away. We fled to the mountains, and up there, there were two approaches to survival. Those that would become dark elves hid in caves and built sprawling underground settlements, hunting the plentiful underground flora and fauna for food. Those that would become high elves built large defensible fortresses aboveground and strictly controlled their population and birth rate so as not to cause food shortages. The result was a large population of underground-adapted dark elves, and a relatively small population of high elves living in their mountaintop metropolis of Starfall.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ I didn¡¯t know that,¡± said Amelia.

    ¡°You¡¯re like a walking sexy history book,¡± said Tanya.

    ¡°Thanks?¡± Patricia said skeptically. ¡°That¡¯s meant to be a compliment, right?¡±

    Tanya grinned devilishly.

    ¡°Right, so crossing over the mountains¡­¡± said Amelia, getting the conversation back on track.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°They have guarded caravans cross over every so often,¡± Patricia suggested. ¡°Most traders and commoners cross over in a big group like that. It¡¯s a relatively small fee.¡±

    ¡°Should we really be near people if Lily is following us?¡± asked Amelia. ¡°Also, what if someone targets me again and people get hurt in the chaos.¡±

    ¡°Well I can¡¯t speak for how Lily will handle travelling in a caravan but actually, being in a group might protect you against assassination attempts. If we¡¯re alone, assassins could blame our disappearance on the dangerous mountain fauna. In a group, your death would be suspicious and harder to blame on innocent animal attacks. If you vanished without explanation, people would know your disappearance was obviously an assassination, and the Church of Verita would investigate. If whoever is after you is capable of summoning Fallen Seraph demons, they could easily butcher the entire caravan, but then, the Aldmerian Empire would get involved. They don¡¯t like traders disappearing. Depending on the situation, the dragons might also investigate, if only to prove their own innocence.¡±

    ¡°Plus, they¡¯ll have better food,¡± Tanya pitched in.

    ¡°I guess we¡¯re looking for a caravan then¡­¡± said Amelia, realizing that Tanya and Patricia already seemed to have made the decision.

    <hr>

    The girls finished their breakfast, and a quick conversation with Ned told them where to look for a caravan. He hadn¡¯t heard much news, everything in the city was still in disarray, but he at least managed to point the trio in the right direction.

    On their way to the market square, where the caravans organized themselves, the girls took a detour to visit the wrath giant¡¯s body.

    Lily was still eating. More than half of the giant¡¯s body was simply¡­ gone. Most of the flesh had been picked off the bones, but the upper half of the skeleton remained. Lily sat on the giant¡¯s skull, gnawing on a titanic rib bone, sucking the demonic marrow out of the center. She was totally black, coated in a uniformly thick layer of sticky demon blood. It seemed like the missing horn grew back overnight as well.

    The street around Lily was¡­ an interesting scene. The two demons were surrounded by a ring of burning candles. Tables were set up, piled with fresh fruit and meats. On the side opposite to the offering table was a pile of imp corpses, stacked high. Most of the humans on the street walked around the scene, giving the demon a wide berth, but there was a small congregation of humans kneeling around the edge of the candle circle, bowing their heads in supplication.

    ¡°Hey Lily, what¡¯s all this?¡± Tanya asked, walking up to the scene.

    *Crunch* ¡°Dunno, said they wanted to appease me,¡± said Lily, crushing a mouthful of demon bone in her jaws.

    ¡°Do not upset the great one, she will not suffer fools¡­¡± came a warning voice from one of Lily¡¯s new worshippers.

    Tanya ignored him. ¡°You threaten these guys or something?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± *Crunch* ¡°I threatened some guards though. They poked me with spears, and it was annoying, so I grabbed the closest one and crushed his arm. Then I told them all to go away in Infernal. Most of them fainted at first, but then they woke up and left me alone after.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯ll make an impression,¡± Tanya noted.

    Amelia¡¯s voice sounded worried, ¡°Did you-¡±

    Lily interrupted Amelia¡¯s question, ¡°No, he survived. One of the guards gave him a red potion to stop the bleeding and then dragged him away. I could have killed him, but I didn¡¯t.¡±

    Lily glared at Amelia with annoyance, but Amelia just smiled back. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome?¡± Lily said uncertainly. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m supposed to say right?¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± said Amelia, smiling.

    ¡°You must kneel¡­ lest you invite her wrath¡­¡± hissed the voice of an older man kneeling on the ground.

    ¡°Hey Lily? Can I steal a pear from your offering table? They look tasty,¡± Tanya asked, ignoring the supplicant and eyeing the food.

    *Crunch* ¡°It¡¯s not stealing if you ask permission.¡±

    ¡°I meant it figuratively. Like, can I take and eat one?¡± Clarified Tanya.

    ¡°Okay, just one though,¡± Lily replied.

    ¡°It looks like you¡¯ll still be a while. We¡¯re going to go to the market. If you finish early, you can meet us there, or go to the inn to wait for us.¡± Amelia said. ¡°What sort of clothes do you want to wear?¡±

    ¡°Do I need to wear clothes?¡± asked Lily, her voice betraying her annoyance.

    ¡°Uhm¡­ when you¡¯re around people, yes.¡± said Amelia.

    ¡°Stupid¡­¡± Lily grumbled under her breath. ¡°Short dress, tunic or whatever, ending above knees. No movement restriction. Dark grey, not black. Better for blending in shadow. Strong fabric. No pants or panties¡­ they feel weird.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡±

    While Amelia and Tanya were talking to the demon, Patricia crept up to one of the kneeling worshippers. ¡°There¡¯s the body of a Fallen Seraph demon in the southwest corner of town. If nobody¡¯s claimed it, it would make quite the nutritious snack for our demon friend.¡±

    The kneeling human, a muscular man of about middle age, thanked the elf profusely, and ran off to collect it.

    The girls said their goodbyes to the demon and left for the market.

    <hr>

    The market was surprisingly busy. A lot of people lost a lot of things in the invasion, but many were able to scrounge up the gold required to buy replacements.

    Tanya sold the broken Demonsteel sword to a collector of creepy artifacts for a hundred gold. That gave the group a solid amount of cash with which to buy things.

    First up for Tanya was a better quality sword. The scavenged, alleyway thug, bastard sword had once been decent, but Tanya realized it had been poorly maintained and the chipped edge wouldn''t be worth the effort of repairing. She went to the smithy and bought a solid, well made steel longsword. When she asked about Silversteel, the smith said he couldn¡¯t work with the material, and weapons made from it typically cost upwards of a thousand gold. In other words, it was well outside of the party¡¯s budget.

    Amelia took a side trip to the Temple of the Pantheon and stocked up on replacement acolyte¡¯s robes. The church sold them to their clergy for a small fee. Returning to the market, Amelia bought a large chest to store everyone¡¯s things, and loaded up on underwear. She decided to buy a pair of quality boots too, since she realized she¡¯d be walking quite a lot in the near future.

    Patricia and Tanya loaded up on clothes too. Finding something appropriate for Lily was difficult. Most of the dresses they found were made for looks, using soft and comfortable fabric. Eventually they decided to buy Lily a gambeson similar to Tanya¡¯s. Lily didn¡¯t need the padded armour, but it was made from several thick layers of slash resistant linen that would be able to survive combat. They decided on a longer one, able to reach down to Lily¡¯s knees. Most were split in the front like a coat, so they had to find one with a seam along the side of the body instead, so as not to reveal Lily¡¯s privates to the world as she moved. They also had the confused armorer trim the long sleeves until they were almost at the shoulder, undermining the gambeson''s protective qualities, but allowing Lily a better range of movement in her arms.

    At Tanya¡¯s insistence, because it looked ¡®badass,¡¯ they also bought a boiled leather breastplate, dyed black. It was a waste of gold. Lily¡¯s bare skin was probably tougher than the leather. But when Amelia disapproved of the extra expense Tanya opened her eyes wide and gave Amelia a pleading stare.

    ¡°Please¡­¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s only ten gold and it¡¯ll look so cool! She¡¯ll be like a sexy badass warrior chick with blade fingers.¡±

    ¡°Ugh¡­ fine whatever,¡± Amelia surrendered to her old friend¡¯s whim.

    Patricia picked out a selection of camping and survival gear. Tents, sleeping bags, waterskins, backpacks, flint and steel. Amelia also looked for a spellbook of Verita¡¯s spells, but the only one she could find cost five hundred gold, way more than the group had to spend.

    With their shopping done, the trio approached a large group in the center of the market. It turned out that quite a few people wanted to leave Befield. Many had lost their homes and livelihoods, and wanted to go back to the capital, safe from the wild animals and the new threat of invading demons.

    <hr>

    The man looked absolutely haggard. He wore fine clothes, but the rest of him looked¡­ a little frayed. His hair was frazzled, and there were dark rings under his eyes. He looked at yet another approaching group of travellers with dread.

    ¡°Hello, I was wondering when the next caravan to Dursten is leaving.¡± Amelia said, wearing a friendly smile.

    ¡°Tomorrow morning. For walkers, the fee is ten gold per person. Additional ten gold for luggage carried in the cart.¡±

    ¡°I think we could manage that, but that¡¯s cutting it close. Would you accept payment once we reach Dursten? The church of Verita would gladly cover the expense.¡±

    ¡°Huh?¡± The exhausted man just looked confused.

    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t introduce myself. Saintess Amelia Voss, Chosen of Truth,¡± Amelia smiled and held out a hand.

    ¡°Fuck¡­ you¡¯re serious?¡± The haggard man looked like his day was just ruined.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Amelia.

    ¡°Okay, so a typical caravan would have about 20 carts of goods, and maybe 50 travellers. This time we¡¯ve got over three hundred travellers, and barely any carts. Many people lost homes and livlihoods in the attack. We¡¯ve got a sudden surge of people heading to Dursten where it¡¯s safer. For me, that means I¡¯ve got way more people than can protect with my usual guards, and barely enough wagons to carry luggage. And now¡­ I¡¯ve got a VIP to guard too? No, sorry, it¡¯s too much. I can¡¯t guarantee your safety.¡±

    ¡°I can help guard,¡± said Tanya.

    ¡°That¡¯ll help but it¡¯s not enough.¡±

    Patricia stepped forward, lighting up her eyes with a blue glow thanks to Arcane Sight. ¡°I am Patricia Thalassa, also known as the Cerulean Witch. I¡¯ll guard the caravan for free if you waive our fee.¡±

    ¡°The Cerulean Witch? Like the old stories?¡± the man¡¯s eyes opened wide.

    ¡°The very same,¡± said Patricia, holding up a hand and conjuring a ball of blue flame for drama¡¯s sake.

    Instead of feeling reassured, the caravan organized only looked more terrified, ¡°Death in Blue, The Unstoppable Firestorm, now I need to worry about you blowing up the caravan too? Well, maybe it¡¯s okay, you¡¯re going to be carful right? You''re not going to burn down my caravan, right?¡±

    ¡°Nope, I¡¯ll be careful,¡± said Patricia.

    ¡°Oh, and there¡¯s also a fourth person coming. She¡¯ll probably help protect the caravan if we were in danger, but I wouldn¡¯t count her as a guard exactly,¡± said Amelia.

    The haggard man let his gaze fall upon Amelia, overwhelmed with dread, ¡°Who?¡±

    ¡°Uhm¡­ Lilizath,¡± said Amelia trying to make her voice sound casual. ¡°She¡¯s kinda sorta an unbound greater demon that single handedly killed the wrath giant that was crushing homes in the northwest during the invasion. She¡¯s basically unstoppable, but normally quite well behaved if you don¡¯t provoke her.¡±

    ¡°Oh gods,¡± the man groaned and held his head. He looked ready to refuse, but his eyes suddenly shot open with fear, ¡°Wait. If I refuse to take you¡­ will the demon find out?¡±

    Amelia grinned deviously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Sure, she can run as fast as a horse and track people by scent, but if you decided not to take us, she probably wouldn¡¯t take offense and chase your caravan down to kill you and eat your body. I can almost guarantee you¡¯re safe from reprisal.¡±

    Amelia was telling the truth. Lily probably wouldn¡¯t care about the caravan at all. The caravan organizer took her words slightly differently, imagining the deadly consequences of angering an unstoppable demon. Despite knowing it was unlikely, that didn¡¯t technically mean it was impossible and he couldn¡¯t stop himself from imagining the worse case scenario.

    ¡°Fine, you can join the caravan, free of charge if the Cerulean Witch helps kill the bigger threats. Just¡­ make sure your demon doesn¡¯t eat anyone,¡± he said.

    ¡°Great! We have a deal!¡± Amelia said cheerfully. ¡°Thank you!¡±

    <hr>

    Having done their shopping, the three girls returned to the dead wrath giant. It was gone, and so was the table of offerings and imp corpses. They continued on and returned to the inn.

    When they entered the tavern, Ned pointed to the broken staircase between the first and second floor. The repair cost would be added to group¡¯s bill. The first wooden step was cleanly snapped in half, the victim of an excessively heavy demonic foot. Ned said the demon was bathing downstairs in the wine cellar, where she wouldn¡¯t risk breaking through any floors.

    Tanya and Patricia went upstairs, while Amelia went down to check on Lily. The demon was luxuriating in a large wooden tub filled with steaming water. She was clean, her white skin visible once again. She was also completely unconscious, eyes shut, breathing gently, fast asleep after an exhausting day of combat followed by another exhausting day of eating.

    Amelia crept back upstairs, letting sleeping monsters lie. She was tired too, tomorrow morning they¡¯d be leaving Befield and finally starting the next stage of their journey.

 Interlude - Happy Birthday I

    ¡°Happy Birthday!¡±

    Zoe leaned forward and blew out the candles on her cake. Eight candles! She was eight, officially a big kid now. All the little kids in the playground would look up to her. At least, they would once Daddy was done with his work and they moved back to Dursten together.

    Mommy went to live with the gods in their paradise when Zoe was six years old, so Daddy was taking care of her by himself now. Daddy had to live out here in the super secret base to do his work, so Zoe had to leave her friends behind and go with him.

    Living in a secret base was fun at first, but she wished there were other kids here to play with. There wasn¡¯t much to do here. She spent most of her days reading story books from the library, travelling to other worlds in her imagination.

    Even though there were no kids, she wasn¡¯t alone at her birthday party. Daddy was working so he couldn¡¯t come, but seven people showed up. They were all guards. Zoe wasn¡¯t really expecting to see any of the researchers show up. The mages weren¡¯t that friendly, but the guards seemed to love her. She resented being called their ¡®mascot¡¯ though.

    Mary, one of the soldiers and the only other girl in the whole base helped her cut the cake and dish it out onto plates for the others. Zoe set aside the piece with the most icing on it for herself.

    After the cake, came the presents. Zoe already knew what they were, but she pretended to be surprised as she unwrapped them. Pastries, dried fruits, and candies! Sweet things! Normally she only got one treat for dessert at dinner, but she had so much now!

    ¡°Thank you!¡± she said to everyone.

    Zoe looked down at her dragon¡¯s hoard of sugary things with glee. Where should she start?

    ¡°Mommy used to give me lots of candy,¡± Zoe said to Mary, who was sitting beside her. ¡°Daddy says that¡¯s why I¡¯ve got such a sweet tooth now.¡±

    ¡°Make sure y-you enjoy it¡­ Don¡¯t wait too long or it¡¯ll s-spoil before you can eat it¡­¡± Mary was smiling, but her lower lip was trembling. She patted Zoe gently on the back, stood up, and quickly left the room, ¡°Excuse me, I uh¡­ forgot I had to do something.¡±

    Was Mary crying? Why? Did she bang her toe on something? That made Zoe cry sometimes.

    Zoe looked back down at her candy and chose a dried plum to start with. Yum! The six other guards were being really quiet. Was something happening? Zoe turned to Doug, sitting on the other side of her.

    ¡°Have you been in the lab before?¡± Zoe asked. Doug looked nervous but nodded slowly.

    ¡°What¡¯s it like? Daddy always said I was too young to go in there, but I¡¯m a big kid now. Daddy said he would let me see it today.¡±

    ¡°¡­yes, you¡¯ll get to see it¡­¡± Doug stared down at the floor as he talked. His voice was super quiet, Zoe could barely hear him.

    ¡°I bet there¡¯s lots of interesting stuff in there, right?¡±

    Doug nodded quietly. Another guard stood up and quickly left the room, ¡°Sorry, I just realized I needed to¡­ go.¡±

    Zoe watched him leave. What was going on? Everyone was acting weird. Zoe reached into her pile and took a pastry. She¡¯d eat those first and save the hard candies for last. The hard candies wouldn¡¯t spoil very quickly so she could save them for later.

    One by one, the guards left the party. Doug was the last one to leave, but he came back a few minutes later, cradling a folded piece of cloth in his arm.

    ¡°Zoe¡­¡± he said softly, ¡°are you ready to visit your dad in the lab?¡±

    Zoe¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Finally!¡± she said.

    This was it! She was finally going to find out what he dad actually did here. Zoe only knew it was some kind of magic research, but whenever she asked him about it, he always said it was a secret. She lived here for two years, and she still hadn¡¯t found out. Today, she was finally going to see his research project and get a tour of the lab. Daddy said she¡¯d be able to see it up close.

    Doug handed the cloth to her, which turned out to be a dress, ¡°You can¡¯t wear your normal clothes in the lab, so you need to go to your room and change into this. It¡¯s a special lab dress.¡±

    Zoe snatched the dress out of his hands and ran to her room with her candy pile forgotten. She would have cheered out loud, but she¡¯d get in trouble for making too much noise. When she closed the bedroom door behind her, she slipped out of her clothes as fast as possible, carelessly throwing them on the bed, and pulled the lab dress on. She was changed in less than a minute. It wasn¡¯t the nicest dress, and the fabric was kinda scratchy, but it was ok, she could change back into her normal clothes after.

    Doug, and Markus, another one of the guards, one that couldn¡¯t make it to the party, were waiting for her outside her door.

    ¡°Your shoes too,¡± Doug pointed out. Zoe looked down at her feet. ¡°We don¡¯t have any lab shoes that will fit you, but you can go barefoot. That should be okay.¡±

    Zoe quickly kicked off her shoes and threw them behind her into the room, feeling the cold white stone beneath her feet.

    ¡°Ready?¡± Doug asked with a smile. Zoe nodded, and followed the men to the lab.

    The doorway that separated the lab from the living quarters was huge and thick. It wasn¡¯t the sort of door you can get through easily. Daddy said it was because the things in the lab were super-secret, while the things outside the lab, like the bedrooms and dining hall were only normal-secret. Doug unlocked the door with a strange cylinder shaped key, and something inside the door went ¡®clunk¡¯ before Doug was able to push it open.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Zoe entered the lab for the first time. The two guards followed, closing and re-locking the door behind them with another ¡®clunk¡¯. Daddy was standing there, waiting for her.

    ¡°Daddy!¡± Zoe ran to her father and hugged him.

    ¡°Hey pumpkin, are you ready to see where daddy works?¡±

    Zoe was. The first room she saw was the ¡®Alchemy Lab.¡¯ It was full of strange old books, and weird glass bulbs and beakers, all filled with different strange substances. She was told to be very careful not to touch anything. Most of the chemicals were poisonous to humans, and many of them had to be kept at a high temperature to keep them stable. The hot beakers were labeled with red warning stickers and were sat on top of fire rune heating plates. Daddy said that they were the temperature of boiling water.

    The next room Daddy showed her was a long hallway, lined on either side by windows. These were the holding cells, eight on either side of the hallway. Daddy said that the windows weren¡¯t glass, they were actually a colorless sapphire, enchanted to prevent shattering. All the cages were empty white boxes with nothing inside. When Zoe asked what they were supposed to hold, Daddy said that he was trying to make a new form of life. He started talking about the potential of the mind, and how ant colony was really one giant organism made up of separate parts. Zoe didn¡¯t really understand him, but she knew her dad. Once he got talking, he could keep going and going. Zoe smiled and nodded while pretending to listen.

    The final room was the ¡®Creation Room.¡¯ All sorts of strange crystals and arcane brass instruments lined standing benches along the walls. In the centre of the room was a single massive cylindrical tank. It was only about as deep as a bathtub, but it was very wide. It was made out of clean, polished steel, and there was a thick lid on the top. Just like the Alchemy Lab, warning stickers were placed on the side saying that the contents were very hot.

    Daddy gestured to the tank, ¡°The lid please.¡±

    The two guards started walking to the tank, and Daddy grabbed Zoe¡¯s shoulders and turned her to face him.

    ¡°Zoe¡­ Daddy loves you very much. Remember that, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay?¡± Zoe already knew Daddy loved her¡­ why was he saying this now?

    ¡°Promise? Promise that, no matter what happens, you¡¯ll remember?¡±

    ¡°Daddy, what¡¯s-¡± Zoe turned to watch the two guards strain and lift the heavy metal lid off the tank. Daddy quickly turned her head back to him, and hugged her, burying her face in his chest.

    ¡°Promise me.¡±

    ¡°uh pffomisff,¡± Zoe attempted to say she promised, but her face was being squished into Daddy¡¯s chest.

    ¡°I love you so much,¡± Daddy repeated quietly.

    There was the sound of metal sliding across metal. Daddy released his hug, still keeping a firm grip on Zoe¡¯s shoulders. Zoe saw tears in his eyes.

    ¡°You¡¯re going to be so beautiful¡­¡± These weren¡¯t tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. Daddy turned to the two guards, ¡°It¡¯s time.¡±

    Two pairs of hands gripped her tightly by the arms and lifted her up. The hands were clad in thick leather gloves that reached up to their elbow. Zoe looked at the two men carrying her. Both Doug and Markus wore protective masks that covered their entire face with only a single narrow slit for the eyes. Zoe was starting to get scared.

    ¡°Daddy? What¡¯s going on?¡±

    She heard Daddy¡¯s voice behind her, ¡°You¡¯re going to change sweetie, just like a pretty butterfly.¡±

    Daddy¡¯s voice was distant and soft, almost like he was talking in his sleep. Zoe was definitely scared now.

    As the two men carried her towards the edge of the tank, she looked inside. The thick goopy fluid was impossible to see through, mostly purple in color, with streaks of orange and green mixed in. The colors slowly blended and swirled around. Zoe could feel the heat, even from a distance.

    ¡°Daddy?¡± Zoe shouted in alarm. This was scary.

    ¡°It¡¯ll be over soon, sweetheart. Just a quick little swim in a warm bath¡­ Be a good girl for Daddy.¡±

    The two men carrying her brought her up to the edge of the tank. Zoe finally realized they were going to throw her inside! The updraft caused by the boiling goop puffed out her skirt, and she could feel the terrible heat on her legs.

    ¡°No, wait!¡±

    Zoe desperately kicked out with her feet, and thrashed around, trying to get free, but the two guards kept a firm grip on her arms. Her desperate struggling continued until she accidentally brushed her foot against the steel edge of the tank. She yelped in pain and tucked her legs in, bending her knees to keep her feet clear of the scorching metal.

    ¡°Daddy please! I don¡¯t want to go in,¡± Zoe cried.

    There was no response. The two men held her over the boiling goop and lowered her down. She started kicking and thrashing again, and accidentally dipped a foot below the surface. She screamed and tucked her legs in again. The goop clung to her, still sizzling, turning the skin around it an angry red. Even after pulling it out of the tank, the burning didn¡¯t stop.

    Heedless to her screams, the men let go. Zoe fell into the tank with a splash. Her feet hit the searing metal bottom, fully immersing her up to her hips, and splattering small spots of burning goop all over her upper body. The screams were inhuman. The agonizing pain was beyond anything the girl could have ever imagined, but she refused to let herself die.

    Zoe walked on the horrible burning floor, wading through hell while her legs cooked. She saw the edge of the tank, if she could just get close enough... Daddy walked into view holding a long pole ending in a ¡®U¡¯ shaped fork. He held the pole out and Zoe desperately clung onto it.

    ¡°Please! Take me out!¡± she screamed.

    ¡°Happy birthday.¡± Daddy said, with a smile.

    He pushed against her chest and forced Zoe¡¯s upper body down against the tank bottom. She writhed in agony, trying to keep her face above the surface. The last thing she saw was the heavy steel lid sliding back over the tank, leaving her alone in the hellish, burning, darkness.

    <hr>

    The dull thumps against the tank walls stopped after a minute or so. The two guards looked down at the tank solemnly. John Eldridge rolled his eyes at their reaction and made a small adjustment to the tank¡¯s temperature. The cooling process would take 17 hours.

    ¡°Her screams¡­¡± said Markus the guard.

    ¡°We killed her¡­ we killed Zoe¡­¡± said the other guard, the fat one, seemed to be on the verge of tears. What was his name again?

    ¡°Try not to look so dour, gentlemen,¡± John said cheerfully. ¡°This is not a funeral, it¡¯s a birth.¡±

    ¡°Your own daughter. How could you do something like that to her?¡± The fat guard asked with an accusing tone. Was his name Doug? That sounded right.

    He didn¡¯t bother to dignify that with a response. Doug was a hypocrite. This was no different than the other 74 experiments he¡¯d helped John perform. The only difference was that instead of some nameless orphan or slave, it was a girl whose name he knew. John was under no such illusions. Every one of those 74 screaming victims was a tragedy, but those sacrifices were all necessary to achieve this final greatness.

    This one was going to work. John was certain. Certain enough to bet his beloved daughter¡¯s life on it.

    John was certain because he had a secret. He¡¯d been deceiving his benefactors for more than a year. Starting from experiment 36 he¡¯d been deliberately creating failures. They would have easily survived the transformation if not for John¡¯s sabotage of the extremely delicate cooling process.

    He was successful, but not successful enough. It would have been good enough to satisfy the benefactors, but it wasn¡¯t perfect enough to be Zoe¡¯s birthday present. The changes he made in each experiment were subtle, fixing small flaws, improving what could be improved, and it wasn¡¯t until experiment 74 that he finally perfected the formula. This time it was no experiment, the work was complete. John would have jumped into the tank himself if he could, but alas, only children could successfully adapt to the transformation.

    ¡°I don¡¯t need your help anymore and I don¡¯t need to be distracted. Take the rest of the day off, you¡¯re both dismissed.¡±

    The two unnecessarily guilt-ridden guards left the room. John Eldridge watched them leave and lock the door behind them. Keeping a close watch on the tank temperature, like the good father he was, he gleefully danced around the lab.

 Interlude - Happy Birthday II

    After darkness and agony, there was nothing. And then Zoe woke up.

    She opened her eyes and saw a white ceiling. Most of the white ceiling tiles were normal white stone, but six of them were glowing, emitting a bright white light that illuminated the room around her.

    Zoe sat up and looked around. The walls and floor were a similar white stone. On one wall, there was a thick metal door, and a large window. Zoe recognized the hallway outside. She was inside one of Daddy¡¯s holding cells. She looked down at the floor beneath her, and suddenly froze.

    Her legs.

    They felt like her legs. She could wiggle the toes¡­ but they were¡­ blue. Before, like most humans in the Aldmerian Empire, her skin had been pale and pinkish. Now, her skin was blue. It¡¯s wasn¡¯t blue like a dark elf. Their version of blue skin was a greyish blue, a soft pastel colour. Zoe¡¯s skin, on the other hand, was a vibrant royal blue.

    ¡°Good morning princess.¡±

    Zoe turned to the window and saw¡­ No, this wasn¡¯t Daddy. It looked like him, but Daddy wouldn¡¯t have hurt her like that. She glared at the man warily.

    ¡°You¡¯re even more beautiful than I¡¯d hoped. Daddy is so proud of you.¡±

    Zoe watched Daddy pull out a key and unlock her cell door. He closed the door behind him but didn¡¯t bother to lock it. She considered making a break for it, but Da- no, John was between her and the exit. John walked up to her, and kneeled on the ground a few feet away, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

    Zoe opened her mouth to speak to the man, but no sound came out.

    She tried again¡­ still silent.

    ¡°You¡¯re not going to be able to speak with sound anymore pumpkin. You need to use your mind.¡±

    Zoe glared at the man. Speak with her mind? She wasn¡¯t a mage¡­ But somehow, like an old memory she¡¯d rediscovered, or like a new extra limb she didn¡¯t know she had, she realized she could connect to John¡¯s mind and send him words.

    You hurt me

    ¡°Good girl, you figured it out so quickly,¡± John said cheerfully. ¡°You were a smart girl, even before. Of course, your newbody is even smarter.¡±

    You hurt me!

    Zoe repeated herself, increasing her mental volume.

    John winced from Zoe¡¯s loud mental voice, ¡°Yes I know sweetheart, but it was the only way I could make you beautiful. I couldn¡¯t contaminate the elixir with an anesthetic.¡±

    Zoe held up her hand.

    This is not beautiful! What am I? I look like some kind of monster.

    John winced again, ¡°I disagree, pumpkin. You¡¯re not a monster. You¡¯re different, that¡¯s all, a new and beautiful form of life. There is nobody else in this world as beautiful as you are now. And with every scrap of my research now destroyed, there will never be anyone as beautiful as you again.¡±

    Zoe glared at the man again and clenched her fist. She stopped herself from hitting Daddy, took a deep breath, and thought of a better idea. She realized she wasn¡¯t limited to only sending him words, she could affect his senses.

    Zoe sent him her memory¡­ starting from the last time Daddy hugged her. John¡¯s eyes went blank, his body froze, and his mouth dropped open as he experienced the feeling of being lifted up by his arms and dragged over to the pool of burning goop. She watched him in the real world, trembling in agony, face twisted into a silent scream as he experienced the burning fluid blistering and peeling his flesh away.

    When the memory was over, and he finished dying in burning darkness, John returned to the real worldand looked at up Zoe with fear and wonder.

    ¡°That was amazing pumpkin. I didn¡¯t realize you¡¯d be able to do that,¡± he gasped, pushing himself back up to his knees.

    How did it feel Daddy?

    ¡°Horrible, sweetheart, I know,¡± he said solemnly. ¡°But it was really for the best, you don¡¯t know-¡±

    John¡¯s voice was cut off, as his eyes went blank again, and he vividly relived the experience of betrayed trust and burning flesh again. This time, when he came back to his senses, he collapsed to the floor, exhausted.

    ¡°I know you¡¯re mad sweetheart, but-¡±

    Once more, John¡¯s eyes fogged over, and he died in agony inside the tank again. When he came back from the memory, he was crying.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± was all he could manage to gasp.

    I didn¡¯t ask for¡­ whatever this was. I didn¡¯t ask to be burned. I begged you not to. I begged you to stop and you didn¡¯t!

    ¡°I know, I know, I deserve this pain,¡± John said. ¡°But I have another birthday gift for you, one that will help, one that won¡¯t hurt.¡±

    What?

    ¡°Me,¡± John said, looking up at Zoe with aweary smile.

    Zoe stared at him impatiently, waiting for an explanation.

    ¡°Your¡­ psychic abilities are not your only power. A sufficiently skilled mage could do what you just did, albeit, not as easily. But if that was all the transformation gave you, the pain you went through would have been a waste. No, your true power is assimilation. It should come naturally to you, just like the telepathy. Reach out and take me¡­ make me become you.¡±

    Zoe looked at the pathetic man on the ground. She thought about taking him, making him a part of herself. Just like the telepathy, she felt another imaginary limb, an instinct as natural as breathing. Zoe reached out and touched his arm. Without thinking, she let her hand melt into her arm she was touching. Tendrils of vibrant glowing green¡­ No, tendrils of Zoe¡­ spread through his veins, branching out like roots.

    ¡°Good girl, Zoe. Remember that Daddy loves you.¡±

    The roots spread out through Daddy¡¯s body, slowly taking over his skin. Once fully engulfed in green, his shape changed¡­ his body shrunk.

    When Zoe pulled her hand back, she was looking at Zoe.

    There were two of Zoe. Completely identical, aside from that fact that one of them was naked and one was wearing Daddy¡¯s oversized clothes. Zoe held her heads. This was disorienting. She now had four eyes, four arms, four legs, two brains, two sets of memories and only one consciousness to manage it all. Thankfully, both brains were working together to help her process all this new information.

    Zoe looked at herself. Both pairs of eyes looked at the opposite Zoe¡¯s face. She was still Zoe. Despite the colour change, she had eyes, a nose, a mouth, and it was all the same familiar shape. Like her skin, her previously brown hair changed too. It was now as black as a shadow. Still, she mostly looked like the old Zoe with some paint on her face.

    Her eyes though¡­ that was the biggest difference. They were unsettling. There were no pupils anymore, and the entire eyeball glowed green. If not for the eyes, then she might have been able to pretend she was a dark elf with unusually vibrant skin, but the glowing eyes were completely alien. The colour was indescribable, unnatural, unlike any creature she or Daddy had ever known.

    Zoe closed her eyes and inspected her new memories. A young ambitious genius got the idea for a human hive mind when he was a teenager, a single perfect organism made of many bodies. It was a utopian society where all would live in peace, where all minds were as one. He lacked the skills to make his idea a reality, but the idea never left his mind. He had a successful career as a research mage, met his beautiful wife, and finally got the chance to pursue his dream when a group of well funded imperial mages offered to set him up in a lab and let him create a hive mind telepath for the glory of the empire.

    It didn¡¯t go smoothly. The first experiments were failures, the benefactors were ready to give up on him. At the same time, his wife died from a sudden illness. Little Zoe was sent to the lab with him because she had nowhere else to go. Stress and grief led to depression. He couldn¡¯t bear to see his daughters face, it reminded him too much of the beautiful wife he lost.

    John buried himself in his work, and eventually made enough progress to appease his bosses. Grief and obsession drove a wedge between father and daughter.It became harder for John to connect with his little girl and he desperately missed what they used to have so much. He missed being together, being a family. An idea crept into his brain, his research was an oppourtunity. He could become one with his daughter. Once he perfected the transformation, he couldgive this power to little Zoe. They could live together forever as the same person, part of the same hive mind. Eventually, he succeeded, he got what he wanted. They were together now.

    Daddy really did love her. Zoe smiled. The pain still happened, but it wasn¡¯t a betrayal.

    She wiped the tears out of her four eyes. Zoe took off the loose robe, got up, pacing around, leaving Zoe sitting on the ground watching herself. Trying to move one body at a time or having both bodies doing different things at the same time was extremely disorienting. She spent the next half hour practicing.

    She knew things now, things John knew. She knew the research was meant to develop a weapon, a psychic soldier, a perfect infiltrator. Zoe would end up being used if she stayed here. Neither her, nor Daddy wanted that. She knew the layout of the isolated base, she had a mental map of the surrounding wasteland, and she had several contingency plans all prepared ahead of time. She knew the locations of several supply caches that John secretly buried out in the wilderness, the locations of several bandit camps and goblin villages where should could assimilate more of herself. Daddy was planning her escape well before her transformation began. She would make all the guards and staff Zoe and then head east towards the mountains, collecting as many bodies as possible along the way.

    Zoe searched around the lab with both her bodies. John had strict orders that nobody should disturb him while he was working, and those were still in effect. Zoe took her time to double check that every scrap of information about her creation was gone and every sample of the ¡®goop¡¯ was chemically neutralized. If someone else wanted to make another creature like Zoe, they¡¯d be starting from scratch.

    Zoe walked through the Alchemy Lab, to the door. She used Daddy¡¯s key to open it from the inside, and the door unlocked with a clunk. Two guardswere standing sentry outside the door, looking for threats from the outside. Zoe got ready to move.

    Zoe pulled the door open. One guard looked over his shoulder but didn¡¯t have time to react before both each Zoe wormed a hand under their shirts and touched them on the spine. The two men tried to pull away, and Zoe realized she wasn¡¯t strong enough to overpower these men and assimilate them forcefully. Each Zoe connected to the mind of their respective guard, and she forced the happy memory of eating candy into their minds. Their eyes softened, and their muscles relaxed. They had a dumb look of bliss on their faces. Zoe gently guided them to the ground.

    Zoe struggled to pull the giant bodies inside the lab. She was strong for her size, but that still only made her about half as strong as a normal adult woman. One Zoe paused her assimilation to go close and lock the door. The green tendrils of Zoe started to recede slowly, but she could maintain the distracting happy memory at a distance. Closing the door took only a moment, and not much progress was lost. The second Zoe returned to the body quickly to finish the assimilation.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Tenminutes later, Zoe had four identical bodies. After getting used to moving two independent bodies, moving four was remarkably intuitive. It was actually easier than moving two. It required the same mental muscles, and now she had four brains to help her handle it all.

    Zoe¡¯s next stop was the guard barracks. Six guards were sleeping there. Zoe chose the two nearest guards and decided to experiment. How subtle could she be while assimilating?

    Each Zoe reached towards a sleeping guard. She was ready to share a happy memory of a young John Eldridge cuddling with his childhood pet, a lovable fluffy dog, but she held off to see if a sleeping person could feel the assimilation process. With a single fingertip from each Zoe, she gently touched the sleeping men on the neck. With two of Zoe working on each man, the process was nearly twice as fast.

    First, she discovered that yes, she could assimilate someone gently enough for them to not wake up. From Daddy and the two other guard''s last memories, she knew it felt like a tingle, like a foot falling asleep. Secondly, she discovered that the time it took to assimilate a person varied with their mass. Skinny Marcus took only 3 minutes to assimilate, while the larger Doug took 5 minutes.

    Finally, she discovered that she could adjust small things about her new bodies, stealing traits from the host body. After tweaking a couple things, the two newest Zoe bodies were no longer identical to the original. One was male. Which, given that Zoe was prepubescent, didn¡¯t mean much other than a different looking set of genitals between his legs. The other Zoe body had no gender or sexual characteristics at all. There were no nipples, and there was just an empty bump where genitals should be. It looked like a version of Zoe wearing a seamless skin-tight bodysuit. Zoe decided to make this her default kind of body from now on.

    According to John¡¯s experiments, Zoe¡¯s bodies shared nourishment over her psionic matrix and didn¡¯t produce waste. They fed on psionic energy. When one Zoe ate, the food would become psionic energy, and all of Zoe''s bodies would recieve a fair share of sustenance. Basically, that meant she didn¡¯t need any holes down there at all. There was no point in having genitals¡­ they would only be an unnecessary weak spot and an extra thing to clean.

    Modifying new bodies was awkward. This wasn''t a process that felt comfortable for her, but she could recognize how valuable it might be. She could make herself an adult body, for example, or make herself a different species like dwarf or elf. A devious grin appeared on her face when she imagined stealing a powerful dragon''s body. Something like that was well outside her abilities for now. She''d have to practice this skill and work her way up to that.

    Zoe moved on to assimilate the other four guards. Each was shown a pleasant vision of puppy cuddles in their dreams. With Zoe invading their mind, it should now be impossible for them to wake up. Zoe slapped them a few times to make sure. Sure enough, none awakened. As Zoe assimilated them, they never discovered what was happening. When the assimilation finished, they just stopped being themselves and became Zoe instead.

    Zoe noticed that sending happy dreams to the guards required very little of her focus now and felt much easier than sharing her memory with Daddy. Daddy¡¯s knowledge told her why, of course. She had more brains to share the mental burden of imagining happy memories and sharing them. As she added more brains to her collection, she would get smarter and smarter, and her psychic abilities would grow more and more powerful. She¡¯d have greater control over the dreams she shared and be able to pierce through stronger mental defenses.

    After a few minutes, there were no more guards in the barracks. Ten of Zoe, four female, one male, and five genderless, stood inside the guard barracks. Zoe used her ten brains, working together, to focus her psychic powers on the minds around her. She felt the presence of five more guards, three research mages, and five support staff inside the underground compound. Zoe quietly scattered, walking in several different directions at once.

    <hr>

    Mary maintained her vigil in the dining hall. The others wanted to clean up the candy pile, but Mary refused to let them. It felt sacred, like a gravesite, to disturb it would be a desecration.

    So, Mary sat in the dining hall, remembering Zoe¡¯s smile and trying not to think about¡­ things. There was too much candy left¡­ they took her too soon¡­ Zoe didn¡¯t get to eat enough of it before she¡­

    Mary laid her head down and cried.

    Mary didn¡¯t know how long she¡¯d been crying, but she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder. The figure next to her was blurred by Mary¡¯s tears, but it was unmistakable.

    ¡°Zoe!¡± Mary embraced her in a hug.

    The little girl squirmed a little, clearly surprised by the outburst, but she eventually settled down and accepted the hug. Mary loosened her grip and looked into the little girl¡¯s eyes. Mary had never been in the lab, but she¡¯d heard what happened. Doug and Markus were certain she¡¯d undergone the¡­ procedure. She should be dead, but Zoe was standing before her now, completely unharmed.

    ¡°You¡¯re alright!¡± said Mary, fresh tears blurring her eyes.

    It was strange. Her pale skin had no burns or any other signs of damage, her brown hair was brushed free of tangles, and she wore the same dress she wore the previous morning during the party. It was as if nothing happened. Well almost¡­ there was one physical difference¡­

    ¡°I like your new eyes,¡± Mary said, smiling. ¡°Green is such a pretty colour.¡±

    Zoe¡¯s eyes used to be brown. Now, her irises were a bright vibrant green, almost glowing.

    Zoe looked surprised by Mary¡¯s affection. After a couple seconds, her face changed to curiosity.

    ¡°My eyes are green right now?¡± she asked.

    Mary nodded. Zoe closed her eyes and it looked like she was concentrating on something. She opened her green eyes again.

    ¡°How about now?¡±

    ¡°Still green,¡± Mary replied. ¡°I like them, they suit you.¡±

    Zoe looked lost in thought for a moment. ¡°Interesting,¡± she said. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine any eye colour for myself other than green. It¡¯s like a constant I can¡¯t change. Even in my imagination it''s completely outside of my control.¡±

    ¡°How did you¡­¡± Mary started to ask, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to say the question out loud so she gestured towards the girl''s body instead.

    ¡°How did I survive?¡± said Zoe. ¡°Daddy¡¯s work is complete. He did it. I¡¯m a psychic superweapon now. To be honest, I don¡¯t really look like this. I¡¯ve infiltrated your mind, changing what you see when you look at me.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Mary was suddenly nervous. Dr. Eldridge didn¡¯t share much about his research, but Mary knew he was making a living weapon. To think he turned the pure and innocentZoe into something like that¡­ Mary shuddered.

    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m a monster now.¡± Zoe give Mary a sinister smile and reached towards her arm.

    Mary gave the little girl a stern frown, picked her up, and sat her on her knee. ¡°You stop that right now,¡± she scolded. ¡°You¡¯re not a monster.¡±

    Zoe was taken aback for a moment but regained her composure and gave Mary a wry smirk that did not belong on a little girl¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ll stop interfering with your senses now and show you what I really look like. Then, you¡¯ll see.¡±

    Zoe seemed to shift and shimmer. Her skin turned blue, her dress evaporated, and her pleasant green eyes turned alien. If not for the eyes, she¡¯d just be a little blue girl, weird but not monstrous. But the green glow in Zoe¡¯s eyes raised hairs on Mary¡¯s neck, all her instincts were telling her to be wary. This was a primal fear that defied reason, like fire, heights, or spiders. This green glow was pure danger.

    But it was still Zoe on the inside, even if she looked a little scary now.

    Mary wrapped her arms around the little girl and hugged her. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Zoe let herself relax and cuddle against Mary¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Gods¡­ what did those sick fuckers do to you?¡±

    You probably don¡¯t want to know.

    Mary flinched when she heard Zoe¡¯s voice in her head. Before, she¡¯d heard Zoe speaking like normal, but now the words seemed to bypass her ears entirely.

    ¡°The others told me what happens, but I¡¯ve never¡­ seen it,¡± Mary admitted. "It''s sounds horrible."

    That¡¯s probably for the best. It¡¯s a rather painful process for the victim. Thankfully I passed out from the pain after onlya minuteor so in the tank.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Zoe. I was too scared¡­ I failed you...I could have taken you and ran¡­¡±

    Daddy knew you were too soft and was prepared for you to try. Dale and Norm were assigned to secretly watch you yesterday morning. If you took me, we wouldn¡¯t have made it out of the compound.

    Mary gave the girl a look of determination, ¡°I¡¯m here for you now, Zoe.¡±

    I appreciate the thought, but it¡¯s far too late to save me now. That ship has sailed. Besides, my mind is stronger than your sword. I don¡¯t need your protection anymore.

    ¡°Nonsense,¡± Mary replied. ¡°What about hugs and candy?¡±

    Monsters don¡¯t need hugs and candy.

    Mary gave Zoe a stern glare and reached over to the candy pile. Grabbing a lollipop, she pushed it into the monster-girl¡¯s mouth and hugged her close. Zoe glared at Mary with defiance.

    You do realize I am a deadly monster, right? I only look like a little girl.

    ¡°Ssh, it¡¯s okay.¡±

    I literally just killed 24 people and stole their bodies. You¡¯re the only living human left in the compound.

    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll admit that¡¯s a little scary to hear, but it¡¯s fine. I understand. I''d be mad too if I went through what you did.¡±

    I was planning on doing the same to you, you know. I was going to infiltrate your body, strip away your individuality and turn you into a soulless drone. I wasplanning on killing you, and you didn¡¯t even realize it.

    ¡°But you didn¡¯t kill me, that''s the important part.¡±

    I don¡¯t deserve this. I¡¯m not the same Zoe. I¡¯m a monster.

    Zoe¡¯s green eyes were filled with very humanlike tears. Mary hugged the little monster close, squishing her against her chest.

    ¡°Ssh¡­ I don¡¯t care. Now shut up and eat your candy.¡±

    Okay¡­

    Mary held little Zoe, while they both cried and ate candy together.

    <hr>

    Master Tyren appeared inside the teleportation circle with his two bodyguards.

    The Project Lifeweaver Research Facility went silentyesterday. Master Tyren feared the worst. This was like Project Mirrorlake all over again. Was this another rogue superweapon? They still hadn¡¯t recaptured the Mirrorlake specimen. There was a rogue demon out there, somewhere in the woods.She was a demonic guerilla warfare specialist, immune to banishment and control spells. That was bad enough, but according to Dr. Eldridge¡¯s reports, this monster would be able to clone itself and infest the countryside. That meant it would only get more dangerous if the Lifeweaver specimen was not caught quickly. Honestly, a superweapon that wouldn¡¯t follow orders was worse than no superweapon at all. In his opinion, the supersoldier projects should all be scrapped before any more uncontrollable horrors were unleashed.

    The Lifeweaver Research Facility sat in the middle of the Demon Wastes. This was the blighted land surrounding the Hellmouth. The demonic influence on the landscape was plain to see. The open plains were nothing but arid shrubland, scarcely populated with thorny bushes and leafless trees. The dirt seemed to have changed colour, absorbing the magic of the Abyss, and slowly gaining a reddish hue. The hidden facility was located inside a cave built into the side of a raised plateau. It was remote enough to not be easily discovered.

    Master Tyren and his two holy knight guards walked inside the cave. The white stone hallway was dimly lit. Along its length, the magical illumination flickered, as if the spells were failing. Lush green ivy grew along the once smooth stone walls and the sound of dripping water could be heard in the distance. This place looked like it had been abandoned for years. But that was impossible, the facility had been fully operational yesterday¡­

    Immediately on guard, Master Tyren cast a magical detection spell, which failed to detect any magical illusions. Whatever this was¡­ it was real. He prepared his mana and held a powerful Profane Lightning Bolt spell in his mind, ready to unleash it at the monster if it was still lurking here. The mage and his guards carefully walked down the hall, alert for traps.

    Master Tyren made it ten feet into the hallway before he noticed that he couldn¡¯t hear his bodyguards¡¯ footsteps anymore. Glancing over he shoulder, he saw¡­ nothing. The two guards were gone. Even more alarming, the tunnel stretched behind him for hundreds of feet, vanishing into the darkness. His path back was gone. Had he been teleported somewhere else? When did it happen? He would have noticed.

    ¡°Whatcha doing here Mister?¡± came a giggly girlish voice from down the hallway in front of him.

    Master Tyren held up his wand and aimed it towards the voice. A little girl stepped into view. She had pale skin, brown hair, and vibrant green eyes. She wore a cute floral patterned dress. She looked clean and well taken care of, not at all like the sort of near-feral squatter he¡¯d expect to find in his environment.

    ¡°You¡¯re not the type of man to shoot a lightning bolt at an innocent little girl, are you?¡± she asked, with a terrifying grin.

    Master Tyren kept his wand pointed at her.

    ¡°Oh wait no¡­ you are exactly the sort ofdegenerate filth who would do that,¡± her tone of voice turned dark and menacing. ¡°Seventy four little girls and boys, between the ages of six and ten were sent here thanks to you. Slaves, orphans and kidnapping victims.You alone are not responsible for their fate, but you were the one who sourced the children. You were the one who fed the sickness in Daddy''s mind and allowed him to use live humans in his experiments. You indulged his madness, hoping he''d create a weapon. None of the victims deserved the painful death you arranged for them. You knew what would happen to them, didn¡¯t you?¡±

    Master Tyren smirked and unleashed his lightning bolt. Nothing happened. There wasn¡¯t even a spark.

    ¡°Why are you threatening me with a bouquet of flowers Mister?¡± the little girl asked with a smirk.

    It was then that Master Tyren realized he wasn¡¯t holding a wand. In his hand was a pretty bouquet of colourful flowers. What¡­ when did that happen?

    The little girl''s eyes glowed green, and she spoke directly into his mind.

    Just in case you¡¯re curious¡­ Your real body is lying on the floor by the cave mouth, already halfway assimilated. Both of your knights are already me. Their individuality has already been torn away. Their memories are already mine. The same fate is waiting for you, but I¡¯m taking my time to savour this because you deserve to suffer.

    Master Tyren cast a Dispel at the little girl, to no effect. He tried all the counter-curse and counter-possession spells he could think of, but none of them had any effect.

    The illusion of the little girl melted away. In her place was a blue skinned monster.

    You¡¯re dreaming mister¡­ you¡¯re asleep. You can¡¯t move your body or access your mana in a dream, and you''re never going to wake up again.

    ¡°What do you want from me?¡± Master Tyren shouted. His voice sounded more fearful than he would have wanted it to.

    You ever been boiled alive? You sent seventy four kids to that fate you know. It¡¯s only fair that you should experience it seventy four times before you die, right?

    Suddenly, the hallway was gone. The little girl was gone. There was only darkness and burning, skin peeling, fat melting, flesh sloughing off and dissolving.Master Tyren screamed for help, and scalding fluid flooded into his lungs. He smashed his fists against the steel tank walls, but nobody was there to save him.