《The NU Demon》


 Chapter 1: A ‘Normal’ Day

    I slowly roused to the almost mentally scarring sound of my alarm attempting to beep itself out of existence.  Like a metaphorical needle it slowly poked its way into my dreams until I snapped wide awake, reaching over and slapping the top of the little black box with the full intention of smashing it. Sadly my slap had no effect other than silencing the alarm, one day I¡¯ll be free of its tormenting beeping, but unfortunately not today. I look down at the time, six thirty three A.M, only three minutes of torture to wake myself up today. I throw off the covers and stumble my way to my door, looking for the lightswitch on the wall next to it. After a bit of fumbling I finally find it and flip it on, almost blinding myself in the process. I open my door and walk into the hallway, slowly stumbling down towards the bathroom in nothing but my panties. When I get there I try the nob, finding it to turn freely. I throw open the door and dash inside with newfound clarity, closing the door behind me and pressing the lock button on the nob. My gamble paid off today, not throwing on a top ment I was able to make it to the shower before my siblings, which means I get all the hot water I want.


    I check the towel rack and find its stockings satisfactory so I drop my underwear and reach in to turn on the shower in the tub. Right as the water starts flowing out the head I hear the door knob jiggle, followed by an over dramatic ugh from the other side, followed by banging. ¡°Occupied!¡± I reply.


    ¡°Lucy hurry up, I need to shower!¡± My fifteen year old younger sister Jenny or Sara practically screams from outside. Being identical twins they are damn near impossible to tell apart except for how they dress, and even then it can be iffy sometimes.


    ¡°Well I just got in so wait your turn!¡± I yell back as I jump into the now steaming water and sigh in bliss. The twin outside stomps her foot, curses a word I could get her in trouble for saying if I was a petty bitch, then thunders back down the hall. I¡¯ll save it for later, more ammo if they try to act like uppity little bitches again.


    I reach up and rub the crust from my eyes with the aid of the water before wetting my hair and doing a twirl to let the sweet warmth splash down my back. Then I grab my shampoo bottle from the corner of the tub, only for it to feel lighter than it should. The lack of other bottles around the tub tells me exactly what I need to know. Those little shits are using my shampoo again, one of these days I¡¯m going to put hair removal cream in a shampoo bottle. Parents'' golden children be damned. I find just enough left in the bottle to wash my own hair, but only because I keep mine at seven inches long, far shorter than the two foot catastrophes that are attached to my sisters heads.


    Maybe I should put hair dye in instead, like me my sisters got their beautiful blonde hair color from mom. Except for they are way too proud of their inherited color, they act so high and mighty about it that you would think they worked their whole lives to get that color. That might have been true at birth, but fifteen years later? I don''t think so, which is why it would be so entertaining to hear their screeches as the first one realizes she fucked up hard stealing my shit. Would make them easier to tell apart, but mom and dad would throw a fit. I don¡¯t think the excuse I wanted to dye my own hair would fly. They would just twist it so I¡¯m in the wrong, like they always do.


    I finish rinsing my hair and turn the water off, it takes a minute for the water to finally stop dripping so I can step out of the shower and towel off. I grab the hair drier and put my locks on blast, it only takes two minutes of blowing to finish drying. After that I pick up my laundry and wrap myself in a towel. Stepping back out into the hall I¡¯m greeted by two scowling blondes only slightly shorter than me, who proceed to shove past me and start fighting with each other for access to the bathroom. I ignore them and head back down the hall, going into my room and closing the door behind me. I drop my towel and throw it into the laundry basket along with my underwear, then I rummage through my dresser for something acceptable to wear at school today. I decide to run with a white shirt featuring a popular defender and some black jeans. After that I huddle up to my mirror to apply some makeup. I don¡¯t need makeup, but I like looking my best when I leave the house.


    Once that''s done I apply some finishing touches to my outfit before heading downstairs. As I pass the bathroom I see one of the twins waiting outside it impatiently while the sound of running water indicates the other is currently showering. I speed past the angsty teen and receive a glare on the way by, as if my showering first somehow caused her to lose to her twin. I ignore her and head downstairs, coming down into the hallway between the kitchen/dining area and the living room. As I roll in to get breakfast I see the clock about to strike seven, meaning I¡¯m perfectly on time. As I walk into the kitchen and grab a plate mom notices me while flipping pancakes.


    ¡°Good morning Lucy, ready for school today?¡± She asks while slipping the spatula under another flapjack and flipping it over. I personally don''t care for pancakes but Tommy and the twins basically live for pancakes in the morning. So I get outvoted three to one, at least the bacon mom cooks is edible.


    ¡°Yea, all my homework is done. It should be just an easy day of science and magic system classes.¡± I reply. But that''s a bit of a lie, I don''t have homework. But if I tell my parents that I get basically called a liar and given a whole spiel about how back in their day they always had some homework and blah blah blah. And they do it every¡­ freaking¡­. Time! It doesn''t matter that I get straight A¡¯s, I got one B and didnt hear the end of it for the whole next semester. Meanwhile the wonder twins get all C¡¯s and my parents throw a small celebration when they get the occasional B. Something about having to encourage them to do their best, blah. I can''t wait to graduate highschool next semester and get out of this house.


    Still, in the meantime I can get some petty revenge. Just because I don''t like pancakes doesn''t mean I can''t stomach them. So I grab three of the four currently finished pancakes and a handful of Bacon and slather them in syrup before mom notices. Then I quickly stuff my face in two minutes flat.


    ¡°Lucy, leave some for your siblings.¡± Mom says. ¡°It''s fine, there''s plenty left.¡± I reply in between mouthfuls. ¡°One isn''t plenty.¡± Mom chastises me.


    ¡°Well if they want first dibs on pancakes they should shower faster.¡± I say as I stand up and put my plate in the sink. ¡°I¡¯m off to the bus stop.¡±


    On my way out the door I run into dad coming down the stairs with Tommy, who being only three years old needs help dressing and moving up and down the stairs. He could probably go up and down by himself but mom and dad are super protective of him, seeing him as their final miracle baby after ten years of trying after my sisters.


    ¡°Gwood moning Luky!¡± Tommy enthusiastically greets me from dads arms. He''s absolutely adorable, getting his black hair from dad and green eyes from mom. He still can''t talk properly, and for some reason he saw the c in my written name and started pronouncing it as a k.


    "Good morning Tommy, mom''s making pancakes today."


    "Yay! Pankcakes!" He screams.


    "Oh not in my ear buddy. Good morning Lucy, off to school?" My dad asks. He''s a large man at six one, with black hair and brown eyes. The same eyes my sisters and I have.


    "Yea, I''m off to catch the bus and talk to Charles and Anna. See you later." I say as I grab my backpack and winter coat from the hook and head out the door.


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    That was a relatively easy morning since I managed to grab the shower first and get downstairs and scarf breakfast before the twins finished and came down to complain. But I''ve had mornings where they get down before I leave and then the complaining starts, and then I''m told to have consideration for my sisters and blah blah blah. If I ramble to myself about my home life too much I''ll be here all day. So I continue on towards the school bus stop.


    It''s a quiet morning as usual as I wander between the buildings and down the streets, slowly making my way out of the residential suburbs. It''s a long walk to the bus stop, at least twenty minutes of walking through the frigid February air. I''m used to it by now, keeping my hands in my pockets and my eyes on where I''m walking. At least until I hit the apartment block area. This place is packed to the brim with cheap apartment buildings built forty years ago and never updated or renovated since. The damned things would be demolished if it wasn''t for the housing crisis going on. This is also where they decided to put the bus stop, because the population is densest in this area.


    As I pass an alleyway between two of the buildings a huge metallic crash resounds that makes me jump, followed quickly by some clanking and clinking. I look to my left to see an old rusty metal trash can knocked over, the bags inside knocked out and ripped open, slipping their contents into the alley. The creepy part is there is nothing around that could have knocked it over. No cats, no dogs, no people. Probably a dog or cat that bolted out the other side when it realized it fucked up.


    After that little jump scare I continue on the way to the bus stop, only to pass by two dudes in another alley clearly doing drugs. Thankfully they were too stoned to notice my presence as I passed by. Other than that it''s smooth sailing and I make it to the bus stop to wait with the twenty others already there, including Anna and Charles. Anna has her black hair done up in a bun as usual, her brown eyes locked onto Charles as she enthusiastically goes on about something. Charles for his part looks his usual, short brown hair and green eyes with nothing special about him.


    "Hey Lucy, ready for another fabulous friday!?" Anna yells at me when she finally sees me coming from a ways off. Charles looks over and also gives me a wave. I get over and immediately Anna starts yammering about Charles and what he''s been talking about.


    "So Charles said there is going to be another breach event today. Something about fancy predictions and equipment." Anna blurts out.


    "I told you it''s going to be today or tomorrow. Scientists have predicted based on current nu wave patterns and electromagnetic interference that another breach event will happen soon. They say probably today or tomorrow, but are still not able to determine where they will occur." Charles says.


    "Well about time we were able to figure out when they are happening, they''ve only been terrorizing humanity for the last twenty five years." I reply.


    "It''s not an exact science yet, but leading scientists predict that by the end of next year we should be able to determine the severity of a breach at least. After that they want to¡­." Charles says only to be cut off by Anna, who is as over excited and energetic as ever.


    "Yea, cool demon stuff Charles, but did you hear that Grey Spade, the Grey Spade, one of the most powerful Defenders of Humanity is doing a world tour and the first place he''s going to visit is our city! I can''t wait to see him, I''m so excited!"


    "Uh, no I haven''t heard that yet? When was that announced, and when is he going to be here?" I reply, totally caught off guard, but not by Anna''s energy. The Defenders of Humanity, whose members are known as defenders, are humans with access to magic who have joined forces with each other across the globe to repel the demonic invasions from, we''re not quite sure where demons come from, the public at large doesn''t know at least. To say they are popular would be an understatement, there is a whole branch of culture basically dedicated to these guys. Merchandise, songs about their battles, fan art, you name it. Close to half of all modern media has a major focus on the defenders, and the other bits still incorporate them in some form.


    Grey Spade is a legend among the defenders, a huge icon of modern humanity''s ability to master magic and push back the demonic invasion. And he''s just as popular in the public eye as he is on the battlefield. Some would argue he is the most popular defender, But I personally like Blade Flower more thanks to her aesthetic, but Grey Spade is still Really cool!


    "It was announced really late last night! He''s going to spend the later part of today in the city doing fan meet ups and other stuff at city hall, then tomorrow he moves to San Diego California, then to Tokyo Japan the day after that. Like oh my god I wanna go after school to meet with him!" Anna continues to fangirl.


    "Yea that''s kinda cool, but why is he coming to a city like ours? We are in the middle of nowhere corner of Virgina. This is barely considered a city. There is literally nothing here but the anti demon weapons factory." Charles muses. And he has a point, this is the middle of nowhere, he could garner much better support hitting up a major city.


    "Maybe it''s to show support for the workers of the factory? I mean my dad complains of overwork and long hours all the time." I say.


    "Who cares! He''s going to be here! And it''s Friday so we can totally stay out late to see him! You guys are free right?" Anna asks.


    "I have a session scheduled with my defenders and demons gaming group but I have a feeling it''s going to get canceled once word gets around so sure." Charles replies while I think over my plans for tonight. Mom and dad wanted me to babysit the twins and Tommy while they had a night out on the town but they will probably want to take them to see Grey Spade instead leaving me free to go with Anna and Charles. Worse case I can just drag them along, Anna and Charles won''t mind, there''re used to it.


    "Yea, I can come, but I might have to bring the twins and Tommy if my parents don''t change up their plans."


    "Oh that''s fine, how is the little gentleman doing anyway?" Anna asks.


    "Great, they still won''t let him go up and down stairs, he still calls me lucky and says Pankcakes."


    That earns a chuckle from both Charles and Anna. And after that we talk about various things until the bus arrives. Anna keeps fangirling over Grey Spade while Charles and I try to steer the conversation back to other topics but eventually give in and indulge her by talking about some of Grey Spade''s known battles and feats. Normally she''s more than happy to talk about other stuff, but she absolutely loves the defenders, so I can''t blame her for being super excited.


    Finally the bus arrives and slowly the kids and teens gathered around the dilapidated pole that marks toe pickup point start to filter onto the giant yellow rectangle. Given how far to the side we were standing, me Charles and Anna are last to board, with me specifically being the last one on. As I put foot onto the first step something weird happens. An errant thought pops up in my head causing me to pause. I don''t have any homework today, and I already know everything they teach at school. I should just go home for the day. I can play games, study for the next grade level, or do something more raunchy. I stand in a daze for a moment before the bus driver yells at me, snapping me out of it.


    "Hey, you getting on or not?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.


    "Yea sorry, just got lost in thought for a moment."


    "Well do that after you sit down." He replies.


    I find my seat next to Charles, who is across the aisle from Anna who is currently chatting with some of the other girls on the bus about Grey Spade. As I sit down I think about that weird errant thought I had. I know damn well not to skip school, and I sure as hell am not horny enough to think about things like that last part. The thought felt so natural yet so out of place, even for an errant one. I decide to shelve it and talk with Charles about demons and the newest edition of the game Defenders and Demons. I''m not as much of a demonology fanatic as Charles, but I still enjoy learning about them and some of their more interesting quirks and features. And Charles is always on top of things revolving around demons, so he''s a great source to learn the latest info from.


    All is fairly normal for the first half of the ride, the bus weaving through the middle of town on its path to the school. Then another errant thought hits while I''m talking to Charles. He''s so cute, I should just push him down and bite his ear. The worst part is I almost fucking do it before mentally slapping myself before my hands can even leave my lap. What the fuck is wrong with me today? Before I can think of anything else, a weak giggle sounds out around me. I freeze instantly and just wait, listing both physically and mentally for any more weird shit to occur.


    "Hey Lucy, you good?" Charles interrupts himself once he''s noticed I''m frozen stiff.


    I let out a sigh and rub my forehead. "Yea I think so, but I might be tired or something."


    "Maybe you should have stayed home then?"


    "I felt fine this morning when I got up and showered. Anyway what were we talking about?"


    "How the corjo demons have a scarcely similar appearance to bloodhounds."


    Before I can reply, a loud siren reaches our ears. It''s a familiar one, one that we only hear during tests normally. It''s the reality breach alarm siren, indicating the demons are attacking our city.

 Chapter 2: Shattered Reality

    <div>


    Immediately the bus driver pulls a hard left, almost over steering the vehicle off the road and throwing half the students out of their seats from the high speed.


    "Change of plans, we are going to the central town bunker. Text your families so they know you are safe." He says without taking his eyes off the road. He''s weaving in and out of traffic and driving at way too high a speed for the amount of cars on the road. The moment that alarm sounded panic descended upon the city. People are running down side walks, while cars drive frantically through the streets trying to get to the closest bunker. Which in our case is the central bunker in the center of town. Thankfully most of them have the good sense not to impede a school bus fully loaded with kids. The key word being most, as some dipshits have either run or pulled out in front of the bus, causing the driver to have to break and/or swerve. Or they have almost driven into the side of it.


    Ten seconds after the alarm started sounding everyone''s phones buzzed, with the expected text alert popping up on mine as well.


    "Attention, a reality breach event has been detected in your local area. Please proceed to the nearest safety shelter. If you cannot reach a shelter within five minutes, barricade in place and remain concealed until rescue can arrive. Turn off all noise generating appliances including refrigerators and fans, turn off all sources of light and block windows with whatever materials are available then text SOS back to this number so emergency responders can locate you."


    Most breaches take time to fully manifest after their initial disturbance so to speak. A breach''s manifestation speed depends on its severity, with level one taking between five and four minutes, level two taking four to three minutes, level three between three and two minutes, level four between two and one minutes, and level five taking between one minute to thirty seconds. The lower the level the more common the breach type. So hopefully we have enough time to get to the bunker before the assault starts in earnest.


    Those hopes are dashed when we all feel the tell tale prickling of the skin and senses followed by the loud shattering sound indicating that the breach has manifested.


    "Charles, how long has it been since the alarm sounded?" I ask him.


    "About twenty seconds." He says grimly in the now mostly silent bus, with only the roar of the engine that''s overpowering the outside noises audible.


    "You think maybe they just hit the button late?" I ask, hopeful.


    "It''s supposed to be automated." He replies while looking over at me with eyes full of fear.


    Immediately absolute chaos descends both inside and outside the bus. Students jump from their seats and climb over each other trying to reach the emergency exits despite the bus''s speed. Outside cars slam into one another, drive down side walks, run through crowds, as people push and shove each other out of the way in an attempt to get to the bunker first.


    Before anyone on the bus can do anything too stupid the bus driver yells at us above the calamity of it all.


    "Sit down and shut up you little shits! We are twenty seconds from the bunker! I will pull up as close as I can, then we will all get off, and as a group make our way into the bunker. I catch any pushing or shoving I will make you wish the demons got to you once those bunker doors are sealed! Am I clear!?"


    He was met with stunned silence as students slowly slicked back into their seats and waited with bated breath. Somehow despite the chaos, the driver managed to continue down the chaos infested streets without hitting anything, though I think he may have run someone over at one point. As we keep going I quickly start to notice a pattern in the chaos, it''s all human caused chaos, not demons. If this really is a level five breach or worse we should be up to our asses in demons right now. But I don''t see a single one outside.


    "Hey Charles, have you noticed something off?" I ask, breaking the morbid silence on the bus.


    "Yea, um, I don''t see any demons?" He says, as if questioning it himself.


    Before we can continue the bus jerks to a sudden stop, causing some of the students, myself included, to bang our heads on the seats in front of us. I thankfully only smacked my forehead on the cushioning, but I can see a boy just down the aisle cupping his nose in his hands, and some blood dripping through onto the floor. Then the bus driver jumps out of his seat and presses the button on the console to open the doors at the front.


    "Alright, leave your bags, single file off the bus straight to the bunker. No running, only jogging, and watch your step. If you trip and sprain an ankle because you rushed, no one will stop to save you." He says in a booming authoritarian voice that makes it clear he won''t take arguments on the matter.


    Slowly we file off, the driver seeming to count us as we pass him. Once the last of us is off he follows suit and we all start our run for the bunker. Some of the boys decide that despite the fact there are no demons they wanted to make a dead sprint for it anyway. I line up next to Charles and Anna joins us shortly after as we slowly jog our way across the massive and traffic jammed parking lot in front of the bunker. I see one of the boys who decided to sprint for it go down up ahead, followed by a blood curdling scream. The rest of us start to panic and people run in different directions or start sprinting for the bunker. I hear the driver mutter a curse under his breath as the boy stands back up into view, visibly limping and with blood running down his arms.


    "Stop running you idiots, this is why I said jog. There''s no demon, calm down and keep moving!" The bus driver yells as he moves ahead of me, Charles and Anna to see to the wounded boy. We pass them as the driver is picking the boy up in his arms while simultaneously cussing him out.


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    "This is why I said not to run you fuckin idiot. Now if the demons show up you can''t actually run or fight. And you panicked everyone else for no reason. Stupid boy, next time listen to what I fuckin say. I didn''t survive twenty years in war against the demons by lollygagging like an idiot."


    I had heard our bus driver was a veteran, but I didn''t put any stock into it until now. I always thought he was just a cranky old man trying to earn a little on the side of his retirement fund.


    We are almost to the bunker, a few squads of heavily armed soldiers coming out to control the crowd and watch for demons. Then it hits me, another thought, one that I know is foreign but still so natural. I shouldn''t go into the bunker, it''s going to be so cramped and smelly in there, and all those people are going to attract demons. I''m much safer standing out here in the open. So I stop jogging, causing Charles and Anna to stop as well as they turn around. Then they just stare at me like I''m crazy, in the wrong somehow. But I''m not, this is the safest decision, staying here until mother can come pick me up¡­¡­ wait a fucking second, my mother doesn''t give enough of a shit to text me when this shit kicked off, much less come pick me up!


    I snap out of my daze, and open my mouth to tell Charles and Anna to run for it when something invades my mind and starts fighting me for control of my own body, causing me to collapse to the ground spamming.


    "Oh how cute, I knew you were a good pick. I don''t think I''ve ever met one of your kind who could resist my control, even if only for a second. So much potential, you will make such a wonderful daughter." A strange voice says in my head with glee.


    I try desperately to fight back, to wrestle control over my own body, but every time I retake one part it takes over another. Charles and Anna both run over to me, looking down at me frantically as I twist and writhe trying to throw off the beings control.


    "Shit, help me carry her!" Charles says as he reaches down to pick me up.


    That proves to be a mistake on his part, as the moment he bends down to pick me up whatever the hell is controlling me steals control of my left arm and attacks him. Before I could stop myself I grabbed him by the neck and pulled him down to the ground. He frantically tries to pry himself free from my crushing death grip on his neck while I desperately fight for control of my own arm. But whatever is controlling me has a lock on my arm and isn''t letting go. I start to panic before I realize that the rest of me is free now that is solely focused on my arm, so I immediately twist myself around into an awkward position to make gripping him hard. After a few seconds it works, and Charles is able to slip from my grip and stumble away.


    ¡°Wasn''t that great? The feeling of crushing another, knowing you''re better than them. Don¡¯t you want to feel it more?¡± The voice echoes in my mind again.


    ¡°Get out of my head!¡± I scream, causing Anna to jump a little while trying to help Charles.


    "''Cough'' damn it, Anna ''cough'' help me carry her, grab her by the arms so ''cough'' she can''t choke us." Charles manages to wheeze out.


    Anna hesitates for a second, but jumps on me when Charles does as well. Together with my help we manage to pin my controlled arm down and they pull me up as we start stumbling towards the bunker towards the bunker.


    "I''m so sorry Charles, I can''t control it!" I say.


    "It''s fine, let''s just get to the bunker and¡­. Oh shit." Charles cursed aloud as an very large shadow suddenly envelopes us from behind. I stupidly looked over my shoulder, and what I saw had my blood freeze instantly.


    Standing on a car behind us is a succubus. The tall, fully nude, sickly pale purple skin, perfect bodied form imitation of a woman with large batlike wings she uses to completely cover us from the sun, casting us into a dark and ominous shadow. She locks her eyes on me and gives a chilling smile.


    "There you are my little sweet. Oh you''re even better to look at in person. Come to me and I''ll make it all better." She says, her voice sounding like silk for the ears, her eyes full of earnest love for me. Why should I go to the bunker? All I have to do is go to her and everything will be alright. I try to turn around and run to her, but something holds me back. I look over and see Charles and Anne desperately trying to pull me away. Why would they want to do that, don''t they know it''s safe with her? She just wants to¡­.


    Before I can finish the thought a loud crack rings out, and something smashes into the succubus''s head with a resounding bang, creating a small explosion and shockwave in the process. We tumble to the ground, I immediately start to get up to run, only to notice that Anna is having difficulty standing. I reach over and grab her and drag her along as we try to make a run for it, not wanting to find out whether or not the demon survived the blast to the head.


    "Damn pests, I thought I had more time. Fine then, I¡¯ll make this quick then.¡± The succubus says with a hint of annoyance from behind us.


    I try to speed up but Anna struggles to keep up as I try to pull her along. Giving her a quick look over reveals a hole in her pants surrounded by light red that''s slowly expanding. Oh my god, she¡¯s bleeding, shit shit shit. I keep trying to drag Anna away but I don¡¯t even get two steps before Anna lets out a shriek, and I look up just in time to see a giant mass of pale purple filling my vision. I also scream, and pull Anna down to the ground with me expecting the worst to happen. But instead of being turned into a combined pathetic red splatter on the pavement we are instead slammed into mid fall, and I feel arms wrap around my waist and yank me away from Anna, who is desperately trying to hold onto me. It''s no use, as I¡¯m violently wretched away from her grasp and carried away. It¡¯s not until the ground starts to get farther away that I realize I¡¯m being carried up into the air instead of being killed.


    I frantically start to kick and squirm, reaching down and trying desperately to pry any of its fingers away, loosen its grip, anything to get away. I know enough about demons that I¡¯d rather take my chances with gravity than whatever this succubus has planned.


    ¡°Oh don¡¯t be like that, you¡¯ll be thankful afterwards. After all, when I¡¯m done with you, you¡¯ll be perfect.¡± The succubus says while looking at me with eyes full of a horrendous glee.


    I kick, punch, claw for her eyes, scream, nothing works. Then I realize how high we are, and suddenly the lack of oxygen hits me like a punch in the gut as my adrenalin finally starts to wear off. We have to be at least two miles up, maybe even higher. The Succubus just giggles in that evil voice of hers before asking.


    "Are you ready?"


    I barely comprehend what she has said due to my hypoxia induced delirium before I feel an ungodly, firey pain in my stomach. Instantly my eyes and hands dart down, to the tail she''s stabbed me with. I try desperately to yank it out as the darkness sets in, the thundering of my own heartbeat drowning out all other sounds. I don''t want to die, I want to go home, I want to see my friends again, I want to go to college, so many things, I don''t want to die.


    "Good night." is all the demon says before a bolt of purple travels up the tail and¡­¡­

 Chapter 3: Seven Sins

    <div>


    I wake up to the sound of birds chirping, a cool and pleasant breeze coming in through the window. The comforters are so cozy, I could just lay here forever. But something seems off, I can''t quite place my finger on it. Oh that''s right, I don''t leave the window open, it lets too many bugs in. I look up at the window and notice there is a screen over it. Ah perfect, dad finally got around to installing those screens he kept talking about, only took him a year and a half. So now I can lay here forever. But I still feel like I''m missing something, it''s important but I can''t quite place it. It''s on the tip of my tongue. Right, I gotta check on Anna! Last time I saw her she was bleeding from her leg. Uuuugh but I don''t wanna get up! It''s too cozy, I''m sure she''s fine. If something bad happened Charles would have called me. But I really should check, I''d be a bad friend if I didn''t. But the bed is cozy¡­. I should at least text her. I reach over to fumble my phone from my nightstand and the moment I lay my hand on it the world just vanishes.


    I''m left floating in a pure white space, nothing as far as the eye can see, seemingly endless but limited somehow. I blink, and suddenly the world is back. I''m standing in the dining area at home. There''s no one else around but me, but the clock reads seven, when we normally have dinner as a family. Strangely, I don''t remember coming down stairs. Now that I think about it, actually I don''t remember coming home at all. This is weird, especially since on the table in front of me is a buffay of all my favorite dishes, piled high and seemingly fresh out of the kitchen. Looking closely I find a note on a single dish and silverware set hidden among the heaps of dishes.


    "Lucy, had to take the twins and Tommy out to an appointment. Dinner is on the table, eat all you want, we will be getting our own while we are out. -Mom¡±


    Wow, they actually gave enough of a shit to not shove leftovers at me for once. And these dishes are all either my favorites or just really good food. I see bacon omelets, ham lasagna, pepperoni triple cheese pizza! And those are just the best stuff, there''s more here than I can fathom. No way in hell I¡¯ll be able to eat all this, but for some reason, I know I can. And I want to, it''s all so good. But maybe I shouldn''t, just because you can doesn''t mean you should and all that jazz. Maybe I should share it. Anna was pretty bad off last I saw her, and hospital food is ass. Not only that I''ll definitely gain weight eating all this. As much as I''m tempted to just sit down and start stuffing my face and never stop, I think I''ll call Charles over so he can take some of this over to Anna, and keep some for himself. I reach into my pocket to pull out my phone, only for the world to once again vanish, leaving me floating in a white void.


    OK, there is definitely some fucky shit going on. Those scans, settings, whatever the hell they are, are messing with my head. But will there be another one? Will I be able to tell something is off? My question is answered almost immediately as I blink the space once again changes. It''s again a familiar place, not home, or school, or a friend''s house, but one I can''t ever forget nonetheless. This was the place I lost my virginity to that asshole Danny. A room in a quaint little hotel on the outskirts of town, the Bedhead Hotel. It''s the only time we ever had sex, he got into my pants and dumped the day after. This was almost a year ago to the day, and it still hurts to think about. If Anna, Charles, and James hadn''t been there for me, I might never have pulled out of that slump.


    "Damn Lucy, you lookin good tonight." A familiar voice calls out from behind me. Standing next to the door was Danny himself, wearing nothing but shorts, showing off his well built body from years of sports. At the same time, a feeling of heat and sexual desire spreads through me, and my eyes drop down to his pants. He certainly wasn''t that big when he fucked me. His thing barely made it out of his underwear while erect, this illusion is packing much more heat. While I am tempted to see just what it can do with something that big, I''m more pissed off at the fact it fucking looks like Danny. I storm up to mock Danny, who seems to have zero care about the stormy attitude on my face and the thunder in my step.


    "So, want to play like that eh? I dig it." It says while trying to give a sexy eyebrow wiggle. In response I simply knee it in the crotch, causing the illusion of the asshole to shatter into pieces followed shortly after by the environment itself. This time the space between what ever those are is different. It''s black all around, with a hint of malice seemingly imbued into the void itself. The little hair I do have on my body immediately stands on end as I feel what can only be described as a presence of wrongness behind me.


    "Gah, pain in the ass little bitch!" A voice not unlike my own, but more demonic sounding, hisses before suddenly the black is replaced by white and all the feelings of wrong and malevolence disappear into thin air. What the fuck was that? Why did I sound like a demon!? Wait, that wasn''t even me talking! This is so fucked, I need to get out of here!


    As if one cue the world shifted again, the white void vanishing in the blink of an eye only to be replaced with the scene of the family room at home. The large flat-screen TV mounted on the mantle blaring some crappy soap opera, wires running down to the cabinet below it containing the gaming console and DVD player with few disks nearby. I''m standing behind the couch, while mom and dad are sitting on it, having a conversation.


    "Sara and Jenny managed to get all B''s this semester, I''m so proud of them." My mom says.


    "Those are our girls, so hard working. What do you think we should do to celebrate?" My dad asks.


    "Well they like the crescent moon arcade right? Maybe we should throw a party there for them." Mom says.


    Of course they want to throw the twins a party for all B''s on a report card! Meanwhile I get told to try harder if I don''t get all A''s. Unfair is an understatement, I have to work my ass off for even the smallest amount of recognition, meanwhile the twins just get it for existing it seems. No matter how hard I try I''m always second place, third if you count each twin separately and fourth if you add Tommy to the equation. It''s such bullshit! Even now they can''t even bother to notice my presence behind them, I''m just a ghost that lives in the ¡­.. wait a second I am a ghost, well maybe it''s more accurate to say I''m the only real thing here.


    Whatever is manipulating these illusions is definitely also messing with my mental state. I''ve accepted a long time ago that I won''t get much attention and acknowledgement from my parents, so why would I get so worked up from a conversation like that. The answer is I normally won''t, not unless something was pushing me to. The other situations were similar in a way. They were all trying to drive me towards something, but each one was different. They weren''t trying to drive me towards the same thing either, just towards something. So what does it all mean?


    While my parents keep talking, seeming to loop between praising my sister''s average achievements and trying to find an overboard reward for them, I keep up my thinking. So the first one was me really not wanting to get out of bed, the second was too much food for my own good, the third was Danny and my first time, and this is my mom and dad praising the twins. But none of those are connected, at least I can''t see the connections. Maybe I need to think about this in a different way, the third one was clearly trying to get me to fuck Danny, so what were the rest of them trying to make me do? First was trying to keep me in bed, second was trying to make me eat the food. This one with my parents, what does it want? Me to get angry at them, at my sisters? I don''t care about what my sisters get from my parents, but this illusion made me care for a bit until I broke out of it. I''ve learned to stop being jealous of them a long time ago¡­. What if that''s it, or close to it?


    Just like that, the prices snapped into place in my thoughts, my own voice but demonic, the attempts to get me to do things. Demons are often coincided with sins, while it''s not exact it''s usually pretty close. I''m dealing with a demon, and these illusions are an attempt to get me to sin. First was sloth, second was gluttony, third was lust, this is envy, that leaves wrath, pride, and greed. But one thing still doesn''t make sense, why did the lust illusion shatter instead of changing to the white space like the others? The others I rejected the chance to sin, but with lust I did so violently. But I highly doubt smashing plates would have had the same result. Maybe because I rejected the illusion in its entirety? I decided to call Charles and check on Anna but otherwise not get up on the first one. The second one I opted to eat the food as well, just sharing it. The third one I straight up attacked Danny instead of fucking him. I wonder, if I help my parents instead of arguing with them or walking away, what will happen? Time to find out.


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "Hey." I say somewhat loudly to interrupt their conversation. Which works as the both spin around to look at me somewhat startled.


    "Sorry to interrupt, but I remember Sara and Jenny raving about a Rally Riot band concert that''s happening next week. Tickets might be hard to get this late but I think it''d be a good time for them if you can nab some." I quickly say before either of them can start talking again. Both my mom and dad''s shock disappears as they smile. But as my mom opens her mouth to respond to me everything freezes in place and cracks start to form all around me, before the illusion is shattered. The black space with radiant malice is revealed once more, but this time it''s noticeably weaker than before.


    "God damn it stop doing that!" The demonic imitation of my voice screeches from behind me before the black void is replaced by the white one. I don''t know exactly what is going on, but I don''t plan on letting a demon get its way. That usually is never a good thing.


    Suddenly the environment changes again, this time turning into a version of my room from ten years ago, and my height has noticeably decreased. Standing in front of me are the twins, holding the remains of my favorite stuffed doll I''d had since birth. I remember this day, I had told them time and time again not to touch that doll. It was very important to me and its age meant it was already getting ready to fall apart. So when I found the doll in three pieces with the twins desperately trying to make it look like it was fine on the shelf I absolutely lost it. Apparently I shrieked so loud they heard it down the street, courtesy of the opening window. I then proceeded to beat both of my sisters mercilessly while screaming at them until my mom managed to rush up stairs and pull me off. Not my proudest moment, and not a fond memory either. My parents decided that part of my punishment would be no attempts at salvaging the doll, so it was thrown away like trash. I think that was the day I stopped believing they loved me.


    "''sniffle'' We''re sorry Lucy, we didn''t mean to break her!" Jenny says while poffering the remains of the doll to me, tears streaming down her face.


    "We just wanted to play with her, because she was so pretty. ''sniffle''" Sara adds.


    It takes every bit of my self control not to sock them in their faces right then as the feelings of rage instantly flare up and try to boil over. It wants me to hurt them, to be angry but I shouldn''t. Especially since I''m not seven anymore. I carefully breath in, then out, trying to calm myself as the twins keep crying. Finally I manage to get myself cooled off enough to talk to them, the edges of my vision no longer red with fury.


    "I thought I told you not to touch it. This is why."


    "We''re sorry!" They exclaim in unison.


    "I''m sure you are. When someone tells you not to do something, it''s for a reason. Come on, let''s see if mom can fix it." I say while giving them a smile and ushering the twins towards the door. The moment we reach the threshold hold they freeze and cracks start to form all around. Suddenly the illusion is shattered, and the black void and its malevolence return, again weaker than last time.


    "Grrrrrrrrrrrah! Stop it! Stop fighting you pain in the ass little bitch!" The demonic mimic of my voice screeches from behind me. I turn around just in time to catch a glimpse of the demon, and what I see has my heart skip a beat. Just before I''m thrown back into the white space, I see what is clearly a seccubus version of me stamping her foot and looking extremely pissed off.


    In that moment it all clicks, and I''m finally able to remember what happened to me, and why I''m here. I got stabbed, I''m probably dying, if not already dead. I remember Charles talking about succubus before, how they look, how they act, and how they reproduce. The reproduction isn''t actually through birth, instead they charge a special corruption spell and stab a victim with their tail. The victim then slowly transforms into a succubus over anywhere from several hours to several days. The signature sign of their spell is purple lighting crackling along the tail. I''ve never seen it before, but that description sounds a lot like what hit me before I passed out.


    Fuck, I don''t want to be a demon! But that''s what this is isn''t it? Me fighting the demon, so what happens if I win? Will I just go back to normal? Will I still remain in control with only my body being changed? It probably doesn''t matter, I''ve never heard of anyone surviving being turned into a demon. Meaning either they just get shot anyways, governments cover it up and hide it, or it just doesn''t happen. I don''t like any of those prospects.


    Suddenly the environment changes once more, this time suddenly shifting again to resemble the family room once more. Except instead of being occupied it''s empty, and on the coffee table is Sara and Jenny¡¯s opened piggy banks, with all their contents haphazardly strewn across the table. The urge to take some and stuff it into my pockets rears itself, but I quash it just as quickly as it appeared. The demon is losing power, or I''m getting more resistant to its tricks as time goes on. Either way this one is a no brainer. It was at that thought that a one year Tommy walks into the room. I use the term walk loosely, as he is basically stumbling forward perpetually. His eyes lock onto the shiny coins on the table and he makes a beeline for them.


    I run over and intercept the piggy bank robber wannabe while yelling out to twins. "Sara, Jenny, come clean up your piggy banks!"


    It only takes a few seconds for a reply to come from upstairs. "We''re busy! We''ll do it later!" I just roll my eyes, the demon is pretty good at imitating other people''s personalities, I''ll give it that.


    "If you don''t come clean up, Tommy is going to grab at anything shiny he can get his hands on!" It took them a second to process what I said, but then they came blasting down the stairs full speed and burst into the room. At that moment cracks formed around them and then the illusion shattered.


    The black reined all around, its malevolence radiating from seemingly every point in space at once, but it was weak. It was so weak it doesn''t even concern me any more.


    "Why!? Why do you keep resisting!?" Demonic me hiss from behind. I turn around to find her floating in space just like me. Except she''s naked, and clearly has no qualms about flaunting her assets as she stares down at me from above, arms crossed under her breasts as if to emphasize them. I don''t know why she''s bothering, I''m not gay, nor am I dumb enough to fuck a demon.


    "Because this is my body. Get the fuck out!" I snap back at her.


    "Idiot! This is soul space, not a body! And it''s mine! I''m the better you anyway." She hisses while gesturing to herself. I just give her another look up and down and roll my eyes.


    "I don''t think not being able to keep your tits in your shirt qualifies as better. Also put some pants on, this isn''t a nudist exhibition." I quip back. The demon just stares at me in shock for a moment before snapping out of it and stopping her foot. A wave radiates out from her, changing the environment to show an older me on a stage receiving an award of some kind.


    "Why am I even having this conversation with you? Don''t answer that, it''s rhetorical. Look, we can do this the hard way where one of us walks away bloodied and scarred for life, or we can both get what we want." She says with a disarming, charming smile while the scene ripples and changes once again. This time it shows me, but clearly much more powerful, fighting a battle side by side with some of the biggest name defenders on earth, including Grey Spade and Blade Flower . Except I am clearly the leader, and most powerful among them, as I blast away powerful demons by the dozens with a simple twitch of my fingers.


    "You get to have any and everything you''ve ever dreamed of, power, recognition, talent, wealth. All will be within your grasp, in exchange, you will be my vessel, and simply need to give me a few souls every so often to keep the power flowing."


    I stare at the demon, surprised it''s not trying any more tricks and outright trying to kill me. Then again, maybe it can''t? No, I can''t make that assumption, not enough evidence and running on that theory is a good way to die. Her power is waning, that''s the only reason I''m provoking her, but that still doesn''t mean she can''t kill me, it might just be more convenient for her to win by way of those weird sin illusions, or a deal.


    "I got a better one for you, why don''t you just kill me? It''s gotta be easier right? Just run me through with a pitchfork and call me done. Unless you actually can''t, so now you''re scrambling like a human politician to cover your ass and make a deal to get out of it." I say, making sure to put emphasis on the word human while striking at her. As I suspected, she instantly takes the bait and gets enraged, launching into an angry rant.


    "Human! You dare compare me to your lowly Pathetic kind! If your essence wasn''t such a tasty treat we would have quashed your kind long ago! And me, I could devour you in an instant! But corrupting your sorry excuse for a being and merging somehow provides much better results! I loathe the thought of being one with you, but I will not be¡­.."


    She cuts off her own rant as she realizes she fucked up. What was a mix of anger and disgust before turns into unadulterated furry and she screeches so loud I cover my ears. Suddenly the sound of glass breaking rings out, and I watch the dark space around us shatter to reveal pure white.

 Chapter 4: Confronting One’s Demons

    Unfortunately, the demonic version of me didn''t vanish when the darkness was cast away. Instead, she somehow seems even more pissed off.


    "Damn it! Damn it, damnit, damn it! You little bitch, you ruined everything! I could have been so powerful! But you just had to break five of the seals! Fine, I''ll kill you off and control your sorry excuse for a corpse!¡± My demonic counterpart screams.


    Then she extends out her right hand, then fire seeps out of her arm and runs down it, coalescing in her hand. Suddenly the fire jumps into the air and starts to mold itself into a long rod, when it reaches four feet in length one end splits into four prongs with very sharp points at the ends while the other end curls around into some kind of sharpened hook. Then the whole thing solidified into solid black metal with an eerie sheen. The demon grabs the pitchfork out of the air and lets out another ear piercing screech that forces me to cover my ears.


    ¡°Die you insolent bitch!¡± She screams while diving towards me at very high speed. I barely have enough time to register what''s going on and dive out of the way. Unfortunately, the pitchfork nicks my leg as the demon slams into the metaphorical ground where I was, leaving a nasty gash while sending me flying. I cover my head and brace for the impact of hitting the ground, but it never arrives. I open my eyes to find that I am still flying through the white space, seemingly unaffected by gravity or even air resistance. The fear and panic I had moments ago spikes when I manage to get a glimpse of the demon while tumbling. She¡¯s following behind, and from the looks of it slowly getting closer. I flail my arms around trying to stop my tumbling, and somehow manage to right myself so I¡¯m facing the demon after a few seconds. She¡¯s not flapping her wings, instead using the weird flight magic succubus have. That, combined with the fact she seems zeroed in on me paints the freaky picture of an evil dart trying to catch me and steal my soul. Which is not helping my panic level.


    I try to calm myself down, she is catching up to me but I have at least twenty seconds before she gets into stabbing range with that pitchfork. I need to think and act carefully, maybe I can stall her out. Eventually she¡¯ll get bored and leave, right? Who am I kidding? From the crap she¡¯s said it sounds like she¡¯s trying to possess me, like hell she will just give up and leave. But how the hell do I fight a demon!? She mentioned seals before, maybe corresponding to the seven sins? She said I broke five and in five of the scenarios I caused the shattering thing so that must be it. But what about the first two? Sloth and gluttony, I didn''t shatter those, but I''m fairly certain I didn''t give in either. Do I need to beat them? Can I even give them another try? Probably not, and I don''t think the demon can do anything either, I''m pretty sure I¡¯ve broken her power over this place. Wait, if she can''t control it anymore, can I?


    I need to do something fast, as she¡¯s getting closer every second. Her bloody thirsty, furry filled eyes becoming clearer and clearer with each passing moment. Well I might as well try it, not like I have any weapons to fight her with anyway. I quickly go through a couple of things, imagining a wall popping up between us, wanting to be in a different environment like home, and lastly, throwing my hands out and screaming ¡°hokus pokus!¡± The last attempt left the demon none to amused.


    ¡°Are you mocking me!? I¡¯ll tear you to pieces, I will¡­.¡± I ignored the rest of the demons ranting in favor of thinking of more ways to save myself. Maybe I could grab the pitchfork when she thrusts it? That sounds like a good way to get skewered. Try to dodge it at the last second? Maybe, but that won''t fix the still in range to get stabbed problem. I could try dodging and kicking off her to change my trajectory, but that would only buy me a little time. Damn it, why did it have to be me!? Why am I getting turned into a fucking demon!?


    I didn''t think fast enough, and now the demoness is basically right on top of me. ¡°Good bye little spec, no one will miss your passing.¡± She says as she pulls back her weapon for a stab. All I can do is watch, petrified by my fear, as she lines up to run me through. Then I hear something, though it may be more accurate to say that I felt it. Everything seems to slow to an almost complete standstill as I get this feeling at the back of my¡­ I can¡¯t even describe where it''s coming from, but I know what it wants. It¡¯s calling to me, asking me to reach out, to use it. So I do, I don''t know how I do it, I just do. I reach out and pull on it, call back to it, asking it to¡­.. do something. In response it fills me, I feel it in that moment, understand it as it fills me completely in all aspects, mind, body, and soul. Magic, another key aspect of the universe. So poorly understood by man, as we operate in the first through third dimensions, but magic is the fifth. Strange and fickle, it only wishes to be used in the ways it permits. Attempting otherwise usually has disastrous results, and retribution against the offender.


    I¡¯m bound by those rules the same as anyone else, but so is the demon. And the magic is telling me, I can use it here. And once I smash the final two seals, the demon won''t be able to. In the back of my mind, I hear the words that clear away my panic and bring clarity to my mind.


    System Initializing¡­¡­


    Welcome to magic, new user, please remove corruption and demonic presence to complete initialization.


    - Soul war detected, demonic seals have applied limits to user


    - Slay the demon or pass all the tests to avoid becoming corrupted


    - Alternative: Destroy all seals to conquer the demon


    - Seal of Sloth test has been passed


    - Seal of Gluttony test has been passed


    - Seal of Lust has been destroyed


    - Some limits have been lifted


    - Seal of Envy has been destroyed


    - Some limits have been lifted


    - Seal of Wrath has been destroyed


    - Some limits have been lifted


    - Seal of Greed has been destroyed


    - Some limits have been lifted


    - Enough limits have been lifted to restore the following effects: Magic access


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    - Seal of Pride has been destroyed


    - The invading demon has had limits applied


    Despite time seeming to still be slowed, I bring my hand up at normal speed. I grab the pitchfork mid thrust by the shaft and simply yank it out of her hands. It burns like hell to hold, and immediately I feel agony run through my hands and up my arms. It¡¯s not actually burning my hands, from what I can tell, but it feels a hell of alot like it. I push through the pain and continue noticing the demon doesn''t even seem to register what is happening. That is until I spin the fork around and jam it into her gut with all my might. At that point her expression slowly starts to switch from one of glee to one of anger and agony. I don¡¯t give her any time to recuperate as I pull myself in closer to her using the pitchfork then plant my foot to her chest and give her a good kick to create distance. It''s a good thing I did, as moments later the demon seems to speed back up to normal time, except now with a pitchfork jammed into her stomach. She doesn''t even hesitate to reach down and yank it out, the barbed ends pulling fresh flesh with them on their exit, and she screams all the while.


    I watch in fascinated horror as the wound on her stomach quivers, and then rapidly closes, becoming perfectly smooth once more without even a hint of a scar. The demon looks from her stomach to me once more, her eyes holding intense hatred and fury, somehow she is even more angry than before. She doesn''t say anything, just conjures up fire and uses it to burn the flesh from the tips of the fork. All of the sudden she jabs the fork in my direction in a rapid thrust, all the fire leaps off the end and flies at me like a ball of fire. I don¡¯t want around for the fireball to reach me, instead conjuring a foothold in the whitespace and kicking off of it to dodge. My plan works, and I sail off to the side, out of the way of the fireball, only willing myself to stop against another fake wall once I¡¯m well clear. The demoness sneers at me and spreads her wings like she wants to try and intimidate me.


    ¡°You think you can get out of this alive, even weakened I¡¯m more powerful than you! I¡¯ll kill you well before you can break the remaining two seals, so just lay down and die already!¡± She screams at me. I just realized that in all this chaos I forgot about the remaining two seals, I was too focused on trying to kill the demon. Well, time to see if I can revisit those seals. I will myself to go back to the first test, the test of the sloth seal. Suddenly the white void around me warps, somehow the white slowly changes shape until it starts to change color, and with a sudden jerk it all solidifies into an environment resembling my room. Suddenly the lethargy hits me like a freight train on crack and I stumble forward, catching myself on my bed. My oh so soft and comfortable bed¡­. Why do I hear sizzling? At that moment a pitchfork pierced its way through the wall over my bed, raining embers and moldering debris down onto it. A moment later it was ripped out to reveal a fairly decent sized hole, through which the demonic version of me stared through.


    ¡°Did you think that little trick would work to get rid of me?¡± She hissed. Right guess the environment change didn¡¯t get rid of my angry demon counterpart. I snatch my phone off the bedside table and bolt out of the bedroom, slamming the door closed behind me. It didn''t do much, as a moment later she came crashing through. She continues on after plowing through the door, smashing through the banister of the stairs and getting herself partially stuck in the wall above the stairs. I take the opportunity to dive under her, tumbling my way down the stairs and slamming into the front door. I reach up and grab the handle, using it to pull myself up while at the same time throwing open the door and scrambling outside. I pull the phone up while running off the porch but to my surprise the world freezes and then shatters, reverting back into the white space.


    - Seal of Sloth has been destroyed


    - The invading demon has had limits applied


    I hear a thud behind me, and turn around to find the demon on the floor in a position that implies she landed face first after falling. I stifle a laugh as she slams her hand out and propers her face up, looking at me as pissed off as ever. ¡°Damn you!¡± She screams while leaning on her pitchfork and slowly climbing to her feet. She takes hold the pitchfork with both her hands and makes the same movements she did before to throw the fireball, but this time nothing happens, all she does is thrust into the air. ¡°No! No, no, no, no, no, no! Not like this, I can''t die like this! I had so much I could have done, so much I could have been! And you just had to take it all away from me! If I go down I¡¯m taking you with me!¡± She screams.


    I ignore her, instead opting to move onto the seal of gluttony. She has no magic and no power over this place anymore. As long as I keep my distance I should be able to destroy the last seal. Instantly the surroundings warp again, and when it finally stabilizes I¡¯m once again standing in the dining room with a single plate on the table that is surrounded by a mountain of food. The effects of the test start to set in, I feel saliva pooling in my mouth and a pit in my stomach demanding to be filled. I don''t feel the effects for long though. I¡¯m alerted to the demon''s presence once more by rapid and heavy stomping on the wooden floor behind me, almost as if she¡¯s charging at me. I throw myself to the floor just in time to avoid the pitchfork of my demon counterpart, who tried to run me through by leaping at me. She flies over my head, sailing straight into the buffet on the table, resulting in the catastrophic, and very noisy, destruction of basically everything as she slid across and fell off the other side.


    I¡¯m not demon expert, but for being a supposedly superior version of me she seems to be fucking incompetent, maybe its the narcissism. It could also be the fact I shattered some of the seals to begin with, enough to hamper her. She probably didn''t know how to deal with that happening. I stand up to finish the test, but everything suddenly shatters. No warning in the form of cracking this time, just the sound of shattering glass and the white void suddenly returning. The only things remaining are me and my demonic counterpart.


    - Seal of Sloth has been destroyed


    - The invading demon has had limits applied


    - All seals have been destroyed


    - You will receive additional rewards upon full system initialization.


    "No please, no, I don''t want to die!" My demonic counterpart says in a pleading voice. She stands up and tries to stumble towards me but quickly falls back to the ground, seeming to writhe in agony. I see why a moment later, as she starts to simply melt away into a red goop that quickly evaporates. I stay well away, watching from a distance as the process begins slowly and barely noticeable, but quickly picking up speed. It took a grand total of maybe ten seconds, and then there was nothing left, no trace to even insinuate she may have been here at some point, not even the pitch fork.


    - Soul War ended, corruption purged, the demon has been conquered.


    - Returning to physical consciousness.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    - Error, fatal damage to physical body detected.


    ¡­..


    ¡­..


    ¡­..


    - Applying additional rewards .


    - Merging essence.


    The moment that last little tidbit whispered in the back of my head a red mist starts to seep out of the white space and swirl around me. I start to panic, as it is giving off a demonic feel. I try to look for an opening but any time I see one the most quickly fills it, almost as if it knew my intentions. The mist keeps growing in intensity until all I can see around me is a wall of solid red. Then all at once it rushes at me. All I can do is cover my head and scream. Upon reaching me it begins to seep into every part of my body. Going through my skin, feeling like lava penetrating every layer to reach the bones. It goes in through my eyes, mouth, ears, nose, literally everywhere. Why is this happening, I thought I won!? As I fall to the ground writhing in agony, another whisper somehow sounds out as clear as can be in the back of my head.


    - Error, previous race no longer available.


    - Generating new race.


    ¡­..


    That was the last thing I heard before I was put to sleep by the magic.

 Chapter 5: Changes and Tutorials pt1

    I slowly awoke to the ungodly beeping of my alarm. I reached over to the side table and tried to find the phone with my hand and swipe to silence without looking over. I failed spectacularly, managing only to knock the phone off the nightstand onto the floor, which somehow makes it sound even louder. I don''t even try to roll over and pick it up, instead opting to send my tail down to grab it. After a bit of fumbling I finally get the phone in my grasp and pull it up so I can silence the godforsaken alarm.


    As I pull it up to my face though I have a startling realization, I don''t have a tail! I freeze, looking at the appendage that is wrapped around my phone, holding it suspended above my face. The tail is the same color as my skin and looks hairless. I reach up and touch it to find it feels like really smooth skin. In a daze I trace my hand down it until I find where it connects to the rest of my body just above my ass. I roll over to try and stand up, but something on my back gets caught in the comforter and tugged on. I stop once again, taking a moment to feel out the sensation. I begin to freak out once I realize it''s not something on my back, it''s something attached to my back.


    I throw off the comforter, jump up, and run over to my dresser with a mirror. What I see there causes me no small amount of panic and anxiety. I was mostly normal, mostly human, mostly being the keyword. Except for now I had a few additional features, four to be exact. First was the tail, which I''ve already investigated. The only notable addition to my information is that the thing looks to be four feet in length. Second, was a set of horns above my ears. I don''t know if horns is the right word. They are weird looking, being very thin and flat, about half way up it splits into two which end in separate points. It falls just short of the top of my head, and when I reach my hand up and touch one it feels cold and almost metallic.


    The third is my eyes, they are definitely no longer human eyes. Now being a light orange color that almost seems to glow. The fourth, and most noticeable, is the giant set of fucking wings on my back. The things are big even while retracted, reach from just above my shoulders to just below my hips in height, and just short of being as wide as my torso while retracted. Turning around to get a better look, they seem to have a similar color to my skin, only slightly paler, and are connected to my back in-between the lower part of my shoulder blades. As I turn back around the edge of the right wing brushes up against the dresser. That''s when reality hits me, when I realize I can feel them, and this isn''t some weird illusion.


    I scream, I scream loud and long. After I''m done screaming at the mirror I jump into bed and scream into the pillow. This isn''t happening! I won, right? I remember winning! So why am I a demon!? Wait, I remember something about essence merger and race. Did the fucking magic turn me into a demon as my additional reward!? That''s such bullshit! I just sit there screaming and crying into my pillow for the next thirty minutes. By the time I pull myself together enough to lift my head again, my pillow was soaked through and covered in snot. I reached over to the tissue box on my bedside table and just pulled it over to my bed, then I spent the next ten minutes blowing my nose. And crying some more, contemplating what I was going to do now.


    I''m a fucking demon now, I may have beaten the demon in that soul war bullshit but I still lost out on the end. What kind of shity reward turns someone into a demon. I''m gonna have to live like some weird hobo in the woods now. I''ll get shot if anyone sees me, oh god, I''ll be hunted to the ends of the earth if they find out! What if they decide to capture me instead? I¡¯ll be dragged to some lab in the bowels of the earth in the middle of nowhere and dissected, or worse! Fuck, what do I fucking do!?


    - System initialization complete, would you like to start the tutorial?


    - Yes


    - No


    ¡°Holy shit, fucking ducker!¡± I scream while jumping back, falling off my bed and tumbling onto the floor. All the while the popup, for lack of a better term, remains square in the middle of my vision. I shake my head trying to get the intrusive box in my vision to disappear, but it sticks around like a clingy friend at a party. ¡°Magic bullshit! Why did I turn into a demon?!¡± I scream aloud.


    ¡­..


    ¡­..


    ¡°Answer me!¡±


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    I just pull my knees up to my chest and curl up against the wall and resume crying. But even when I close my eyes the popup remains in my vision.


    I don''t know how long I cry for, but it''s a good while. The popup hanging in my vision the entire time, demanding my attention. Eventually, I manage to stop crying again. I walk over to the dresser and inspect myself again. I almost start crying again, but barely manage to keep it together, god I look like shit right now. And that''s not taking the wings, horns, and tail into account. Funny enough my tail is still holding my phone, which stopped beeping long ago. I yank my phone out of the grasp of my tail and unlock it. No new notifications, it''s eleven A.M, and I only have sixteen percent battery power left. I walk over to my night stand and plug my phone in, it takes a little effort because this stupid popup is still in the center of my vision. I''m tempted to click no, but I know better than to do something stupid just because I''m upset, learned that lesson the hard way.


    I sit down on my bed and look out the window, the city seems fairly calm right now. I can see a few helicopters flying around in the distance but otherwise it''s fairly dull. No massive explosions, no distant screaming, no city wide alarms. Granted I''m in the suburbs and my window is closed, but I''d like to think I could hear that shit from here. Scratch that I know I could hear it, I''ve had my window closed during the yearly tests before. Still, there will be active patrols and cleanup squads, and if one of them finds me, I shiver at the thought.


    I instead turn my attention back to the popup, no sense putting this off more. I use a tissue to blow my nose again and clean up my face before continuing. OK, so how do I go about hitting yes on this? Is it a verbal thing, or like a touch screen or?


    - Yes detected, beginning tutorial.


    - Welcome, new user to the magic interface system, or M.I.S for short.


    - Starting part one: Input and Output


    - The system has several modes of input, all of which may be used simultaneously.


    - The first method of input is touch, you may interact with the displayed interfaces similar to a touch screen. (Warning, as your interface is normally only visible to you, you may look like a weirdo if you use this method regularly.)


    - The second method of input is voice, you may say phrases such as "Show Stats" to open the stats screen or "Add point to ''attribute name''" to add points to a selected attribute. (Warning, as your interface is normally only visible to you, you may sound like a dumbass if you use this method regularly.)


    - The third method of input is mental commands, these are similar to touch and voice commands, except you think about the action you wish to take. For example, you may think, add point to ''attribute name'', to add a point to a selected attribute or, show stats, to open the stats screen. (This is the recommended mode of input.)


    - The key factor in using an input method is intent, if you make the motions to perform an action but do not intend to actually perform it, nothing will happen.


    - The system has two primary means of output.


    - The first method of output are visual boxes such as the tutorial prompt you accepted to start. This kind of output is mainly used for some user-requested actions as well as important information, such as the spell, skill, and stats screens. This form of output is only used for the most critical alerts due to its disruptive nature.


    - The second method of output is direct transmission of information into your mind. This is the most common method of output due to its flexible nature and non intrusiveness. Some users may receive this output as light whispering in the back of their mind, others as a stream of text they can visually imagine, results can vary by user.


    - Missed outputs or notifications may be viewed again by requesting to review output history using an input method.


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    - End part one


    - Starting part two: Interface walk through


    I was blinking rapidly while trying to take in all the knowledge. The weird part was I could both hear the notifications as a whisper and see them as text if I wanted to, freaky only puts it mildly. Before I can do anything else though, a new window opens in my vision, blocking most of my sight except for the very edges.


    - The currently displayed window is your stats screen. The arrow indicates the top row of information. The boxes on this row are in order, name, race, class, and power level


    - Name: The name by which you regard yourself.


    - Race: The species to which you biologically belong.


    - Class: The direction of specialization you take in terms of magical advancement.


    - Power level: This is a standardized measure across all users of the system, it is a rough representation of how much essence you possess.


    - The arrow now indicates your mana maximum to the right of the slash, and your current mana to the left of the slash. You are also able to feel your approximate mana level, but that is a separate technique not covered in this tutorial. Max mana is determined by a mix of attunement and power level.


    - The arrow now indicates your available ability points. Points are a reflection of available magical energy used to focus on improving various aspects of yourself. 5 points are granted every one hundred power levels. (If a creature starts over power level 100 it will not receive points retroactively as the magical energy has already been used naturally for other improvements)


    - The arrow now indicates your stats, or attributes block. The rows under the Stats indicator are your attributes. In order from top left to bottom right are, strength, agility, dexterity, endurance, intelligence, and attunement.


    - Strength: The measure of how much weight a creature can lift or how much force can be put into a punch.


    - Agility: The measure of how flexible a creature is, how well it maintains balance and how fast it can move.


    - Dexterity: The measure of how fine a control a creature can exercise over its own movements and how well it notices changes or other creatures in the environment.


    - Endurance: The measure of how healthy a creature is and how long it can perform extreme exertion before tiring.


    - Intelligence: The measure of how quickly a creature thinks and how well its memory operates.


    - Attunement: The measure of how well a creature synchronizes with mana, how much mana it can contain safely, and how efficiently it utilizes mana on spells and skills.


    - The stats window is the keystone of your interaction with M.I.S.


    - To open and close the stats window, use an input command of some form with the intention of opening or closing the window.


    - Example: Think or say "open stats" or "stats window" or "open stats window" to open the window. Substitute the word close for open to close the window.


    - Please demonstrate proficiency by closing the current stats window.


    I sit watching silently as the arrow jumps around while the stream of information gets dumped into my head as fast as I can process it. When it finally stops I blink and rub my eyes, not that it does anything to the giant ass box covering my vision. Staring at this screen isn''t a strain on my eyes because it''s not actually there physically but it is tiring me mentally. And the system just dumped so much on me there, like a toddler that never ceases to bable until they ask you a question. So many questions too. How much do the stats affect me? How much of an effect does one point have? And how does one increase power level? Among other questions. Maybe that will get answered later in the tutorial. I take a few more breaths and give myself another moment to rest before unleashing the next part of the tutorial upon myself. I think the words "close stats".


    Instantly the window disappears and my sight returns to me. My room is still only lit by the light coming through the window, the comforter on the floor where I knocked it loose in my haste to see the wings on my back.


    - Stats window closed. Congratulations user, you have taken the first steps in proficiency with M.I.S.


    - Only one window may be open at a time, closure of the active window will close the interface and restore sight.


    - Windows can be freely swapped between with open commands or by using window swap commands such as "go to stats" or "swap to stats".


    - Note: leaving or swapping away from a window will cause all unconfirmed changes to be lost.


    Before I could do anything else a new window opened itself and again my vision was obscured.


    - The currently displayed window is your skills window.


    - Skills are a form of magic that do not require mana upkeep to perform.


    - Some skills fall into one of three categories, toggleable, passive, conditional.


    - Toggleable: Skills that can be activated and deactivated by the user at will.


    - Passive: Skills that are always active and cannot be disabled by the user. (Note: Passive skills may still be suppressed by other skills or outside effects.)


    - Conditional: Skills that require certain conditions to be fulfilled before they will activate.


    - As the user has no conditional or toggleable skills the parts of the tutorial will be skipped and repeated later when skills matching the criteria are acquired.


    - Please demonstrate proficiency by swapping windows to the stats window.


    Woah, hold up, what''s this nonsense about generating essence. The system said earlier that power level is a rough measure of essence, am I basically just passively generating levels? Well it can''t be that powerful, it says humans do it too, and most defenders say that killing demons is the best way to increase one''s level. Supposedly defenders only get one power level every week or so. So I suspect humans have a similar skill, a skill I should have. Bah, reward my fucking ass, stupid magic!


    God I hate it, there''s gotta be a way to turn back into a human. Magic is some freaky shit to put it lightly. Those stories of witches turning people into frogs, defenders have actually done shit like that before. Reminds me of the really funny story of that dude who tried to grope the defender and movie star Bedazzler. He burst out of the crowd while she was walking down the red carpet at some movie awards thing, and went to try and grab her ass. Being a defender her reflexes were quick and she cast a polymorph spell to turn him into a duck while saying, "If you want to act foul then you can be fowl." What made it even funnier was the dudes panicked quaking and honking as a security dog piled on him. God that shit was funny, thinking about it brings a small smile to my face, something I really need right now.


    But enough of that, what is this essence sensing thing? Is it like life sense? It says the essence levels of living beings, so I guess it sort of works like life sense if they have essence. And I should be able to tell how powerful they are if essence is related to power level. Unfortunately I don''t know shit about magic, the system, or demons, aside from they exists, magic cool, defenders have system, and demons bad. We were supposed to cover some more basics on all this in the coming weeks at school in our civics and humanities class. So much for that, like hell I''ll be going to school anymore. I let out a huge sigh then flop backwards onto my bed. My wings surprisingly press neatly and comfortably against my back, causing me no discomfort as I lay on my bed. Well at least these things aren''t a total pain in the ass. Alright time to move on, go to stats.


    - Congratulations user, your proficiency with the M.I.S grows!


    - The third and final window for this part of the tutorial is the spells and magic window.


    - This window can be opened with standard open or swap commands.


    - Closing the current window.


    -Please demonstrate proficiency by opening the spells and magic window.


    Suddenly my sight is restored and I sigh, at least it''s being thorough. I''ve played games with shitty tutorials and that isn''t fun. I don''t want to imagine how much of a shitshow it would be if the tutorial for real life magic was bad and people were running around like headless chickens mis casting spells and other stupid shit. Alright, open magic and spells. Wait, that was wrong. Before I can correct myself the window opens anyway.


    - Congratulations user, your basic proficiency with M.I.S is almost complete.


    - The currently displayed window is the Spells and Magic window.


    - Spells are a specialized form of magic meant to perform certain tasks, actions, or objectives quickly, effectively, and efficiently, but are heavily limited in their flexibility.


    - A common example would be the fireball spell, capable of doing damage quickly and effectively, with a small chance to start a fire. However, it is a poor light source and not consistent enough to be used as a normal fire starter.


    - Magic is the generalized usage of mana for spells of a given type. It is flexible but lacks the efficiency, speed, and perfection that spells in the same category offer.


    - An example would be fire Magic, in contrast to the previous example of the fireball, can be used to start fires, create light and perform offensive actions. However, it is less efficient, quick, and precise than spells that could accomplish those tasks.


    - It is recommended to use spells for repetitive tasks the user will do very frequently and keep magic for other situations that do not arise as frequently.


    - End part two

 Chapter 6: Changes and Tutorial pt2

    <div>


    - Starting part three: Magic and Spell training


    - Using magic is a simple task even for the newly initiated.


    - Magic is a part of every living being and using it is similar in some respects to breathing.


    - To use a spell, one must reach inside of themselves and feel the flow of magical energy, also known as mana.


    - To simplify the process, the system will send a small pulse along the flow for the user to feel. Be sure to grasp its location and memorize it.


    - 3


    - 2


    - 1


    - Pulsing


    And just like that I feel the same feeling as when I first encountered the magic. In the back of somewhere it hums with movement for a moment then goes quiet once again. But looking closer I can tell it hasn''t stopped, it''s still moving just ever so slowly.


    - Pulse complete


    - The feeling the user felt was the flow of mana.


    - In order to cast spells and use magic one must pull on this flow while wishing to perform an action or cast a spell.


    - Saying the name of a spell out loud can help novice casters focus on properly caring, but is not required unless stated in the spell description.


    - Spells and Magic may also have verbal, movement, or component based requirements for casting.


    - Additional requirements will be listed in the spell''s description.


    - The spells and magic window does not need to be open in order to cast.


    - Please demonstrate proficiency by casting a spell or magic from your available set.


    - Please choose carefully as some spells and magic may have undesirable side effects.


    Finally the stream of information stops drilling into my mind long enough for me to actually focus on reading the new window in front of me. Oh how wonderful, now I can blow out peoples ear drums, maybe I''ll use it on the twins. And flight magic, well that somehow seems fitting. Now I can fly in other ways, which might be useful actually. And when I read the final spell''s description, I can''t help but laugh. So it will steal away my humanity, but give me the opportunity to keep playing at being human, like some sort of twisted joke. Oh fucking laugh it up magic, ha ha ha!


    I give myself light slaps on the cheeks to refocus before I can devolve back into crying and hysterics again. I should be thinking of this as a good thing, now I can at least go back to a somewhat normal life. The thought of not having run for the rest of my life brought a lot of relief to my anxiety and fear. But I can''t get ahead of myself, first I need to make this work. So I guess I''ll try Mimicry. So all I need to do is pull on the flow while wanting something to happen right? Easy.


    So that''s what I do. I close my eyes and reach out and pull on the flow of magic while visualizing myself as I should be. It takes a second, but suddenly the magic starts increasing in flow rate with every passing moment. I feel parts of me start to shift, for lack of a better term, and I open my eyes to watch as the horns slowly shrink in size before shrinking away entirely. My vision goes blurry for a second before returning to normal and revealing my normal brown eyes. I release the flow in surprise, caught off guard by how effective it is. Instantly the flow starts to thin, and I feel the changes start to revert. In a bit of a panic I grab the flow and start pulling again, and to my relief the spell picks back up right where it left off.


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    My wings start to shrink and press into my back. Meanwhile I can feel the tail slowly starting to curl in on itself and roll back up towards my lower back. The feeling of the tail and wings is something I don''t like, and the weird sensations they give off while slowly merging with the rest of my body makes me shiver a bit. But just like that it''s done, and I look as normal as I did yesterday when I woke up. Well, normal if you take away the dried snot and messy makeup. Feeling the flow I sense that the draw has gone down to a steady but small stream to sustain the spell. It seems that it had a large initial investment but a much lower sustain cost. I wonder if all spells are like that? Thankfully I don''t need to keep concentrating to keep the spell up, it seems to automatically maintain itself after it''s up and running.


    I give myself an experimental poke above the ears, not believing it was that simple to just look normal again. But there is nothing there, all I feel is normal skin and my skull underneath. This is all too surreal, like I''m on some sort of bad gag TV show. I feel around behind me and sure enough the tail and wings are also gone. And I can''t feel any of my new extremities to boot. I let out a small laugh at the absurdity of it and walk back over to my bed to lay down. I sit there for a moment just breathing, no thoughts, no movements, just empty minded existence. Until I remember the system, and how it hasn''t said I was done yet and resumed its info dumb. Don''t tell me I need to turn the spell off to finish the stupid proficiency task thing.


    I take a deep breath and hold it for a moment, then exhale. I''m not normally a super anxious person, I''ve learned to live with curveballs in life. This though, this might be too much for me. I let out a sigh and accept the inevitable. I reach in and grab the branch of mana feeding the spell and try to push it back. I feel it respond and start to slowly lessen, decreasing its draw as I feel my body starting to change back to what it was. It feels like an exact reversal of the first process, just a lot quicker and freaky feeling. I shiver a bit as the wings pop free and twitch a little bit, the sensation of them returning as they grow back to full size. I feel the horns pop out above my ears and the tail rapidly extend outward before coming to rest in the air behind me.


    I feel my anxiety mounting and my heart rate increasing as I stare at myself in the mirror once more. This has to be a dream or something right? I''ll wake up soon and it will all be gone.


    - Congratulations user, you have taken the first steps on the road to mastering magic.


    - Spells and magics may have differing mana costs and cost types.


    - Some spells may only require a static amount of mana to cast, these spells usually have an output that cannot be varied or changed


    - Some spells may have a range of mana input, with output or effect changing based on input.


    - Some spells may have a percentage of max mana input where up to x percent of the user''s maximum mana may be used. These spells are extremely powerful as their capability scales directly with the user.


    - End part three


    - Starting part four: Final notes and closing


    - Congratulations user for finishing the introductory tutorial of M.I.S.


    - Further tutorials may become available as you discover more magic.


    - These tutorials will be optional and may be started at any time after they are unlocked.


    - You have taken your first steps on the road to magic.


    - May you one day achieve mastery, but remember, one must learn to crawl before they walk, and walk before they run.


    - Your class selection will be unlocked at power level five hundred.


    - Available classes for selection may be affected by known spells, combat style, life style, previous life experiences, and personal wishes of the user, so tread the path you wish to take later in life.


    - The Store will become available at power level five hundred.


    - The store will allow you to purchase new spells and magics for use, more information will be given upon unlocking the store.


    - Power level may be gained naturally over time by creatures that produce essence or by absorbing the essence of defeated creatures.


    - Attribute point allocation now unlocked.


    - This concludes the introductory tutorial for M.I.S.


    - End part four


    - Tutorial completed


    I blink the phantoms out of my eyes as the final messages fade away from the back of my mind. That was a lot to take in, but at least it was a good distraction. Magic, I have fucking magic! This shit is so cool, and also the garbage that turned me into¡­. This. I don''t know whether I should jump for joy or cry in the corner some more. One the one hand, I''m a fucking demon now! On the other, magic can fix that¡­. Probably. Well, OK, I sure as hell don''t know if it''s one hundred percent possible to turn back into a human,  but I''m betting it is. Polymorph spells exist and I''ve heard that high powered spells in that category can have permanent effects, not that I''ve seen any myself. But I know someone who would know for certain, or at least know where to start. But can I really trust him enough to not turn me in? Well I, maybe the better question is would he trust me enough not to turn me in? Well, only one way to find out, time to call Charles.

 Chapter 7: Calling Friends

    <div>


    As I reach over to my bed for my phone I realize two very important details I''ve missed. One, everyone is still in the bunkers, otherwise my family would be home and outed me already. Two, I don''t have an explanation as to how I escaped a very powerful demon and managed to end up at home instead of a bunker. Also phone signals may be iffy in the bunkers. I know normally they work due to stuff they set up in the bunkers but during a reality breach everything gets scrambled so communications are down except for some specialized hard lines. Granted, I''m pretty sure the breach event is over now, judging by the lack of explosions in the distance.


    So even if I can call Charles, I have no explanation why I''m here and he should come to me. I sure as hell am not going near those bunkers, those things are loaded with sensors, detectors, and god knows how much other stuff to spot and kill any demons trying to enter. And I do not want to find out if they work on me. So I have to convince Charles to come here. I think he''d come if I ask, but the problem would be getting him to believe I''m still human¡­.. on the inside. I remember Charles talking about how people who get turned into demons aren''t exactly people any more, the person they once were is just gone. So when I tell Charles, ''oh hey, by the way I turned into a demon and that''s why I need your help'', I imagine his response is going to be to throw whatever he has on hand at me while jumping out the nearest window, or door. And I wouldn''t blame him because if one of my friends told me they turned into a demon I''d do the exact same thing.


    I start pacing my room as I think, the damn tail flicking around behind me in a manner similar to a playful cat''s. So, what''s my story going to be? I need to keep it simple and sweet. I don''t want to attract too much attention but it has to be believable. So where do I start, right I got grabbed. So I''ll say I managed to break free of its grip¡­ no that won''t work, not believable. Regular people don''t just wiggle free from the grip of a demon, and even if they did I got taking away by a flying demon. Death by falling is just as high a likelihood as the demon itself at that point. Oh I know, I''ll say it was flying low over a roof and something smacked it, so it dropped me and got distracted! After that I climbed down and snuck around for a little while before finding my way home. Then I just decided to lay low instead of risking going for a bunker, and that I fell asleep really late so woke up late. Perfect cover story, well OK, not perfect but good enough. If anyone asks for details I''ll just say I was too stressed out or panicked to remember.


    Wait, how did I get home anyway? Wait, now that I think about it I don''t remember anything between getting stabbed and waking up here. Did I go home on auto pilot or something? What if someone saw me!? No that didn''t happen, if it did I¡¯d be neck deep in soldiers and defenders looking to take my head. So whatever happened last night, no one recognised me, or got pictures, so I¡¯m fine.


    I take a deep breath and hold it for a moment before exhaling. Problem two is solved, but what do I do about people still being in the bunkers? Well, there is nothing I can really do about it. All I can do is call Charles and ask he comes as soon as possible and that it''s a personal emergency.


    Sudden dread hits me as a tangential thought I really didn''t want to consider before now worms its way into my head. I''ve been assuming Charles made it to the bunker, what if he didnt? What if the demons got him and Anna too? But there weren''t any other demons around¡­ who am I kidding, where there is one demon there are always more. I was getting abducted and wouldn''t have noticed anyway. Anna was also injured, and Charles wouldn''t have just left her there alone. He probably tried to save her and¡­.


    A sudden buzzing interrupts my depressing thought spiral. I look down at my phone and it buzzes again, this time also starting with the opening of my favorite song and ringtone, Still Alive by Vedre. Well, cell phones work. But who the hell is calling me? I tepidly pick up the phone and the screen lights up showing the caller ID. It''s Charles, Charles is calling me. I stare at the device dumbfounded for a couple of moments while it keeps ringing. I snap out of it just before the final ring, and out of panic and reflex I swipe the answer button before it can finish its final ring. I hear faint voices as I bring my phone up to my ear.


    "-oing to pick up."


    "I know, I just want to hope."


    "Yea, I do too but¡­ you know¡­. Holy shit!"


    This was stupid, why did I fucking pick up, I could have called Charles when I was ready! What do I say, what do I do!? I should hang up.


    "Lucy! Lucy, is that you!?" Charles'' voice blasts through the phone, sounding a mixture of excited and relieved. I actually have to reach up and thumb down on the volume control a notch.


    I can''t just hang up, I need to at least tell you friends I''m alive and unharmed¡­ technically. So I take a deep, shaky breath and respond.


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    "Yea Charles I''m uh, I''m here." I say back.


    "Oh my god, are you OK? We saw you get carried away by that demon"


    "Yea I''m fine, I managed to wiggle free and fall onto a roof when a defender showed up." I say repeating my rapidly fabricated story.


    "Holy crap! We¡­ we thought you were gone, Lucy." Charles says in a somber tone.


    "Still alive and feeling it." I say, referencing one of the most standout lines from Still Alive.


    "Ahahah, of course you would reference that song. Where are you? Are you hurt or anything?"


    "Uhhh, I''m at home right now¡­" I say meekly, only for Charles to cut me off.


    "What!? Why haven''t you gotten to a bunker?"


    "I kinda didn''t want to risk it. After I got dropped I wandered around trying to avoid demons and ended up close to my house. Soon I just hid under the bed."


    "Wow, Lucy you have gotta be kidding me! You got so lucky, what if a demon found you!?"


    "Yea I know, and nothing else showed up so it''s fine. Enough about me, how are you holding up?" I ask, trying to change the subject before he can try to pick apart my story.


    "I''m good¡­. Me and Anna made it to the central bunker. She''s actually here staring daggers at me because I won''t give her the phone. She uh¡­. Do you want to tell her or???" Charles'' voice trails off as he pulls the phone away to talk to someone else. I hear a hit of muffled conversation that I can''t make out before Charles gets back on the line and delivers some devastating news.


    "So Anna''s fine¡­. Mostly. She¡­ got hit in her right leg by shrapnel from a railgun shot. They had to amputate below the knee.¡±


    My heart dropped into my stomach as Charles tells me what happened to Anna. The demon was after me, she lost part of her leg because of me.


    "She''s going to be OK, but she will need crutches or a prosthetic. She''s in good spirits though and Oh ow ow ow ow! Stop that! You were told to stay in bed! ¡­.. you can have it after you get back into bed! ¡­.. don''t make me call the nurses!" Charles gets interrupted mid sentence, then presumably argues with Anna for a moment before returning to the line.


    "Sorry about that, Anna got out of bed and started hitting me with her crutches. Apparently ten seconds to explain is to long. That''s what I get for not using speaker phone. Anyway, here''s Anna before she starts clubbing me again." Charles says, followed by the sounds of the phone being handed off before¡­


    "Lucy! Oh my god Lucy are you ok!? You, the demon, you were gone! I watched it ''sniffle''." Anna practically yells into the phone sounding upset and worried before starting to cry into the phone.


    I start to cry a little myself, poor Anna has had this happen because of me and I feel horrible about it.


    "Anna I''m OK, it''s OK. I''m so sorry Anna, the demon was after me and your leg, I''m so sorry."


    "Lucy, it''s not your fault. The demon caused it, I''ll be fine. How did you get away anyway?" Anna asks, making me pause for a moment.


    "Uhhh, ask Charles about it later. I don''t really want to talk about it too much." I reply. And I really don''t, this is too much for me. I''m probably going to have to cry into my pillow again later.


    "That''s OK, I wouldn''t want to remember it too much either. Well if you want to talk about it I''m here. It''s good to hear you again Lucy, I thought you were gone."


    "Yea, I did too for a bit. I''m glad you and Charles made it to the bunker, I was worried you guys wouldn''t because of¡­" I say trailing off, afraid to directly mention Anna''s leg.


    "My leg, yea I could barely move. Thankfully Charles is as much of a strong man as he is a gentleman. He picked me up and carried me inside." Anna finishes my sentence before revealing Charles''s feat. Damn, way to go Charles.


    "Speaking of Charles, could you put him back on the line? I need to ask him a favor. Got a bit of a uh¡­. Personal emergency. Nothing bad, no demons or anything, but I need some help with this." Say to Anna, trying my best to sound calm.


    "Oh, uh yea one sec. Charles Lucy wants to talk to you again! Here you go." Anna says, followed by the sound of the phone getting handed off.


    "Hey Lucy, what''s up?" Charles asks.


    "Hey Charles, so I got a bit of a problem here I need help with. No demons or anything, but I kinda need to get this sorted before my parents get home. I can''t talk about it over the phone too much. I hate to ask but could you please come over to my place as soon as possible? I''m a bit out of my depth here."


    "Uhhh, I can but then no one would be with Anna and I don''t want to leave her alone."


    "Wait, no one else is there? Where''s her family?"


    "They were the southern bunker, same as mine. We video chatted with them a bit before I called you. They''re actually on their way here right now. Oh that reminds me, they opened the bunkers so people can leave but are letting anyone who wants to stay an extra day or two while they finish deep cleaning the city. Once Anna''s family gets here I can head over to your place but it''s going to be an hour or two because of the wait and walk. Have you talked with your family yet?"


    "No, not even a call or text. I''m not surprised honestly and don''t care. Knowing them they won''t be out until they get thrown out so no time crunch. But uhh, please hurry where you can, I do want to get this dealt with as soon as possible. Thank Charles, and tell Anna to get well soon for me."


    "Ouch, yea I''ll get there as soon as I can. I''ll tell Anna, see you later Lucy."


    "See ya later." I say, then swipe my thumb down and hit the end call button.


    I let out a massive sigh and fall onto my bed. All that''s left to do is not have an existential crisis and wait for Charles. Well, while I might as well explore the interface a bit more while I wait. I wonder how much mana the transformation used earlier.


    Over a thousand mana!

 Chapter 8: Expert Opinion

    I''ve been waiting for Charles for two and a half hours. Like I know he said he had to wait and that it was a bit of a walk but come on man. I don''t think he got suspicious or betrayed me or anything. I haven''t seen or heard any soldiers or defenders, nor have any bombs or missiles been dropped on my house. He probably got lost¡­.. yea, he would get lost in a neighborhood he knows. I also sent my family a text saying I was OK and waiting for them at home. The response, "OK sweety, leftovers are in the fridge." After that check my mana again only to find it had regenerated some. So I decided to do some testing with Mimicry, figuring my mana would atleast regenerate enough by the time Charles got here.


    I discovered some interesting things. The initial cost is very steep, but keeping the parts transformed is just a slow drain. The cost varies based on the part, just transforming my wings is cheaper than say, both the wings and the tail. It''s exactly as the description says, cost is dependent on how much of the body is being shifted. I can change my look to anything I want as long as it''s humanoid, I gave myself pointy ears so I looked like an Elf for a bit before shifting back. Cost isn''t affected by what I change it to either. It''s just the steep up front cost of changing it again. The exception being that shifting it back to normal costs nothing.


    It''s so surreal, being able to just change myself like that. There is no way I could use this for more than two to three hours tops with full mana. So I''ve thought up a few ideas on how I can lower the costs. First I can wrap my tail around my waist and wear a long shirt, as long as no one runs their hand across my midsection they won''t know. And if they do I''ll just yell pervert, because who would believe a pervert? Another is on sunny or cold days I can maybe wear a hat that could cover the horns. That''s a big maybe though, and I won''t be able to do that during summer. I might be able to get away with the eyes by saying I''m trying out contact lenses but I''d rather not risk it given how they almost seem to glow.


    So now I''m just fiddling with my phone waiting for Charles to arrive while my mana regenerates. The news is blowing up about the attack on our little city, and of course how Grey Spade was here to defend it. Headlines line "The Harrowing day of Feb 24th for Shimerview, VA" and "Grey Spade single handedly saves city and anti demon weapons factory!" Surprisingly there were only a few powerful demons, and even fewer lessers, despite the fact they blew through into our reality early. That would explain why the city is still intact. They say there is no ryme or reason to the placement of reality breaches, but sometimes I can''t help but wonder, especially when a demon fucking targets me in particular.


    Still, it''s over now. The army is searching the city and surrounding area for any stragglers, but most, if not all, the demons died in the initial attack. Still, according to Twitter feeds a lot of people have opted to stay in the bunkers for another day while the cleanup finishes. The city isn''t too trashed, but judging from some of the pictures online, some buildings are definitely getting condemned. The fighting seems to have been centered around the down and midtown areas, with uptown, the factory, and the suburbs being spared major damage.


    I''m honestly getting bored with the news. Once you read like three articles you basically know everything there is to know, the rest are just repeats. Same with social media, after the first few tweets and posts the rest are just parroting what others have said in an attempt to soak up likes and attention.


    I''m debating on whether or not to jump over to Vidshare to watch some funny videos from my favorite gamers when I hear the front door open and close. Oh for fucks sake don''t tell me it''s looters or something.


    "Lucy, you here?" Comes the familiar voice of Charles from downstairs.


    My heart jumps for a moment before I get a hold of myself and stick my head into the hallway to call him up. Normally he''d text that he''s here and wait, then again no one else is home.


    "Hey Charles. Upstairs in my room, come on up."


    "Damn, this place is a ghost town. There was literally no one but a few patrols on my way over."


    "Yea I know, but at least the city is mostly intact. Just come on in, I''m decent." I say as Charles approaches the door, finishing activating Mimicry and throwing on a shirt just in time for him to open the door. He steps inside and closes the door before I jump on him and give him a big hug, which he returns.


    "Thanks for coming, it''s good to see you''re OK. I''m¡­ I''m way out of my league here." I say.


    "Yea, it''s OK Lucy. Whatever it is, I''m sure we can get it handled. So what exactly is the problem?" Charles asks while pulling out of the hug and looking around.


    Oh shit how do I even begin to explain this!? Stupid, stupid, stupid me! I had all that time to think of how to explain this and I spent it browsing my phone! OK calm down, I''ll just¡­. Start from the beginning and tell him the whole thing I guess. Ease him into it.


    "Well, um. Just have a seat, it will be easier to start from the beginning and it''s a bit long. So just let me finish before you ask any questions. So to start, I didn''t exactly get dropped on a roof." I say while gesturing to my desk and chair.


    Charles sits down and I start from explaining what happened going forward from when I was kidnapped by the demon. I tell him how it took me up high and stabbed me, about the soul war dream thing and how fussy it is in my memory, and how little sense a lot of it made. He looked disturbed and wary when I said it had stabbed me with its tail, but his mood brightened slightly when I got to the part of how I apparently won the soul war.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "After that I woke up in my bed, but I had a few uhhhh, extra bits." I say timidly.


    Charles just sits there, staring blankly at me while I sit on the edge of my bed fidgeting. I¡¯m really hoping he doesn''t just jump up and spring out of the room. After what seems like an eternity he finally says something, though his expression is unchanged.


    ¡°So, you know you sound utterly insane right?¡± He asks me.


    ¡°Charles, I feel utterly insane! I want to just close my eyes and wake up and it will be friday again! But no matter how many times I try I just wake back up in this shithole reality!¡±


    ¡°Ok, fair enough. So, you said you woke up with¡­ extra bits?¡±


    ¡°Yea, so, I kinda have wings, a tail, and horns now, and I need your help in finding out if I can undo it or not.¡±


    ¡°Lucy, you don¡¯t look like you have wings, horns, or a tail.¡±


    ¡°Because I¡¯m hiding them using magic.¡±


    ¡°Wait, magic? Like the magic system defenders use?¡± Charles asks, his expression brightening up a little.


    ¡°Yea, that kind of magic. I had to do the tutorial earlier today which is why I didn''t call you immediately after waking up.¡± I reply, getting a little hopeful myself.


    ¡°Ok, so the good news is demons don''t use the system. It¡¯s a little tidbit that not many people know about but we have managed to interrogate a few sentient ones. They say, and supposedly our interrogation techniques confirm, that they don''t use the system, they just innately use magic. So since I know you don¡¯t know squat about demons for the most part this is easy. Lucy, what does the stats screen look like?¡± Charles asks, his expression hardening once more as he pulls out his phone and holds his finger over the power button. I know what he¡¯s doing, if I answer this wrong or try to kill him he¡¯ll triple press the button and activate the S.O.S feature. Both the cops and his family members will get a ping of his location and a five second audio clip of what''s going on. I have the same feature enabled on my phone in case I get robbed while out and about. It won''t save him if I''m actually a demon, but it will get a shit ton of cops, and by extension soldiers here to finish me off as a final act of vengeance. Honestly, the fact he hasn''t pressed it yet shows he has a lot of trust in me, or hope at least. I take a deep breath and pull open my stats window.


    ¡°It¡¯s um, a bunch of boxes inside boxes. The outermost one is dark blue, followed by a lighter blue one. Inside the lighter blue one are two more dark blue boxes, a small wide one at the top and a fairly big one on the bottom. Inside the top one are four gray boxes that contain, in order from left to right, my name, my race, my class, and my power level. In the bigger box on the bottom are nine gray boxes, with the top three being mana, the word stats, and my free ability points. The middle three are strength, agility, and dexterity, while the bottom three are endurance, intelligence, and attunement. Oh and the whole thing obstructs most of my vision when I open it. Now do you believe me?¡±


    ¡°That''s almost spot on actually, supposedly no two people¡¯s stats windows look exactly the same but they all contain the same information. And the window is said to block most of the vision. At least that''s what I¡¯ve read, since you know, I don''t have magic myself. You also didn''t notice me taking your phone did you?¡± He asks with a hint of mischief in his voice.


    I quickly close out the stats screen and look down to my right. Sure enough my phone isn''t where I left it, instead Charles was waving it around with a shit eating grin on his face. Charles seems to slow down to only half his actual speed as I lunge for him, he has barely started reacting as I get to him. I swipe my phone back and jump back to my bed, looking back to see Charles flailing and tipping backwards.


    ¡°Jesus Lucy! I was going to give it back, calm down!¡± Charles shouts at me as he attempts to right himself.


    ¡°Serves you right.¡± I sneer at him as he manages to finally throw his weight forward enough to slam the front legs of the chair back onto the floor.


    ¡°God damn you got fast. Ok, so you said you got um, extra parts? What does the system say your race is exactly?¡± Charles questions, getting up from the chair and leaning against the desk.


    ¡°It says I¡¯m a Nu, whatever the hell that is.¡± I reply.


    Charles pauses for a second, seemingly lost in thought before he pulls out his phone and starts messing with it. After a few moments of finger swiping and pressing, he starts typing, before finishing it off with another finger press.


    ¡°hmmm, nope, nothing in the demon wiki about Nu. So¡­ are you going to show me the¡­" He trails off while gesturing to me.


    I guess I do kinda need to show Charles to get his input. If anything he seems to at least believe I''m still me, so he can help me with hiding this crap.


    "Fine, just promise not to freak out okay." I reply while taking off my shirt. The bra thankfully clips together low enough to avoid the wings. The shirt however would die a horrible death by ripping if I tried to keep it on, at least I suspect it would. Thankfully the damned tail comes out high enough above my ass I can keep my pants on.


    "Promise¡­. Lucy, what are you doing?" Charles asks, averting his gaze like a proper gentleman.


    "What does it look like, taking my shirt off. I haven''t seen if it will survive my wings coming out and I don''t want to test it. Don''t worry, my bra and pants stay on."


    "Oh good¡­. So¡­. oh.¡± Charles starts to say something but stops as I finish taking off my shirt and release the mimicry spell. Still feels weird yet natural having access to magic. He stares at me with an expression of shock and awe as my wings, horns, and tail all come back. I fidget all the while from a mix of the uncomfortable attention and the fear that he¡¯ll freak out on me. After it''s done two things happen. First, he just continues to sit there staring at me slack jawed. Second, I feel a new sensation, where Charles is standing. I can feel his presence, not just see it, and to boot I know I can sense how powerful he is. Which is not very powerful at all. After an uncomfortably long time I start waving at him to get his attention. It seems to work as he snaps back into focus and looks me over.


    ¡°Earth to Charles. You good?¡± I sheepishly ask him.


    ¡°Uhhh yea, are you good, didn''t that hurt or something?¡± he replies, seeming a little out of it.


    ¡°No, just a little discomfort, but it passes once it finishes. Are you sure you''re good?¡± I ask him, slowly standing up and taking a step forward. He doesn''t immediately back away or react poorly which I take as a good sign.


    ¡°Yea uhhh, sorry, I guess the full realization of it just hit me. So, um¡­. Wow! You¡¯re a¡­. I honestly don''t know. Those wings are definitely similar to a succubus''s, same with the tail. The horns however I¡¯ve never seen anything like. Do they do anything?¡± He asks, his eyes lighting up in excitement.


    ¡°They¡¯re letting me sense you, for lack of a better word. I can feel where you are and how powerful you are. It''s kinda weird.¡±


    ¡°That''s freaking cool lucy, well, the fact you got turned into a demon or sorta half demon isn''t. But the magic, that''s so freaking cool!¡±


    ¡°Charles not helping! I don¡¯t want to be a demon, I want to be normal! How do I undo this!?¡± I yell at him.


    ¡°Um well, as far as I know¡­. You don''t.¡±

 Chapter 9: Interlude - The Night Before

    <div>


    <div>


    I stand at the edge of the skyscraper, looking down at the city below. If it could even be called a city, this is one of only five high rise structures in the area. It¡¯s basically a booming town around the weapons factory, yet it¡¯s still the target of this breach. So here I am, what was supposed to be a quick stop to support the workers of a rural weapons factory to improve my image has turned into a tactical defense nightmare. The southern bunker is old and neglected, so old and neglected that the damned main door wouldn''t even open to allow mass ingress. So it turned into a game of point defense against the few demons that did show up while the civilians entered using the auxiliary entrances, half of which had their mechanisms fail and needed to be manually opened. Bunkers are supposed to be maintained and updated for this very reason. To make it even worse, the people who did make it in were met with dilapidated facilities in states of such disrepair it''s a miracle the bunker didn¡¯t kill more than the demons. Still, we got everyone inside with minimal casualties. At least the northern bunker had no trouble aside from a succubus showing up and kidnapping someone, may god rest their soul. I already killed the demon, but found no victim in the immediate vicinity, probably took them up high and dropped them for fun, savage creatures they are.


    ¡°Control to Grey, come in.¡± My earpiece chirps. I reach up and hold the reply button.


    ¡°This is Grey, I read you.¡±


    ¡°Overhead reports unknown radar contact flying through the central area headed east. Can you move to intercept?"


    "Affirmative, moving to intercept."


    And with that I pulled out one of my five permanent cards, Hermes''s flight.


    Herme''s Flight: Gives the user the effects of natural Flight magic for thirty minutes. Effect cannot be ended by the user, the timer must hit zero or the effect must be dispelled. Costs two thousand mana to cast.


    The moment I activate it my feet leave the ground and I will myself to dart into the sky. Once I''m high enough I start scanning the city below me for any odd shapes flying though and contrasting against the remaining lights.


    Hermes''s flight is a very good card, only two thousand mana to activate and last for thirty minutes. In those thirty minutes I have what is effectively natural flight magic, of course it has its downsides. The big one being that I can''t deactivate it, the timer has to run out. It''s not a major issue most of the time, just a little annoying.


    Normally my random card magic lets me, for a small mana fee, pull a random magical card that has a variety of effects. The exception being the five slots I have, where I can permanently keep a card on hand and use it as many times as I want. Sometimes I''ll pull a card that does near nothing and is super expensive, other times it''s the opposite. The cards also have effects depending on what I want to do. Do I want to support a team mate? Cards start drawing with buff-like effects. Want to blast that demon? Start drawing attack spells and debuffs. It''s as much of a blessing as it is a curse, and I need to use it carefully. Because sometimes the cards come out to be kinda the opposite of what I want. I''m fairly sure Greton still has a bit of a grudge over that time I tried to heal him in training, and ended up pulling the spontaneous combustion card and lit him on fire.


    Therein lies the final weakness of my card plays. I can only discard six cards before I am forced to play one. And the number doesn''t reset when I play a card, so if I discard three then play a card, I can only discard three more, and the fourth is a guaranteed play. It''s bitten me in the ass a few times. Sure I occasionally get other spells and magic available though the store. But most of my options are focused on my card magic, whether minimizing risks, expanding available cards, increasing my permanent card count. The list goes on, but honestly it''s not bad magic. It has good and bad moments, and being able to jack of all trades in magic is a nice boon.


    Speaking of, I see a shadow cast out some lights for a moment, before it repeats again over a different set a few seconds later. Gotcha! I drop into a dive headed straight for my target, quickly the outline becomes clear enough to distinctly recognise. That''s a succubus, or at least very close to one. But that''s odd, control didn''t mention anything about another one running around, and the reality barrier has long since been restored. I wonder if it''s the victim who got kidnapped. Their transformation must have taken a while. Well, no saving them now, all I can do is give them the mercy of death. I mentally reach out and pull a card from the draw magic.


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    Heaven Sword: Conjure a blade of light to come down and smite your enemies from above. Costs five thousand mana. Does extra damage to demonic enemies. Blade bypasses physical obstacles but can be blocked by magic or dodged.


    Bingo. I play the card, and a heavenly looking golden sword manifests a hundred feet above the succubus and surges down towards it. It''s over, the demon is going to get run though, and being a newborn it won''t survive the hit. I watch as the sword rockets down, picking up speed until it strikes¡­. Except it doesn''t. At the last second it rolls over to the side, causing the sword to miss it by mere centimeters. As the sword flies by it illuminates the creature well enough for me to see it in detail. That''s not a normal succubus. Granted, succubus are known to alter their appearance, but generally it''s their natural form or a faux human form, this is neither.


    This creature looks like some unholy cross between the two. Fair skin covers its entire body instead of the sickly purple of a regular demon. Instead of the chitinous horns that curve high above its head, a set of small almost metallic ones poke out above its ears, yet don''t pass the top of its head. It''s dark orange, glowing eyes lock onto mine. As I stare back I realize two things. First, this isn''t a regular demon. No, this has to be an aberrant. And second, those eyes are empty, the conscious behind them still sleeping. It''s being controlled, which means a few things, but the key one being I can put an end to this now. God knows what kind of mayhem that thing will create if it breaks free.


    I immediately dive for the creature, closing distance while pulling another card from my deck. And smile at the result.


    Supine and Silence: Cast silence on a target, rendering them unable to cast spells temporarily. Targets remain silenced for up to one minute depending on power difference, or until they are attacked. Does not remove already active spells and magics. Costs three thousand mana.


    With this it will be basically rendered helpless until I land a hit, which I plan to be a killing blow. I play the card, but as it disappears into motes of light the creature opens its mouth. Before the silence takes effect it lets out one attack. The air in front of it trembles for a moment, before a shockwave blasts out straight towards me in a wide cone. Shit, a wide area attack. Realizing I''m not going to dodge it I pull out and quickly play another one of my permanent cards.


    Maria''s Shield: Conjures a shield around the target that absorbs a set amount of magical damage based on the user''s power level and attunement. The shield will also mitigate any effects that would have been applied by the blocked damage. Physical components and attacks will bypass the shield. Costs five thousand mana to cast.


    The shield pops into existence with a glass like tink sound just as the attack hits me. Unfortunately, the attack isn''t blocked. I''m hit by a wave of nausea and vertigo as the world starts to spin a little, forcing me to stop myself or risk massive disorientation. I can only watch in horror as instead of trying to engage me like most demons, even ones controlled by others would normally do, it instead turns back around and bolts full speed into the town below. If whatever is controlling it is smart enough to have it run it would have to be a lord or above. And that means whatever plan it has involves this demon and that it''s not good. Acting fast I draw another card, still unable to fly properly due to the negative effects.


    Joker: This card does nothing¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Son of a fucking bitch! I knew I should have kept a damn purity spell in my permanent card slots! I bolt after the demon, my nausea and vertigo finally clearing up after a few seconds. But those few seconds were all it needed to escape into the dark alleys and buildings of downtown. As I fly though where I last saw the demon, I find no traces of its passing. No sounds of something gliding, no broken objects in acts of wanton destruction, no just, nothing. I''ve lost it, and that''s bad.


    "This is Grey to Control. We have a problem, does anyone still have eyes on that contact?"


    "This is Control. That''s a negative, radar contact was lost a few moments ago. No strike groups are reporting sightings either, over."


    "Damn, I need additional units in my sector ASAP. Target is an aberrant, currently being controlled by lord class or above. Target has fled into the downtown area and eluded me."


    "Roger Grey, diverting axillary strike groups platoon five, aerial strike group seven, and defender squad Flight of the Valkyries to your sector."


    And as I start combing through the deserted downtown, I pray that we find it in time to prevent tragedy.

 Chapter 10: Better Than Bunker Food

    <div>


    <div>


    ¡°What do you mean I don¡¯t! There has to be some way to undo this!¡± I scream at Charles. He winces for a moment under my fury but quickly regains his composure.


    ¡°Well, there are no publicly recorded cases of people who have been turned into demons being turned back into humans. Now, that doesn''t mean it¡¯s not possible, just that we don''t know how. Maybe there is a magical means, actually there probably is a magical means, it¡¯s just a matter of finding it. The closest thing I can think of would be poly morph magic but most of that stuff only lasts temporarily.¡±


    I turn around, jump into my bed, and scream into my pillow. After a moment of letting off some stress I turn back to Charles.


    "Alright, I''m fine now."


    "You are not fine but that''s the least of your problems right now." Charles replies.


    "Fine whatever. So what now then?"


    "Ummmm, I don''t know. Live like normal?"


    "Charles, you are the biggest expert on demons and magic I know. And you''re telling me I''m stuck like this forever!?"


    "First off, I''m an expert on demons. I only know a bit about magic. Second, no I''m not. I''m saying I don''t know enough to say for sure if this is permanent. There is a good chance that something can be done, but I don''t know what. Magic is weird even by its own rules and we haven''t even begun to figure out what we can do with it. Honestly, your best bet is to work on your magic. Find a way to reverse it that way." He states.


    "Uggggh, how do I even start with that?"


    "No idea, but hey look at the bright side, at least you''re still you." Charles says.


    "Yea, now I get to be cognizant when they hunt me down and throw me on an operating table."


    "Ah, I wouldn''t worry about that too much. The regular sensors can only detect demon types we know the magic signatures of. And the super advanced ones have been known to go off on defenders sometimes so you can probably get away with saying it''s a false alarm. As long as you don''t go flaunting your new stuff around in public you will probably be fine."


    "Well, that actually makes me feel a bit better. I guess I can live with this.. thanks again Charles."


    "No problem Lucy, I got your back. So, should we tell Anna?"


    "Absolutely not, at least not right now. I love Anna but she''s got enough to deal with right now. That and Anna tends to be a blabbermouth, I don''t want to risk her accidentally letting something slip."


    "Fair enough. So do you want to get registration out of the way today? I know it''s a three day window, except for extenuating circumstances. But it might be better to just get it out of the way."


    "Registration? Oh right." I ask, a bit confused for a moment before I remember. When someone gets access to magic, they have three days to register it with the defenders of humanity international organization. Most local governments also have requirements I think. Here in America it''s also three days, and the offices help you do both at the same time so it''s quick and easy. Extenuating circumstances, such as being in a reality breach event, can extend that deadline. I don''t know if the new deadline is static or determined case by case but it would be better to just get it out of the way.


    "Yea, crap¡­ Are the offices even open?" I ask Charles.


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    "Uhh, I think it is. I saw the post office open on the way over so I think government offices are open."


    I let out a small laugh in response. Of course the post office is open. Damn world could end and their trucks would be out and about the next day putting letters into the shattered remains of mailboxes.


    "Alright, I guess I got nothing better to do. Wanna grab some food before we head out? Parents told me to have the leftovers in the fridge."


    "Sure! But can you put your shirt back on first?"


    "Actually I can''t, I need my mana to regenerate¡­. Unless." I run over to my closet and start throwing things around. I just remembered a particular article of clothing that would fit this perfectly. After a minute of digging while Charles impatiently tapped his foot, I found it.


    It''s one of those fancy weird tops that I button at the top and it splits going down my back. And the best part is I can throw this on from the front similar to an apron.


    "Alright, good to go."


    "Shorts and that top? You look like you couldn''t decide if you wanted to go to the gym or a nightclub." Charles says with a snicker.


    "Oh shut up and go close all the blinds down stairs!" I snap back at him.


    He slips out of my room and down the stairs while laughing to himself. After a minute he calls up. It''s all clear and I head down stairs. Upon entering the kitchen I find Charles is already looting the fridge, several containers and serving plates wrapped in plastic sitting on the counter.


    "God Charles, I leave you alone for two seconds and you basically steal the entire fridge''s worth of food."


    "Hey, I''m hungry. Have you ever had bunker food? I had it for dinner and breakfast, and let me tell you, I''d have rather taken my chances with the demons."


    "Pfff, it can''t be that bad."


    "I''ve tasted cardboard with more flavor and I''m pretty sure rocks would have had a better texture."


    "No way it was that bad. You''re just being a primadonna" I say as I pull the plastic off the meatloaf.


    "I''m pretty sure the food put as many people in the infirmary as the demons and resulting stampede did."


    "Wow, I knew they went with the lowest bidder on everything but I didn''t think they would go so low as to almost kill people with it."


    "Apparently the southern bunker had it worse. Anna''s family said half of that bunker''s facilities didn''t work. And the food, all of it either spoiled or so far past its expiration date it was rocks or dust."


    "God, sounds horrible."


    "Apparently a real shit show, still despite that a lot of people are choosing the stay put the extra day while they finish cleaning up the demons. Oooooh, mashed potatoes!" Charles says while shoveling copious amounts of the aforementioned food onto his plate.


    "Charles, you had two bad meals. You weren''t starved out for two weeks straight. Leave some for me."


    "But your mom''s cooking is good. My family always orders takeout. Have you ever had Chinese takeout for all meals for a week straight?"


    I ignore Charles''s question in favor of chowing down on some roast beef. Charles takes that as his queue to also start eating and for the rest of lunch he is too busy stuffing his face to bemoan his lack of available food variety. To be fair, Chinese takeout for a week straight would probably drive me insane. In the span of thirty minutes I''ve somehow eaten more than Charles. I end up going for fourths before I''m satisfied, clearing out most of the leftovers in the fridge. Damn, I was a lot hungrier than I though.


    "Man Lucy, you were complaining about me, but you cleared like five plates worth of food. Aren''t you worried about getting fat?"


    "Pfff, I guess growing these in took a lot more than I thought. Also, didn''t your mother teach you not to comment on a lady''s weight?" I ask while gesturing to my wings.


    "You''re a lady?" Charles responds with a raised eyebrow and a sarcastic tone.


    I just roll my eyes and put my dish in the sink.


    "Can you clean up? I''m going to go change and shift back."


    "Yea I got it."


    I thank Charles as I dart up stairs and into my room. I change into a pair of longer pants and put on my boots before shifting my wings away, wrapping my tail around my waist, then throwing a less revealing shirt on and a winter skull cap. I check myself in the mirror and find the horns don''t really cause a big enough lump in the cap to be noticed, so I can keep them untransformed while I have it on to save mana. Same goes for the tail, I just have to make sure I keep my shirt tucked in. I head back down stairs to find Charles has finished cleaning up and is waiting by the door with his coat in hand.


    "Ready?" He asks.


    "Yea, just hoping my mana holds out. It was mostly full so I think I''ll be fine."


    "Well, better to find out now than later. Even with the patrols you can probably hide for a bit to regenerate mana if you run out. City is basically still a ghost town."


    "Which makes me wonder if the registration office is even open."


    "Ehh, probably." He says as we finish putting our coats on and set off out the door.

 Chapter 11: Tempting Fate

    The salt on the road crunches beneath our feet as we cross the last intersection before city hall. Charles didn''t actually know where the office was, so I had to look it up on my phone. Since our city is so small, the magic registration and management office is crammed into city hall. So me and Charles had to make the two hour long walk there. We walked past several sets of weird black orbs on poles mounted to boxes our way here. I''m pretty sure those were mobile sensor stations. The fact I didn''t get blasted to pieces by trigger happy soldier means Charles was right, as long as I don''t flaunt it, no one will know. I still have just under half my mana too, so I can probably make it back home without needing a rest stop. Keeping my horns and tail hidden instead of removed was definitely a good call.


    "So, ready to become a superhero?" Charles asks as we near the street city hall is on.


    "It''s hardly being a ''superhero'' Charles. Hell, I probably won''t ever fight any demons. It''s just not what I want to do in life. Especially now, after¡­ you know"


    "Yea fair enough. Still, having access to magic opens up a lot of career paths. Like those magic smiths out of the University of California. Supposedly their stuff is getting close to our high end tech in terms of effectiveness."


    "Well that''s cool, don''t know if I wanna do smiting tho. I''ll probably stick to enchanting or magical botany. Though, it would depend on what classes I get ¡­¡­.. wow"


    Our conversation is cut short as we round the corner and city hall comes into view. The large and grandiose building inhabits the entirety of four blocks almost all on its own and it''s five stories tall. It also has two additional blocks across the street from it containing the parking garage for the massive building. However, the normally prestigious and welcoming exterior is overridden by the intimidating scene of the entire structure and the parking garage being taken over by countless soldiers and defenders.


    The main entrance has been converted to a heavy armored checkpoint. With barricades, energy shields, and all manner of guns being angled at every visible square inch of the surrounding streets. Large amounts of soldiers and defenders constantly ingress and egress from the building, some even flying in and out via the roof, giving the impression of an angry ant hill. From the parking garage a few humvees and an apc pull out and head in the opposite direction, going further into town. I turn to Charles.


    "Hey Charles, I don''t think they''re open¡­."


    "Really Lucy, what gave you that impression?" He asks sarcastically.


    "I don''t know, I think it might be the giant fuck off amount of guns out front." I reply while rolling my eyes.


    "Nah, those are meant for demons. They would never¡­¡­.. sorry."


    Charles cuts himself off and apologizes to me as I just look at him like he''s stupid. I really hope he''s just being an over sarcastic ass and didn''t actually forget that quickly.


    "Come on, let''s head back I guess." I say as I turn around and motion for us to leave.


    Of course, the moment I turn my back I sense someone much bigger than us to my life senses drop in behind us from above. The crunch of snow, salt, and the metallic clank of their boots echoing out loudly as they hit the ground. Me and Charles quickly spin back around. Only to come face to face with a man clad fully in high tech metal armor, adorned with a bunch of symbols and ribbons, one of which indicates he''s a registered defender. I swallow and start to panic a little as he looks towards me, then flicks his gaze over to Charles.


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    "What are you kids doing out here?" His voice filters through the speakers built into his helmet.


    He moves his gaze back over to me and I shrink down a little and step back.


    "Uh, sorry sir. We were looking for the magic registration office but seeing it''s closed we''ll just be heading home and try again later." Charles manages to stammer out, drawing the man''s attention back to him. I don''t think he''s onto me, but damn this is stressful anyways.


    The man just stares at Charles for a moment, as if scrutinizing him, before asking for clarification.


    "Despite the fact that the crisis has ended, government facilities are still shut down. Which one of you needs to register?" He asks while flicking his gaze to me.


    ¡°Uh, um, I do, sir.¡± I manage to stammer out, heart still thundering in my chest.


    ¡°Hmm. Wait one moment.¡± He says before pushing a button on the wrist panel on his armor.


    The following wait is agonizing as the defender constantly fritters his gaze back and forth over us, occasionally moving his head as if acknowledging something someone is telling him. Finally he taps the button on the wrist panel again and speakers in his helmet click back on.


    ¡°My congratulations and condolences to you. As the number of people who have acquired magic during the last attack is high the registration office has opted for a mass registration event. It will be held at the Shimerview highschool gymnasium this coming monday at one pm. In the meantime, do not use your magic. Without proper training you are more likely than not to break something or hurt someone. Good luck, now both of you return home and stay out of trouble.¡± And with that he jumps into the air and flies off, not creating even the tiniest of wind as he jets away with his magic


    I let out a breath I didn''t realize I was holding as he disappeared over the rooftops of the buildings.


    ¡°Huh, not how I expected that to end but that works.¡± Charles says.


    ¡°How did you expect it to end?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Uhh, getting sent straight home.¡± Charles says.


    Yea, totally what he was thinking. Still now that my panic has passed a bit I¡¯m at least happy the registration thing got sorted out, sort of. The one problem¡­..


    ¡°Ugggghhhh, school is all the way across the city! No way in hell am I walking four to five hours to get there!¡± I bemoan out loud.


    ¡°Yea, if they are stealing the gymnasium for the day do you think school will be canceled?¡± Charles asks.


    ¡°I don''t know actually. If it''s not I won''t have to worry about transportation unless it goes so long I miss the bus. I suspect we will get Monday off, maybe even tuesday. People need time to recuperate.¡± I say as we turn around and start heading back the way we came.


    ¡°Yea that''s a good point, I wouldn''t be surprised if we get the whole week off actually. Speaking of which, wanna go visit Anna? We¡¯re actually fairly close to the central bunker.¡± Charles says while pointing off in the direction I assume the bunker is in.


    ¡°Charles, we¡¯ve walked past god knows how many sensor stations and stared a defender in the eye. I¡¯ve tempted fate enough today. I¡¯m not walking into the equivalent of a murder hornet¡¯s nest and kicking the damn thing.¡±


    ¡°Didn''t we already do that by walking up to city hall already?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but we didn''t know it had been turned into a metaphorical murder hornets nest. To me atleast. Still I¡¯d rather not risk it. Tell Anna I¡¯ll video chat with her tonight if the connection holds up.¡± I say while turning to walk away.


    ¡°Awww come on Lucy, it will be fine! Think of how happy Anna will be if you visit her.¡±


    I stop and think for a moment. It would be nice to see Anna, and I¡¯m sure she could use the visit. Eh, fuck it. I stared a defender in the eye, well visor, today. If I was going to die it would have happened already. Speaking of, what''s my mana at?


    Mana: 1209/2871


    Wow, that''s convenient. Note to self, check system


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go. But we gotta be quick. My mana is holding but we shouldn¡¯t drag our feet.¡±


    Charles'' face lit up as he grabbed me and started dragging me towards the bunker. I hope I dont regret this.

 Chapter 12: Sunday Chat

    So as it turns out, by the time me and Charles got to the central bunker Anna and her family had gone home. Something about not being able to stand the bunker food. Big derp on Charles¡¯s part but hey, it''s the thought that counts. So we decided to head our separate ways and go home. On my way home I started to see more activity as people started leaving the bunkers and heading home. Maybe the food is that bad after all, it almost makes me happy I missed it.


    By the time I got home the sun was setting so I just decided to go to bed early after an absolutely crazy day. There is just one problem, a full two hours later and I¡¯m still in my bed just tossing and turning. Not even a hint of drowsiness no matter how hard I try to settle down. Finally I just say fuck it and instead opt to play video games until I get sleepy. I decided to try to beat the Civilization twelve Gandhi easter egg. It¡¯s apparently a throwback to a glitch in an earlier game where Gandhi''s AI broke and he went bonkers and started nuking everyone and invading, despite the fact he is supposed to be a pacifist. I¡¯d love to be a fly on the wall of the guys room who first discovered that when he did. You think all is going great and suddenly WHAM, you get nuked by Gandhi. The easter egg in this game is insanely hard though. To activate it you need to nuke his capital while offering him a peace treaty on the same turn. You get an achievement for beating him and it isn''t easy even if you do your setup right. All his possible city tiles get full health and instantly turn into nuclear silos, his ai difficulty gets maxed, his production values all max out even without production facilities, and his resources reserves are instantly filled to full. Even if he''s surrounded almost on the brink of death he''ll rise up and kick your ass. Needless to say I got my ass kicked¡­. Twice.


    Next thing I know it''s seven in the morning, the sun is peeking through the blinds, and I¡¯m still not even the least bit sleepy. At Least I figured out how to sit in the chair so my wings didn''t hurt. I decide to get up and take a shower. My family isn''t home yet so I''m able to move around without transforming, and even more importantly, I don''t need to share the hot water. It was at this point I discovered that hot water running down my wings somehow feels even better than hot water running down my back. It''s literally hot water down the back but better, I don''t know how else to describe it. Drying off was a pain in the ass though. I couldn''t reach to towel off my own wings, so I ended up having to let them drip dry.


    After that it was down stairs for some breakfast, I just ate frosted corn flakes instead of trying to make anything. Then it was back up stairs for more video games. This time I decided to play Deep Rock Galactic two, because I really wanted to stomp something. And so my bug stomping spree continues until about one in the afternoon. I''m playing my games and minding my own business when I hear a loud thump from down stairs. I take off my headphones and hear the discordant sounds of my family finally returning home from the bunkers.


    God damn it, now I gotta keep my stuff transformed, at least when I''m out of my room. Well the good news is I don''t leave my room that much so not that big a loss. I head out to the hallway, poke my head over the railing and yell out to welcome them back. My father says hi back, my mouthing says something about hoping I had fun, the twins ignore me, and Tommy is too busy whining for ''real food'' to notice.


    Something tells me bunker food is going to be a running joke for a while. I head back into my room and close the door. When I get back to my computer I see a message from Anna on discord. ¡®YOU GOOD TO VOICE CHAT?¡¯ followed shortly by. ¡®Sorry caps lock.¡¯ I reply back yes and immediately get rung to join a voice chat between Anna, Charles, and James.


    "Well damn it''s Lucky Lucy! How ya doin?" James voice blades over the call.


    "Shit, I couldn''t sleep at all last night."


    "Yea, same here. I had nightmares all night." Anna says.


    "Fucking demons, damned things need to just leave us alone!" James says with considerable anger.


    "Yea, unfortunately they don''t seem get the collective fuck off message humanity is sending." Charles interjects.


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    "So anyway, did you really get kidnapped lucy!?" James asks.


    "Yea, I don''t wanna talk about it though. That reminds me, if anyone asks, just tell them I stayed home and hid under my bed the entire time."


    "But why, you could go talk on the news or something!" James says.


    "Because not all of us are trying to dive head first into the public spotlight James." Charles replys, sounding annoyed.


    "But think of the boost to your image. We are going to college soon so it could help." James replies.


    "Knock it off James." Anna snaps at him.


    "OK, OK. So does anyone know if we got school tomorrow?" James asks.


    "Yea my parents got the email a little while ago. Monday is a half day and after that we are back to normal." Anna says, sounding pissed. I''m pretty sure that everyone is pissed about that though. People need time to recover and they are just shoving forward like nothing happened.


    "Fuck that! But why a half day? They should just cancel at that point!" James says.


    "It''s probably because they are using the gymnasium for defender registration." I blurt out without thinking.


    "Ah co¡­. Defender registration, cool!" James yells.


    "That''s cool, but I haven''t seen anything about that on the news yet. Where did you hear that from Lucy?" Anna asks.


    I pause for a moment wondering why she''s asking.


    "Wait, Charles, you haven''t told them about yesterday?" I ask.


    "No¡­." "No he hasn''t! Mr. stick in the mud here has refused to grace us with what you two were doing yesterday. Keeps saying ''it''s Lucy''s business so ask her.''" Charles tries to talk, only to be cut off by an over-excited James.


    "So spill the beans, what were you two love birds up to yesterday huh? Lucy and Charles sittin in a tree, K I S S I." "User has been muted by moderator" James starts jeering, only to be interrupted by the discord voice.


    "Thank god." Anna blurts out.


    "James, now is not the time to be a dickhead. Now as I was saying, no I didn''t. It''s your thing so you can tell them Lucy." Charles says.


    I''m still chuckling at Charles muting James to reply so silence hangs the channel for a moment before I reply.


    "I guess I should tell you why I stole your Charles for the day. I got magic during that shitshow. Kinda freaked out and needed help with it."


    The sound that came from Anna was something between an excited squeal and a yell that made me flinch for a moment before the sound gate kicked in and cut her off.


    ¡°Ow god damn it Anna you''re gonna break my ears!¡± I yelled back at her.


    ¡°I''m sorry, it''s just! You gotta show it to me Lucy!¡± Anna replied excitedly.


    ¡°Fine I¡¯ll show you later, but not at school. I have enough problems as is and I don¡¯t need those ¡®popular¡¯ cunts breathing down my neck for favors. Oh and it goes without saying but don¡¯t tell anyone. Looking at you James.¡±


    ¡°User has been unmuted by moderator.¡± ¡°What, I would never!¡± James replies immediately sounding offended.


    ¡°You would never only if we tell you not to. Lets face it, you''re worse than Anna when it comes to gossiping. Just remember that Lucy can probably light your ass on fire if you piss her off.¡± Charles quips.


    ¡°Charles, how dare you! I would never do that to the poor fire!¡± I reply sarcastically.


    ¡°Ha ha, how about we don¡¯t light James on fire guys. So Lucy, what spells do you have right now?¡± Anna cuts in.


    I pause for a moment and think carefully. I can¡¯t exactly say oh yea I have racial flight magic and mimicry would seem weird and might draw the bad kind of attention. Even if I trust Anna, and to some extent James, to bot run their mouths it''s better to be safe than sorry.


    "I got some weird screech spell, I can yell to make them nauseous or hurt their ears." I reply.


    "Eh, maybe you can get Reina to shut the fuck up when she starts throwing a damned tantrum then." James says.


    "You know damn well all that would do is make her cry to her daddy, and it''s illegal. I don''t need a defender and the cops up my ass." I reply.


    One of the reasons Reina was so high and mighty, and a cunt, is because her dad is the highest ranking local defender. And that dude spoils the fuck out her. Underage drinking charge? Let''s sweep that under the rug. Assaulted someone? Never happened. Speeding ticket? Officer misread the radar.


    "Wait, do you only have one spell Lucy? I thought people were supposed to start out with three random ones." Anna cuts in.


    "It''s between one and three, depending on the spells or magic." James replies in my stead.


    "Yea what James said, I think it''s a good spell but I haven''t had the opportunity to check yet. So, anyone wana play something?" I ask, hoping to change the subject.


    "Oh how about DRG2!" James yells excitedly.


    "I''m down for whatever." Charles says.


    "Uhhh, my computer can only play Minecraft guys, remember?" Anna says sheepishly.


    "Damn, you still haven''t upgraded Anna?" James says.


    "I guess we are playing Minecraft then." I say.


    And so we played mine craft on a random survival server we found. The game is almost as old as my parents and still somehow relevant. Charles tried to manage our resources, James wasted most of them, Anna got blown up by a creeper. Apparently squares are good enough to entertain monkey brains for multiple generations, who knew?

 Chapter 13: Orientation and Registration

    <div>


    <div>


    I forgot just how much I hate mondays. Everything was normal, except for Anna was on crutches and needed help getting around. I showered, hid my wings and eyes, then stuffed my tail in my shirt and horns under a hat. School started at nine am and was letting out at twelve thirty ish today so we only had three classes. ''Feeling'' people while walking through the halls is freaky as hell. And of course the teacher in first period took offense to my hat being on inside and made me take it off. Forcing me to use extra mana to hide the horns, thus turning off my sensing passive. Probably for the better though, I was starting to feel weirded out.


    Unfortunately Anna only had two of the three with one of us so we could only help her in class first and third period. Still we managed to work it out. I helped her off the bus and helped with first period, then took her to second. Charles was the closest after the second period ended so he helped her get to third where James took over helping her. She didn''t need much help, all three classes were the kind where we sat and wrote all day. When I finally saw James he was wearing the atrocity of a black t-shirt with heavy metal unicorn on the front. The thing contrasted against the bright blue highlights he had colored on his short black hair. While the white jeans he was wearing stuck out against his darker skin tone.


    No, the trouble came when third period ended and we all gathered near the end of the hall to head home. Well my friends were heading home, I had to stay for the orientation. Anna had gotten better with her crutches but we still needed someone next to her just in case she lost balance.


    "Charles, I''m fine. I can walk on my own." Anna says.


    "That''s why you almost fell over on the way to third period right?" James claps back, shutting down Anna''s argument before she can even start it. Anna opens her mouth to talk back but before any words can come out the loud and imperious voice of everyone''s least favorite bitch Reina booms over the hallway.


    "Look everyone, the resident vagrant had to sell her leg." She bellows, causing no one but her ''friend'' group to let out a small chuckle. Several people move away and give space, watching from the sides and not wanting to be caught literally in between the drama.


    Normally this bitch is just insulting people''s shoe and sock choices, not going straight for the metaphorical throat. Everyone still being extremely on edge from the attack isn''t an excuse to be a vile piece of human garbage though.


    "Did your daddy need the money to fuel his drinking hab¡­?" Reina continues. Tired of her attitude after she opened her mouth the first time, I cut her off and rip into her back.


    "Reina, don''t you have somewhere else to be an insufferable goblinoid? And I thought being a cunt o''clock was at 2, not twelve." I snap back, causing a few quiet gasps in the crowd. Reina just stood there in shock, like she couldn''t even fathom the concept of someone talking back to her in such a manner. After a moment she snapped out of it, and an ugly snarl overtook her face.


    "Bitch, the fuck did you just say to me?" She hissed back.


    "I said fuck off. We''ve got enough shit to deal with. We don''t need your attitude today."


    "Guys, let''s tone it down a lit¡­" James interjects trying to defuse the situation, only to be interrupted by Reina.


    "Butt out of this you fucking niger!" Reina snaps at him.


    The whole hallway stands there in shock for a moment. Then I decide I''m done dealing with her. But In the half a second it takes me to go from shock to, I''m going to knock this bitch''s teeth down the hallway, a blur bursts from around the corner. I can barely track it as it weaves its way between students before stopping behind Reina. A well kept man with the same red hair color as Reina, wearing what looks to be a police uniform reaches out and snatches her up by her fancy shirt''s collar and spins her around to face him.


    "What did you just say young lady!?" He screams at her, his voice so loud it causes the snarky bitch to drop her smile and flinch.


    ¡°D-d-d-dad, I uh¡­ uh. They started it!¡± Reina stammers out, trying to throw the blame at us.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care for your excuses! You do not use that kind of language! Apologize, now!¡±¡± He barks back at her before turning her to face us and setting her down.


    To say that everyone is in shock would be an understatement. Reina had been untouchable for as long as anyone could remember. Now she¡¯s standing here in front of us, literally shaking in her overly fancy Gucci shoes.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡± She mutters weakly while looking at the ground.


    ¡°Louder. I don''t think they heard you.¡± Her father says to her.


    ¡°I¡¯m Sorry!¡± she practically screams.


    ¡°Good enough. I¡¯m sorry for my daughter''s behavior, rest assured it won''t happen again.¡± Reina¡¯s father says to us, before turning and silently dragging his daughter down the hallway and back around the corner where he came from.


    After they leave the whole hallway''s worth of kids breaks into loud gossip.


    ¡°So¡­. did Reina just get in trouble?¡± Charles asks in disbelief.


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    ¡°I think so?¡± Anna replies, sounding more like she is asking a question herself rather than giving an answer.


    ¡°Where the hell did that guy even come from, that was her father?¡± James asks.


    ¡°He ran in from around the corner, could you guys not see him?¡± I ask


    ¡°No, it was just a blur down the hall and he had her by the shirt?¡± Charles replies.


    Huh, I guess those stats aren''t just fancy numbers. The thought of numbers makes me remember my mana, and the time. I pull up my phone and find the time to be twelve fifty.


    Mana: 772/2882


    Shit mana isn¡¯t going great, and did my max mana go up? Damn it I don''t have time to regenerate it. Hell, if I don¡¯t hurry I¡¯ll be late for the orientation and sign up.


    ¡°Shit, gotta go guys. I don¡¯t wanna be late. Charles, James, you guys got Anna?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yea we got her, as long as we don''t run into any more Reinas.¡± Charles says, earning a snort from James.


    ¡°Bye Lucy, have fun!¡± Anna says to me.


    ¡°You too.¡± I reply as I break off and jog down the hallway.


    It¡¯s not that far of a jog to the gym, so I get there with a few minutes to spare. Of course the interior doors are locked, so I have to go outside and use the outer doors normally reserved for letting the public in during events. When I get to the outer doors I find a small welcoming and check in table setup. I guess setting up at the outside doors makes sense, most people who need to register probably don¡¯t go to highschool so will probably go in from outside. I walk up to the table and tell the guy manning it that I was here for the new defender orientation and registration. He gave me a raised eyebrow but otherwise remained professional, asking me a few questions before printing off a name tag sticker and handing it to me. Then I was told to head inside and find a desk.


    The inside of the gym had been turned into a half and half mix of a giant classroom on one side and what looks to be a modestly sized training area of sorts on the other. Complete with padding, training dummies, and what I¡¯m pretty sure are fire extinguishers. Oh boy this is going to be a fun day. Even at only half the gym size, the class room side has forty desks neatly bunched together in four rows, all facing a giant projector screen on the wall. Thirty five of the desks are occupied, leaving me with not very many options, most of which are scattered right in the middle of the grouping. As I make my way to a seat closer to the outside I start making note of the other people in the room. Most of them look like normal people, with a few odd weirdos on the outside, and one dude who I¡¯m pretty sure is a drug addict. Another thing I notice, all of them are older than me, and not by a small margin. The second youngest person here looks to be in their late twenties, closer to thirty. And being so young compared to everyone else I of course draw more than a few stares on my way over to my desk.


    Thankfully, most of them seemed content to go back to ignoring me after I sat down. Instead going back to browsing their phones or talking amongst one another about what magic and spells they have and whatnot. Unfortunately, the few who are still staring at me seem to be the troublemakers, including the drug addict, who has a particularly hard stare. But otherwise it''s a quiet wait until some lady in a business formal suit steps up to the front of the desks as the projector hums to life.


    "Alright, we''re about to start. All of this is important so pay attention. I''m happy to answer questions if you miss something or are unsure, but I will not be repeating parts of the presentation because you can''t stay focused."


    That opening statement got everyone''s attention, and now everyone was focusing on her waiting for the presentation to continue.


    "Alright good, I am Damesa Smith, head of the magic registration office for Shimerview. That over there is my assistant Danny, who also works in the office." She says while pointing at a man near the back who is also wearing a business suit.


    "Normally this presentation and accompanying paper work would be done in a more one on one setting. But given how many people gained magic in the last attack we felt holding a large class and getting everyone done at once would be better." She says as she clicks a button on a little remote in her hand, causing the slide to change.


    The next slide is titled Rights and Responsibilities as a Defender. And has a list of bullet points consisting of key information. And here I thought I was done with school for the day.


    "First up is your rights and responsibilities as a defender of Humanity. Danny please pass out the fliers. On the international level there is only one thing you need to be worried about and that is registration with the defenders of humanity organization of the United Nations." Demesa continues as Danny starts to pass fliers around to everyone.


    "After you register internationally you don''t have to do anything else. Here in the United States you also have to register your status as a defender. Don''t worry we will be doing both at once and the forms are quite similar. However, unlike with the UN, you need to update your registration if certain changes are made. You need to fill out form M-3 if you plan to permanently move out of the states. Likewise form M-2 is needed if you plan to leave the country for an extended period of time, which is any period greater than a year but still planning to return. Any questions?"


    A couple of people were still scribbling notes, but otherwise the room remained silent.


    "Good, after initial registration you need to update your status once every five years. This can be done using form M-1. This is simply so that we know you are still alive and can be called upon if needed. It is a class c misdemeanor crime to not file the proper paperwork every five years so make sure you remember. In the event that you do forget and realize it later, just file the forms as soon as you can."


    "Here in the United States your class, power level, spells, skills, and any other pertinent magical information are protected. No government officials, or individual acting on state or federal authority can force you to disclose any of the aforementioned information without proper cause. This means that you do not have to disclose anything to them unless they have a warrant. Your right to have and use magic is covered by the second and twenty eighth amendments. However there are limits to what can and cannot be done and the circumstances the apply. Here in Virginia you''re probably fine as long as you don''t go throwing fireballs in public or the like, and stay below five hundred feet if you use flight magic. Danny please pass around the next set of fliers containing Virginia specific laws. Remember different states have different laws so be sure to check another state''s laws before you visit. " Demesa continues on, but sounds exacerbated when she emphasizes the word before at the end.


    "Alright, last part people. You cannot be conscripted or drafted to fight except for scenarios where non magical people are also called to bear arms. For example, you cannot be selected to help defend a bunker from attacking demons unless they are handing out guns and telling everyone who can wield them to fight. Your rights and responsibilities are the same as your fellow non magical humans in this regard." Demesa finishes with a final click of her remote, changing the slide to another title slide that this time says The System and Spells.

 Chapter 14: Orientation and Registration Part 2

    "Alright, part two of three. After this we will take a twenty minute break before the final section." Demesa says as she clicks onto the next bullet point slide.


    "First off, the system interface is similar, but not exactly the same for everyone. Some people may have their stats in a different order, or a different color scheme. The list goes on, but generally it''s divided into four pages, those being stats, spells and magic, skills, and the store. We will get to the store in a little bit. There is also a separate page for class selection, but it only appears when you need to select a class and overlaps the store page, so it''s officially considered part of the store. First is your stats." Demesa says before pausing to make sure everyone is paying attention.


    "The system leaves out a few things in regard to your stats and how they interact with one another. When you put a point into a stat it goes up by one right? That one point is a flat increase, meaning the difference between twenty and twenty one is the same as the difference between fifty and fifty one. What it doesn''t tell you is that putting that point into one stats has a small, unlisted, increase in the others to help keep up. What this means is that when you put a point into strength, all your other stats go up slightly to help compensate for you being stronger, you will be slightly faster, perceptive, smarter, etc¡­ However, this increase is nowhere near a full point and is actually not enough to keep up in the long run if you focus on only one stat.


    "If you put all your points into, let''s say one hundred into strength. The rest of your body won''t be able to keep up with your muscles. You will be tired all the time, unable to properly control that strength, move sluggishly compared to others at your level, the list goes on. This effect is why you see high level mages able to move at speeds similar to a medium to low level agility user. Likewise melee based combatants will be able to throw spells on par with lower level mages. It should be noted that this extra boost to attunement does not affect your maximum mana capacity. It is suspect that this is because the power level increase effect on max mana overrides it in a way. Any questions?" Demesa asks while giving some dude a slide glare as he tries desperately not to fall asleep in his chair.


    When no one raises their hand or speaks up she continues.


    "According to research, one needs to put at least one point into all the other stats for every forty two you put into your main stat. That''s if you choose to go that route, it should be noted that balancing out stats and being well rounded is a perfectly acceptable means of doing it as well. It''s honestly a balancing act, you may be more powerful if you have all your points in one field, but you''re more vulnerable when you run into your counter." Desema explains, causing a few people to express confusion, myself included.


    "Fine then, I can see the confusion so I''ll explain. Sometimes demons, creatures, or on very rare occasions other people will have extreme resistance or even total immunity to a given attack type. We have seen demons summoning wraiths in combat, which are completely immune to physical attacks due to their incorporeal nature. A pure strength user is going to have a very hard time fighting that if they even can at all. However, someone with an all rounder build will be able to throw spells at it, just not as well as a mage could." Demesa finishes, only for the man directly in front of me to raise his hand.


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    "What is it, Mr. Willy?" She asks him.


    "Wouldn''t a strength based user still have a few spells or skills that could damage it?" He asks.


    "Yes, you may not have enough mana to cast enough to kill it. Or, if you''re using spells outside your focus area, they may only do just enough damage to piss it off. Sure if you''re skilled enough you could probably handle it, but one wrong move might leave you fucked. Take it from me." She says as she reaches her right hand up her left sleeve and a clicking noise follows.


    "When you encounter an enemy who can just ignore all your offensive tools. You are absolutely going to have a shity day!" She basically yells as she pulls her freaking left arm off and starts waving it at us! After a moment I realize that there is no way that is her real arm and calm down. But around me I hear chairs and desks shift as people recoil and one lady even faints.


    She stops her waving and reveals the end to us to show a bunch of connectors and circuitry.


    "You like it? Newest model from Calmark Med Enterprises. Lifelike and indiscernible from the real thing aside from the connection point, which is easily hidden beneath clothing." She says with a smirk as she shoves her arm back up her sleeve and reattached it with another click sound.


    "That was fun, I''ve been waiting to try it on someone. Oh that reminds me, stats do not apply to prosthetics or bodily attachments. Meaning this arm does not benefit from my increased strength, agility, endurance, the works. Also you can not cast magic though a prosthetic. If I tried to cast a spell though this arm it would pop out the nub and damage or destroy the prosthetic. So yea, if you plan to go into a combat career against demons, do not get your arm chomped off. Any questions?" No one dared ask anything, two guys were still trying to help the poor woman back into her seat.


    "Good, now onto the shop and class portion." She says as she clicks to the next slide.


    "Staring with the shop, you unlock it at five hundred power level. That may sound like a lot and it both is and isn''t. We get roughly between two and four lower levels a week just for keeping alive. This means that if you got access to the system at the one hundred power level minimum it would take you between two and a half to five years to unlock shop access by doing nothing. You can accelerate this process by being near demons and people as they die. When living creatures die they release essence which is absorbed by other living creatures nearby. Yes you can get more powerful from others'' deaths, no you can''t go around killing people. Murder is illegal, and you will be dealt with in a permanent manner." Demesa says, her voice taking a mean edge at the end to communicate that that''s a very bad idea.


    "Once the shop is unlocked you start with ten shop points and gain ten more every thousand power level mark. You can use these points to buy spells, magic, and skills. Some are more expensive than others. Some may require you to save up for a while to buy them. Before you select your class the shop will have a random assortment available. After getting your class the selections it presents will be more focused on your class with a few other similar options branching out."


    "Now onto class. You also unlock your class at five hundred power level. It says it presents selection based on what you do up to that point. I don''t want to say that''s bullshit, but no one has been able to discover any links between anything and class offerings, so assume it will be completely random. You will get anywhere from three to seven classes offered for your first time. You will then get offered a new class or class upgrade every ten thousand point milestone after that."


    "The system tells you all this when you get the shop, but we find it''s better to inform people ahead of time, especially on the class selection. Too many people have wasted so much time trying things to get a particular class. Any questions? No? Good. We are taking a twenty minute break then we will do the final part. Oh, and one of the handouts has information on the average starting stats for each sex. Make sure you look so you can get an idea of where you stand." She says as she steps away.

 Chapter 15: Orientation and Registration Part 3

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    Around me people start to stand up and stretch their legs, and the sounds of a few joints popping can be heard. Well I kinda need to use the bathroom and now is as good a time as any. I stand up and grab my bag, and start making my way over to the girls locker room while checking my mana.


    Mana: 647/2882


    Eh, not great but I think I can at least get through the rest of the presentation. I make my way over to the bathroom part of the locker room and take up residence in a stall. I''m probably going to just sit here the whole time so I don''t have to interact with any of the other people attending. I should probably look over those handouts too. But the moment I sit down to do my business I get a text from Anna.


    ''How is presentation? Anyone thrown any fire balls?''


    ''No, it''s boring stuff, like laws, and explanations. Good to know, but boring.'' I text back.


    '':('' Anna replies a moment later.


    ''I think the fireballs comes after the presentation, also the presenter lady has a prosthetic arm and used it to prank us. Was funny. Some lady fainted.''


    ''LOL, get me some videos plz.''


    ''Of the fainting, the arm, or the fireballs?''


    ''All of them!''


    ''I''m not videoing some lady''s arm for you. And aren''t there plenty of videos of people practicing with magic online?''


    ''Yeah, but those aren''t as cool.''


    ''Anna they are probably cooler than whatever weak crap any of us could throw. Remember everyone here is literally brand new.''


    '':('' Is all I get in response.


    ''Gtg, starts again in few min'' I reply before putting my phone away and finishing up.


    Once I get back out to my desk I look and listen around to hear what people are up to. Some guys are arguing over whether ice or fire is better for doing damage, another group is looking at something on one guy''s phone. A bunch of ladies are talking about how their new magic might be usable for business practices, and the drug dude is talking all hush hush with a few of his friends. Oh boy, why do I have a bad feeling about him? Because he''s probably up to no good.


    After five more minutes Ms. Demesa finally calls the room back to focus.


    "Alright, let''s get started with this final part. Once we are done here me and Mr. Sinclair will be holding an optional testing and training session. So those of you with more dangerous spells can get a feel for them in a slightly safer environment. It''s highly advised you attend unless you have literally no offensive spells or magics at the moment. Now moving on." She says as she clicks to the next slide titled ''Guilds, Coalitions, and Unions.


    "Alright I''ll make this quick. Starting with the largest, unions. A union is a group representing the interests of specific classes or types. Unions may cover broad roles, such as the crafters or healers unions, or more specific classes, such as the Pyro mage union, which only accepts and maintains users who focus on fire. There are even unions for specific classes, such as the necromancer union."


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    "Unions may be international but aren''t always. You don''t have to join a union, but it is recommended as doing can give you access to resources to help you grow. Unions may or may not have special deals with coalitions or even singular guilds for a variety things, such as group finders and placement, lessons and guides, or resource acquisition."


    "Next down are coalitions. Coalitions are groups of guilds that work together, usually in the longer term. The reasons can vary, sometimes they are interlinked with unions, sometimes not. It all depends on the guilds and relational dynamics. Coalitions don''t need to be registered domestically, as here in America it''s seen simply as an agreement between groups and as such is bound by contracts and the like. Other countries however often require special extra registration regarding coalitions, an example is the EU requiring registration of any Coalitions lasting longer than three months."


    "Last on the list are guilds. Here in America, guilds are just fancy companies focused mainly on magic and defenders. It requires no special registration or anything like that other than filing the paperwork to start a business, and they aren''t really subject to any extra laws or regulations. They have the same rights and responsibilities as any other company. Outside of America however, things get messy. It varies a lot but most other countries require some form of extra registration and regulation on guilds, and consider them their own specific type of entity. An example is the EU again. All EU countries have special registration and regulations for guilds."


    "Trust me, stay out of international guild politics. That shit, if you will pardon my language, is the second reason I retired. With this being the first." She says as she points to her fake arm.


    "If you ever try to make a guild here in America and expand out of the country, prepare to spend years and lots of money on getting it set up."


    "I''m not going to get any more specific than that because if I do we will literally be here all day. Joining a guild isn''t required, but like with unions is recommended as it gives you greater access to resources and options."


    "Be careful though, as contracting with a guild is much more restrictive than joining a union. And you may end up having to agree to things like non-competes and such."


    "Now, one final caveat. While the government cannot demand your information, a guild and or union can since they are private entities. Now, when the government, local, state, federal, any of them, works with a guild or union they can include a required disclosure of information of their members. Honestly it''s no different than the government doing background checks on the people working for a contractor. It is totally legal, but I make a point of mentioning it since it seems to catch a lot of people off guard."


    "If you don''t want anyone else to have your personal information, just don''t join anything and don''t tell anyone. Otherwise, like all your other personal information, that stuff gets bought and sold around by everyone. Particulars are in the hand outs. Any questions?"


    One dude in the corner raises his hand. And Demesa seems annoyed.


    "Yes?"


    "Is there anything we need to worry about while traveling abroad?" A man with combed back hair in a nice suit asks. Demesa''s demeanor immediately changes from annoyance back to her polite presentation face.


    "Ah, that''s actually a good question. The EU will use your UN registration and you only need to worry about local laws when traveling there. The United Kingdom is way more strict, requiring your UN registration, and a bunch of other baloney I don''t know the specifics of. Some other countries have nasty habits of forcibly conscripting any defenders that reside within their borders. I know China is one. You will want to pull up the state departments do not travel list for defenders for specifics."


    "Alright, any more questions?" Demesa asks, only for another hand to shoot up.


    "Any questions not asking me to repeat myself?" She asks again, this time the hand going down.


    "Perfect, Danny please pass out the first forms. These are pretty self explanatory, but me and Danny will be walking around to help you out."


    And with that, the paperwork started getting passed around, and I felt like I was getting a daily quiz after a lecture. So much for a half day.

 Chapter 16: Wing Inspection

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    God I hate paperwork, it''s like homework but feels slightly less pointless. The UN forum was easy enough to fill out, just name, d.o.b, date you got system access, and the geographical area you were in when you got access. Now the United States paperwork, that shit was horrendous. Like the UN paperwork my ass! They wanted everything, social security number, which I barely managed to remember, name, d.o.b, current residence, drivers license if you have one, how much you make, how often you were exposed to magic, the works. All of that in the tiniest spacing and fonts imaginable. But it was thankfully done, and when I checked my mana I was dropping just below three fifty. Not great, but not critical either.


    I opted to ''head out'' immediately after the paperwork was finished. Not like I could cast any spells with my mana situation being what it is anyway, not without screwing myself over. Really I just left the gym through the locker rooms and went into a bathroom farther in the school to recharge my mana. I might have made the walk home but I don''t want to risk it. And thank god I left early and through the other entrance to the locker rooms that connects to the rest of the school. Demesa had warned us that since the location of the event was public, and there were expected to be a lot of new magic users, this place would be swarming with recruiters when we went to leave.


    And when I looked out a window and saw a fairly large crowd standing around outside the gym I realized she was right. Most of the people were anywhere from decently dressed to wearing suits and were clearly recruiters of some kind. The rest were casual dressed, probably friends and family waiting for those inside to finish. They of course were being chatted up by the recruiters, probably in an attempt to earn favor. All in all I didn''t feel like dealing with that crowd''s bullshit, especially since Demesa mentioned that since I''m so young they are gonna be trying hard to recruit me.


    Thankfully the hooligans outside the gym didn''t notice me back through the window so I was able to slip away. Now I''m in a handicap stall with all my new bits out as I lean against the wall while browsing Vidshare on my phone. Cute cat videos will always be good. But I''ve been browsing for the past hour, and I''m starting to get tired of them. I let out a sigh, which causes my wings to rub against the wall a little, bringing my attention to them. I contemplate for a moment, then decide I need to at least know what I''m dealing with and test my new parts thoroughly. At a minimum I''ll have to be dealing with them for a long time until I figure out how to change back. Worst case, I''m stuck like this forever.


    The horns aren''t that complex, and I can''t really do anything with them. Though I swear they have gotten a little taller, I''m going to have to start measuring. Charles will probably be more than happy to help with that, damn demon obsessed weirdo he is. My eyes are the same, at least I think they are. Aside from the whole being orange now and giving off the slightest of glows. My range of motion with them seems to be the same. I don''t know if any vision improvements are from them or my stats though, or maybe the stats are good because of the eyes? Going down I get to the most obvious part, my wings.


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    I have never tried fully unfurling them yet. Honestly I''ve been a bit afraid, I know they will be big, but I''m not sure exactly how big. I stand in the middle of the stall and slowly start to extend them, feeling a weird bliss as the new but hardly used parts finally get to flex and stretch. I keep going, the feeling intensifying as their reach increases bit by bit. Then I hit the wall on my right, followed shortly by the wall on my left. Snapped out of the almost hypnotic euphoria I take a look to find the two massive appendages taking up a large amount of the stall space. They aren''t even fully extended, I can tell they can stretch out a bit more. I start moving to my left while retracting that wing, giving the right one more space to extend. By the time I''m done stretching it up my right wing is around a mind boggling nine feet in length.


    My curiosity gets the better of me and I start to move it around, flexing and bending it various ways to get a feel for it. Calling it flexible might be an understatement. I can easily curl the wing around my front and then wrap it around my side and to my back again, almost making me a wing and Lucy burrito. Twisting it in the other direction I can almost get it to bend to a ninety degree angle before it starts to hurt. A little more experimentation reveals I have a wide range of motion shifting the wings up and down and can easily twist them about fourth degrees each way to change the leading edge.


    OK, maybe a little cool¡­ aside from the fact I''m not supposed to have them! I retracted the right wing and repeat the process, both getting a good stretch in and confirming they are symmetrical. I pull the left wing up to my face and examine it more closely. I can see the blood vessels branching off the bones and running through the rest of the skin. The skin itself seems to be slightly thinner than the skin on the rest of my body. I run my hand over it, finding it super smooth. The bones supporting the large surface area of the wing just barely stick out from the surface. I grab one with two fingers and give it a very light squeeze only to feel a twitch run up the wing and into my back.


    Letting go I pull the wings back into their resting position, just barely larger than my back and peaking out above my shoulders once again. Damn, that''s some impressive compaction right there. Moving on to the tail it is still the same as the first time I saw it. Four feet in length. I can move it around every which way and use it like a third hand basically. Yea so I just basically only learned something new about my wings, which is good. I wonder if I can fly with them? I mean they look big enough, but I''ve also heard that there''s a bunch of factors contributing to a creature being able to fly or not. Maybe I should ask Charles if succubus can fly with only their wings, answer might be the same.


    Well now that that''s out of the way, what''s my mana at?


    Mana: 1397/2882


    Hmmm, yea good enough for me to get home. I think as I put my wings away and start redressing myself.

 Chapter 17: Demons At The Bus Stop

    It¡¯s strange being out in the cold under dressed but not being cold. Standing at the bus stop in the heavily falling snow I realize my light winter jacket shouldn¡¯t be enough to keep me warm. It¡¯s just past three in the afternoon, twenty degrees, and a light wind to boot. Yet somehow I¡¯m not cold. It¡¯s not that I can''t tell it''s cold, I can still feel it, I just don¡¯t feel as cold. Ah well, just another freaky side effect of the demonization bullshit. I feel myself frown just thinking about that crap again. I instead go back to focusing on my phone, watching more cat videos on vidshare. This time it''s cats falling into water. So I¡¯m just minding my own business looking at my phone, just like the other two people at the bus stop. One is a business lady who¡¯s in a nice suit, fancy coat, and clearly shivering as the coat is made to look good, not function well. The other is a burly dude who I think I recognize from the registration seminar. It''s kinda hard to tell since he¡¯s wearing a mask and heavy jacket to keep the cold away.


    The bus is running late, the online schedule shows it as supposed to be here every hour on the dot. But it''s now three ten and no bus, and no notice from the Shimerview official channels saying buses are canceled. Still, the buses have operated in worse, so I highly doubt they would be canceled for this weather. Well who knows? Shits probably still fucked up from Friday, honestly I should just be happy the buses still run.


    The soft sound of snow getting compacted underfoot comes from behind me and I turn my head to get a look at the poor schmuck who''s decided to stand next to the pole with us. Instead I''m greeted by some sort of blue canine-like creature pouncing at me from several feet away with its fangs out. I barely duck in time to avoid its attempt at my throat, instead getting my hair smacked around by its paws as it fly overhead. In that moment i do manage to get a feel for it though, having my horns outer my hat. It''s barely more powerful than me, and for some reason I find that helps alleviate my panic. The creature lands as I pop back up, skidding across the slick roadway with the salt and sand mixed with slush grating under its feet. The woman next to me shrieks as the creature, no, the demon lets out a guttural growl that sounds like a hyena mixed with an overly angry cicada. It looks like a blue wolf, but it has a lion mane around its neck, and horns protrude haphazardly up the length of its snout. Its feet bear no claws, but each is as large as my head, while the creature itself is the size of a mastiff. It bares its fangs as it growls, revealing sharp teeth punctuated by two huge canines at least an inch and a half long.


    This demon seems familiar, but I can''t quite place it. But before I get to figure it out the demon lurches forward again. Its feet slip for a moment on the semi slick the roadway, giving me just enough time to dive out of the way as it makes another running jump at my neck. I hear the woman''s shrieks getting farther away as I scramble back to my feet. I get up and spin to face the damned thing again just in time to throw my left arm out to protect my neck. It bites down savagely as a pulse of pain shoots through my arm. It starts thrashing violently, trying to tear my arm apart. Surprisingly it has little effect, the demon only managing to move me a step throwing the full force of its weight around. I realize just how freaked out I am as my brain slightly lowers its fight or flight response at that revolution. I can hear my heart thundering in my chest and every heavy breath I take as I desperately try to keep the demon from thrashing me about.


    Now we''re at a stalemate of sorts. The demon is clearly faster than me. But also hasn''t done much damage aside from the initial bite, which I suspect only did as much as it did because of the two large teeth it sunk into my arm. The stalemate only lasts for a moment though, as the thumping of boots in the snow and a war cry from the side draws our attention. The man from before, the one who I suspected I saw at the seminar, comes rushing over, his fist glowing while he screams something in a language I don''t understand. The demon gives him the side eye for a moment, then seems to ignore him in favor of continuing to try to rip my arm off. It regrets that decision a moment later as the man slams his fist into the demon''s shoulder with a nasty crunching sound. The demon lets go of my arm with some sort of yelp mixed in with a screech.


    I stumble back, cradling my wounded arm and assessing the damage. The sleeve is shredded, and two large holes slowly ooze blood that drips off my arm onto the fresh snow. I expected worse, but the arm still throbs in pain with every second from the wounds the demon did manage to inflict. An angry yell draws my attention. I look up from my arm to see the man squaring up with the demon, the audacious beasts clearly broken front shoulder not stopping it from trying to bite the man. The man for his part is holding the demon back. Its reduced mobility allowed him enough room to dodge its bites, but not enough to effectively strike back himself.


    This continues on for another moment until the demon changes its attack, instead of biting at the man''s hands, it goes low for his leg. Realizing what''s about to happen I don''t think,I just act. I pull on my magic into the only offensive spell I have, pushing as much into it as I can. I open my mouth and let loose a damage screech as powerfully as I can muster. The attack slams into the demon''s side not even a full second later, causing it to flinch in pain as its fur is shredded and several patches of skin underneath receive scratches large enough to visibly bleed. The flinch causes it to miss, instead its jaws snapping shut on air between his legs with a nasty crack. The man doesn''t waste the opportunity, screaming something I don''t understand once again as he swings down on the demon''s head with a glowing fist. The attack connects, and he drives its head into the asphalt with a nasty, but relieving crunch. There''s no way in hell it survived that right? At a minimum it''s gotta be knocked out now.


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    My suspicions are confirmed as the man pulls his now bloody and slightly mangled looking fist out of the dead things skull and tries to shake the brain gore off, only to wince and cradle his hand. I feel a wave of relief wash over me as I realize it''s over. I stumble back into a pole, and slowly slide down it to sit down as the feelings from the fight start to catch back up to me. I cradle my arm and reassess the damage, breath still heavy and heart thundering in my chest. Two giant holes in my arm let blood flow freely as several smaller scratches, likely from its other teeth, surround the main wounds. I''m pulled out of my inspection by the man from before. He''s walked over and is trying to get my attention, but I can barely focus on him with the state of my arm.


    "You hurt? Ah skit, blood bad!" He says in broken English with a Swedish accent.


    Swedish huh? I''ve heard Sweden''s been trying to hold off waves of wild demons ever since Russia fell and Finland got overrun. Guess that would explain why he was hell bent on beating its ass. The Swedish really hate demons.


    He grabs a piece of cloth from somewhere and starts pressing it on my wound to stem the bleeding. It takes me a couple of seconds to realize that the cloth in question is actually the lower part of my jacket sleeve. Damn it! This was my favorite jacket too! Well, now it''s gone from saving me from the cold to saving me from bleeding out. A worthy sacrifice in my book.


    Slowly I calm down as people come out of various buildings and streets, huddling around to oogle now that the danger has passed. Slowly the sounds of sirens close in from the distance. I just focus on my arm and try not freak out until help arrives. What feels like an eternity later an apc comes tearing around the corner, and several heavily armed soldiers pile out of the back to take control of the scene. They''re jumpy and agitated at first, but once they see the dead demon and someone assures them it''s been dead for a while they calm down. After that one of the soldiers comes over to me with a first aid kit, and my wounds finally get some proper medical attention. My arm gets some proper wrappings and finally the bleeding seems to stop. Unfortunately, despite painkillers it still hurts like a bitch and I can barely move it or my hand. Fuck, I''m gona have to go to the hospital aren''t I? Do I have the mana for that?


    Mana: 772 / 2882


    That''s a big no. And my arm is fucked¡­ fucking great! While I think of ways to weasel my way out of going to the hospital, some paramedics wheel over a stretcher. Looking over I can see Swedish guy already getting loaded as well, but he''s also talking with someone. That someone touches swedish guy''s hand and a faint green light envelopes it. After the light vanishes the swedish dude starts flexing his hand like it was never injured. Holy crap that''s healing magic, that guy¡¯s so lucky! Or he¡¯s rich as all getup. Healing is expensive, it has something to do with not many people being healers and it being able to fix most physical ailments. Just getting his hand fixed like that will probably cost him a couple hundred bucks. To some people and professions the cost is worth it, but no way in hell can me or my family afford that. I doubt the dude is rich though, they say don¡¯t judge a book by its cover, but he aint wearing anything flashy. And he¡¯s talking to the dude like they know each other. So I''m guessing the dude is lucky enough to know a healer.


    As I¡¯m being strapped into the gurney and having an IV put in by the paramedics, the Swedish guy looks over and points me out to his friend, who nods and starts in our direction.


    ¡°Hold on! Hello, you got injured fighting the demon? Would you like healing?¡± He asks with a Swedish accent, but slightly better English as he gets close enough to us that he doesn''t have to yell.


    ¡°Yea, the demon messed me up. But I can''t afford healing.¡± I reply while looking at my arm, the bandages are starting to turn red. I¡¯m gonna bleed out before we get to the hospital, great¡­¡­


    ¡°No charge! My friend says you did good work. We hate demons more than we like money.¡± He says with an enthusiastic smile.


    Holy shit it''s my unlucky-lucky day!


    ¡°Oh um, sure, thank you!¡± I manage to stammer out while holding my arm up to him.


    The paramedics immediately stop trying to stick me full of needles and start packing their stuff; seemingly understanding that they¡¯re no longer needed. The man¡¯s hand started glowing a light green color as he placed his hand on my arm. What followed was a numb burning sensation that overtook my forearm. After a few seconds he pulled his hand away, but the sensation continued.


    ¡°Ok, should be good in a few minutes. Make sure you eat good tonight. Healing does not fix blood loss, so no hard work until tomorrow.¡± He says, then he turns and starts walking back over to his friend.


    I forget to thank him again as I start pulling the bandages off, trying to get a look at my arm as the burning sensation continues. I get the final layer of gauze off and stare at arm in a mix of awe and horror as I watch the flesh slowly grow and knit itself back together. The surface cuts are already gone but the two big holes are still slowly filling in, muscle and skin rapidly stretching out and expanding until finally the wounds close. I only saw the last few seconds of the process, but that might leave a few mental scars, because it was freaky as hell to watch. Now my arm looks like nothing ever happened to it, the skin as flawless and smooth as it was before. A quick flex brings no feelings of pain, just weakness. Makes sense, it did just rapidly regrow, and he did tell me to eat well, probably to compensate for what it took to fix the arm. I hop off the stretcher still flexing and examining my arm, only to be interrupted by someone walking up behind me.


    ¡°Excuse me miss, now that you¡¯re feeling better could you answer a few questions for us?¡± A somewhat familiar voice asks.


    I turn my head to find Reina¡¯s father standing behind me with a not taking no for an answer look on his face. Well shit, guess I¡¯m not getting home anytime soon after all.

 Chapter 18: Interlude - Suspicions

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    The clamor of the city became muted as the door to the incident response trailer drifted closed behind Duval. Inside, his fellow captain, Anderson, and Roy, one of the detectives, are sorting through remaining reports while the three other people are in the process of packing up their stations. To be honest they all expected worse when the calls started rolling in about a demon attack. He had immediately cut the combat training from the seminar short and headed out to the reported location. Military presence is still high after Friday¡¯s shitshow but everyone almost panicked at the thought of a resurgence event. Because surely the patrols around town should have caught all the remaining demons. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the pieces were put together that it was an isolated event with only two victims. But the lingering thought of the demons managing to stabilize a part of the breach or worse, open a portal locally, still sent chills up his spine. He fought enough demons on Friday, one would have been more than enough for his lifetime, as opposed to the half a dozen he killed taking Reina and his wife to the bunker. So Duval was double relieved when the word came down on his way to the incident that the demon had been neutralized.


    That was until he got to where the attack had occurred and saw who was involved. One of them being one of the girls he had pulled Reina away from. Specifically the one who looked like she was about to knock his baby girl¡¯s teeth out when he came around the corner. Some of the soldiers were already tending to her wounds, so it was clear she had taken a hit. But when Duval looked over at the dead demon, something about the situation didn''t make sense. The wolgi demon, if Duval remembered the type right, was a decently powerful demon type. Powerful enough that it should have been able to rip the arm off of a newly minted defender. And he was sure she was new, having seen her slip away after being one of the first to complete her paperwork. Clearly opting to skip the optional combat training. Unless she didn''t actually need it. And just like that doubt set in, along with the realization that his baby girl was almost hurt, badly. If the girl could take a hit from a wolgi demon then she could have tossed Reina down the hallway hard enough to break bones at a minimum. But she only registered today, meaning she shouldn''t be that powerful. The timeline didn''t match up.


    But he knew he couldn''t just interrogate the girl, not when matters involving demons were technically military issues. He was only here in case their guns couldn''t bring it to heel. But that gave him an idea, one that his fellow captain will no doubt curse him out over later. He offered his departments assistance in the matter for crowd management, as a few small groups of gawkers were starting to form. And most importantly, in questioning those involved. Something his department was better equipped and trained for when it came to civilians. The local commander happily accepted on the condition they stayed involved. And so Duval called in asking for assistance. Anderson was pissed he had to deploy, the new chief was annoyed but ultimately didn''t care as he was stuck in a council meeting. So Duval had Roy ''question'' the girl after telling him his suspicions.


    Two hours later word came through that Roy was done and the girl had been sent home. So he cut his reassurances to the public short and headed back to the trailer to hear the results.


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    "Well, how did it go?" Duval asked Roy directly.


    "That girl is a world class actor or I''ll eat my own shoe." Roy replies.


    "Oh, that bad huh?" Duval replied.


    "Not everyday you see Roy walk away with nothing gained like that." Anderson says aloud, causing Duval to look at the man in question and raise an eyebrow.


    "Girl was a rock, I tried everything, leading questions, backhanded questions, even off handed questions that seemed related but were really just tangents to try and get her to slip up and spill something. Nothing, none of it worked." Roy said while folding his arms with an annoyed look on his face.


    "That''s why we sent her home?" Duval asked.


    "That and the public optics of it. If word got out we held a supposed victim of a demon attack for too long it would have looked bad. We''re already on thin enough ice after that fiasco with the mayor and previous chief. I''m no expert but I agree with you that the timeline doesn''t add up." Anderson says.


    "Then we get some warrants and investigate. Should be easy enough." Duval says.


    "Yea good luck with that. People normally get magic in their thirties or later. For a seventeen year old to have it isn''t unheard of but you know how it is. The younger someone is the less likely they get magic access. Good luck convincing a judge that the girl actually got it before last Friday, especially with the attack." Roy retorts.


    "Moreover she is still technically a minor. I know kids sometimes get up to stupid things, but I don''t think she is up to anything nefarious. I listened in on the whole questioning session, she didn''t come off as a trouble maker, just standoffish. But when aren''t teenagers standoffish with authority figures? I think you were right, but not as right as you think Duval. Yea it doesn''t really add up but defenders are weird, and nothing else insinuates she''s up to no good. She''s got a clean record." Anderson cuts in.


    "Roy, can you at least do a little more digging? This just isn''t sitting right with me. We have enough issues right now, I don¡¯t want some defender gang banger wannabe running around under our noses.¡±


    ¡°Pffff, first off, that''s why the department hired you. To deal with ¡®gang banger¡¯ wannabe defenders. Second, I¡¯ve got too many cases that already need attention, on top of the fiasco going on with the mayor and old chief. Did you know some coke brained nitwit tried to fight a soldier in one of the bunkers? Oh, there are also the loitering incidence we need to look into. And there¡¯s that guy who somehow got drunk and tried to kill another dude. Then there was the¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough, I think he gets the picture, Roy. We don¡¯t have the resources or public image to risk taking this any further. I¡¯d advise dropping the matter until something more concrete pops up.¡± Anderson says in a stern tone.


    ¡°Alright fine, but I don¡¯t like this. It¡¯s going to come back to bite us in the ass, mark my words this is ¡­¡­.¡±


    Duval was cut off as a almost panicked voice called out over the police radio.


    ¡°All units! All units! Code 112 at city hall! Repeat code 112 at city hall! ¡±


    ¡°Fuck, not again! Duval go!¡± Anderson screamed as a gust of wind blew through the trailer.


    But Duval was already out the door and in his patrol car and burning rubber, his inhuman speed making him barely perceptible to the eye. He blows out onto the street and takes off at breakneck speeds. But now isn''t the time for road safety, because code 112 means a resurgence event."

 Chapter 19: Just another Monday

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    God, I don¡¯t know what I hate more now, demons, or cops! Two hours of just sitting around answering the same questions over and over again in this little tent thing they had set up nearby. I don¡¯t know if they didn¡¯t believe me or just couldn¡¯t get the story straight but they kept me so damn long my mana almost ran out. Reina¡¯s father wasn''t even the one doing the questioning, he just led me in and dumped me off on some snarky dude who apparently was a freaking idiot. He needed me to repeat everything multiple times. Finally they cut me loose after two hours. Saving grace is that they offered me a ride home. Which was good because I was not willing to try my luck with another bus stop.


    I''m metaphorically biting my nails the whole ride, watching as my mana gets lower and lower as we cross the city. Finally I get dropped off in front of my house and quickly make my way up to my room. Only Tommy seems to notice my entrance and looks up from his blocks to wave at me, and I wave back. The twins are watching TV, mom is cooking dinner, and I''m pretty sure dad is still at work.


    Once I get to my room, I pull my backpack off and fish out the seven or eight fliers they gave out in the orientation. I sit down at my desk and pull my shirt off, letting my wings free just short of running out of mana.


    Mana: 37/2882


    Yea, to fuckin close for confort. Note to self, give way more leeway on mana reserves. It worked out this time, but damn that was way to fucking close. If my spell had failed mid car ride¡­. I shudder just thinking of the outcome.


    I find the page I want and read through it, finding a few other helpful tidbits along the way. Like apparently working out, stretching, running, etc can improve the relevant stats by a few points. But the higher your own abilities go the harder it is to gain these advantages. And if you stop exercising you will gradually lose the benefits as your body returns to normal. The example they give is that someone with a hundred strength needs to basically bench press an empty freight train car to get benefits. Which isn''t feasible even without the use of specialized equipment. Finally I get to what I am looking for.


    Average stats for males - Strength: 17-21, Agility: 14-18, Dexterity: 11-14, Endurance: 20-30, Intelligence: 15-27, Attunement: 6-12


    Average stats for females - Strength: 15-19, Agility: 13-17, Dexterity: 13-18, Endurance: 17-28, Intelligence: 16-28, Attunement: 6-12


    Holy shit, mine are like double these numbers! Some of them are even more than that! My attunement is bonkers compared to the baseline. The only thing even close is endurance. I know demons are stronger than regular people by a long shot, but this is ridiculous. I guess that''s why the demon didn''t rip my arm straight off. Damn, looking back I probably could have punched the thing myself to get it off. Though I don''t know if I would have broken my own hand in doing so. The Swedish guy had a spell and still broke his hand.


    Either way it worked out, somehow. I got some more power level out of it and a new illogical fear of waiting for public transportation, how neat. Charles, Anna, and James are gonna lose their shit when I tell them about this. Speaking of Charles, he''s online, and I want to know what kind of demon I dealt with. So I give him a call. He answers franticly after only two rings.


    "Holy crap Lucy, are you ok!?"


    "Uhhhh, yea? Why?"


    "I saw you on the news! You fought a demon!?"


    "Ahhhhh craaaaaaap! I forgot about the news vultures! How bad is it?" I say while letting my head fall onto my desk.


    "Not too bad. They didn''t identify you or anything, I just recognized you by your favorite jacket. No one else has one like that. Bet you''re pissed about that."


    "Damn fucking right I''m pissed. That was a super soft jacket! Now I have to go get another one!"


    "So I take it you''re somehow not in the hospital. How did you get them to let you out?¡±


    ¡°The other guy involved had a friend who was a healer, he patched me up for free.¡±


    ¡°Damn, lucky Lucy showing herself again. Could have been bad if you got stuck in the hospital.¡±


    ¡°Don''t get me started. I barely made it up to my room before running out of mana.¡±


    ¡°Damn, sounds like you need more points put towards your mana. Maybe ¡­.. You¡­. should¡­ Oh shit, Lucy, look at the news!¡±


    ¡°What, what''s happening? Which channel?¡± I ask while pulling open a browser tab.


    ¡°News thirteen. There''s a standoff between some demons and defenders at city hall.¡±


    ¡°What? Demons don¡¯t stand off, they rampage and break shit.¡± I say while opening the news thirteen livestream on vidshare.


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    What greets me is an overhead view from a helicopter looking down on city hall from very far away. But it was clear to see the building was in bad shape. Even from a distance it was clear to see smoke was rising from it, and some parts of the building looked collapsed. The camera was attempting to zoom and focus on a bunch of figures standing in front.


    ¡° ¡­.our correspondent in the air Dave Tanner.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Sara. As you can see demons are pouring out of city hall but seem to be put off by the heavy response. They have yet to attack, but our sources say they have a lord leading they may be waiting to amass more forces before attacking. The condition of people within city hall is unknown and ¡­ hold on, is that demon holding someone?¡±


    Sure enough the camera zooms in on a particularly big demon slowly forcing its way out the front doors of the building. In the demon¡¯s left hand is some, clearly flailing and trying to get free. The demon stops and holds the man up, before lightly shaking him around while its huge mouth moves.


    ¡°Hold on, there appears to be a new development. The demon is using a hostage as leverage, that must be the lord. We may soon see ¡­.. Hold on, you sure? Were going to have to switch back to you Sara, they just closed down airspace over the city so we have to pull out.¡±


    ¡°Alright than you Dave, keep you updated as we receive updates¡­¡± I mute the tab and swap back to discord.


    ¡°God I hate this city, it''s fucking cursed isn''t it?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Ehhh, probably. Think we should start heading to the bunkers?¡± Charles asks.


    ¡°First off, I have the mana for that. Second, weren''t you complaining that the bunkers were worse than the demons? Third, my bed¡¯s the perfect place to hide, I can nap and ignore the world burning around us.¡± I say, punctuated by a dejected chuckle.


    ¡°I could make a joke but I won''t.¡±


    ¡°Good, because I know where you live. I will fly over there and kick your ass.¡±


    ¡°I thought you were out of mana?¡±


    ¡°Hush! Minor detail.¡±


    ¡°¡®Badun¡¯ User has joined your channel.¡± The digital voice of discord says aloud.


    ¡°Holy crap, have you guys seen the news!?¡± Anna says with a hint of panic.


    ¡°Yea we were just talking about it. Demons are doing weird shit this time though.¡± I reply.


    ¡°They were holding someone hostage before the news chopper pulled out. Now we don¡¯t know what''s going on.¡± Charles says.


    ¡°Yea I saw that! What¡¯s gonna happen!?¡± Anna asks.


    ¡°Who knows, it''s not our problem. So, minecraft?¡± I reply.


    ¡°Yea, probably good to get our minds off the demons. Just try not to get blown up this time Anna.¡± Charles says.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t my fault! James left the door open and it walked in while I was crafting!¡± Anna says back in protest.


    ¡°That''s why I put the lighting rods in front of the doors, they block the mob''s pathfinding. But someone said they were ugly and a waste of copper and removed them. Then that same someone got blown up by a creeper that walked in the front door.¡± I snarky replied.


    ¡°Shut up! You can¡¯t pick on a cripple!¡± Anna playfully replies.


    ¡°Oh please Anna, you beat¡­.¡± Charle¡¯s reply is cut off by a loud explosion in the distance that causes the lights to flicker and my headset to get filled with static.


    After a moment I feel a wave of what I think is essence rush past me. It¡¯s similar to feeling a person, but everywhere at once as it blows past me and makes me fall out of my chair in surprise.


    ¡°Holy shit, what the hell was that?!¡± Charles asks once the static clears up.


    ¡°I don''t know but I feel we should get to shelter.¡± Anna meekly replies.


    ¡°Hey Lucy you there?¡± Charles asks as I finish climbing back up into my seat.


    ¡°Yea I¡¯m good. Just caught off guard.¡± I reply.


    ¡°The siren hasn''t gone off so I don¡¯t think we should move. I¡¯m wondering if they started fighting those demons at city hall.¡± Charles says.


    ¡°I hope that''s it and we don¡¯t have to run off to the bunkers. I¡¯m still out of mana.¡± I say absentmindedly.


    ¡°Why are you out of mana lucy? Ah! Have you been practicing magic!? Show me, show me!¡± Anna replies with enthusiasm.


    Well, at least Anna is distracted. How much mana do I have anyways?


    Holy shit! That wave gave me like fifty power level! And I got five stat points to spend, score!


    ¡°Lucy, are you still there?¡± Charles asks.


    ¡°Yea, hold on I¡¯m gawking at my stats screen. That explosion gave me like fifty power level and bumped me over the threshold for five more stats points.¡± I reply


    ¡°Oh sweet, what are you going to spend them on?¡± Charles asks.


    ¡°Magic, do Magic! It¡¯s gonna be so cool when you start flying and throwing fireballs!¡± Anna yells in excitement.


    ¡°Calm down Anna, its Lucy¡¯s stats. Let her make her decision.¡± Charles says trying to calm Anna down a notch.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Anna meekly replies.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know Charles. I think listening to the devil on my shoulder is a good idea here.¡± I say.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Anna protests, eliciting a chuckle from me and Charles.


    I need more mana, end of discussion. So right now, all my points are getting slapped into attunement. And with that, my mana capacity jumps by a decent amount.


    A little over three hundred mana increase may not seem like much, but I know those attunement points are also going to help with spells and the like.


    "So what are your stats at now?" Anna asks.


    Like hell I''m gonna tell her my stats. But Anna''s head will probably explode and she will be fuming at me for the next month if I don''t. So, time to think up some bullshit. I look over to the paper on the edge of my desk and start reading random numbers.


    "Strength sixteen, agility fifteen, dexterity thirteen, endurance 18, intelligence twenty, attunement fifteen." I say with faux confidence.


    "Oooh cool! How much mana can you hold!?"


    "Uhh, a little under a thousand." I say after trying to sound convincing after pulling a semi realistic number out of my ass. Thankfully Anna seems to buy it.


    "That''s awesome! How many¡­." Ana tries to go on, only to be interrupted by Charles coming to my rescue.


    "Alright Anna, stop going all Spanish inquisition on poor Lucy. Game server is up." says.


    So we all joined up and the conversation shifted from my magic to our lack of iron. Charles had been strip mining so we should have had lots of it. We were wondering where it all went when Anna stumbled into James''s secret golem room hidden away in his part of the base. Anna then proceeded to lava trap James''s bed and go mining, where she was promptly blown up by a creeper. Funny enough James didn''t get online at all.


    It was good, feeling normal playing Minecraft and worrying about what assignments we have due tomorrow. Eventually the night crept in and Anna and Charles had to call it quits. So I call it and did my night routine before hitting the covers. Except I couldn''t sleep¡­. Again. After a few hours I just said fuck it and played Drg2 for the rest of the night.

 Chapter 20: Weekend plans and Family Drama

    The rest of the week was fairly boring and normal. Aside from the fact I apparently don''t need to sleep anymore. Except for on Wednesday, people started giving me funny looks and trying to subtly keep out of my way. But they seemed hesitant to actually talk about me when I was near though, so I had to ask my friends if they had heard anything. Charles and Anna were completely out of the loop but James managed to pick up on that there were some rumors going around about me, but he couldn''t get any more information than that. Which is suspicious as fuck. Because if there is one thing I''ve learned in highschool, it''s that highschoolers love to gossip.


    Surprisingly there was a lack of trouble from Reina, and not just towards me, Anna, Charles, or James. Reina hasn''t caused any drama at all over the last week, for anyone. I was actually starting to wonder if she died or something until I saw her in the hallway earlier today. The moment she saw me she paled a little and doubled back the way she came. I don''t know what her problem is but it works for me. Ah right, her father might have told her to stay away from me. Seeing how Reina tends to piss people off and I might legit kill her. I mean, I wouldn''t try to kill her, just try to make it so she couldn''t talk any more.


    I¡¯ve never been popular per say, but never a social pariah either. But they way people are acting you would think I actually killed someone¡­.. I wonder if Reina actually has been running her mouth in the background? And maybe she¡¯s just being very careful not to let it get traced back to her since she seems to know I can fuck her shit up without breaking a sweat.


    Either way, I only need to put up with this for about three more months. After I¡¯ve graduated I¡¯ll be able to head off to some college or another. My hope is Unitypoint University, they have an amazing Information technology program. But honestly I¡¯ll take anything on the west coast to get away from my family and the rest of these insufferable pricks. MIT has a good program but is a bit close to home for my liking, so it''s my backup hope. Though I doubt I¡¯ll get accepted to either, millions apply to them every year. While my grades are all top scores, I¡¯m still a drop in the bucket and an out of state applicant to boot. I walk up to my locker to grab my books for fourth and fifth period after finishing my lunch, only to find a familiar face waiting for me.


    ¡°Well, well ,well, if it isn''t Charles. What has you waiting around?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Hey Lucy, I was hoping to catch you. Are you free tomorrow afternoon?¡± Charles asks me.


    ¡°Yea¡­ why?¡± I hesitantly ask, noticing the look Charles. That''s the same look he has when he starts rambling about demons.


    ¡°Well, I know of a secluded spot out of town, so I was wondering if you¡¯d be open to me taking some measurements and notes about, you know?¡±


    There it is, I wondered how long it would take him to start pestering me about it. Honestly I¡¯m surprised it took him almost a week to crack.


    ¡°Charles, everything about that statement was just wrong.¡± I say, shooting him a smirk.


    ¡°What?...... Really Lucy? You know I don¡¯t mean it like that.¡± he says in an annoyed tone.


    ¡°Yea but when you fixate on demons, the part of your brain responsible for watching what you say clearly turns off. As for your question, fine. I need to learn a few things myself anyway, might as well have an expert on hand.¡±


    ¡°Awesome! So, when do you want me to pick you up? I can get my moms car for the day.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m free any time. Oh, a little tidbit I''m sure you¡¯ll like, I don¡¯t need to sleep anymore. No sleepiness, I spend most of the night playing drg2.¡±


    ¡°Oooooooh, any side effects?¡± Charles asks while pulling out a little notebook and scribbling into it.


    ¡°As far as I can tell, nope.¡±


    ¡°Interesting, how does all that extra free time work out for you?


    ¡°It¡¯s great, aside from the fact I¡¯m running out of stuff to do. I¡¯ve even finished all the posted homework for the rest of the semester. Now, I have an important question. Do you think we should bring Anna and show her?¡±


    Charles immediately stops writing, clearly deep in thought for a few moments before putting his notebook away and shaking his head.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if that''s a good idea, she¡¯s still getting used to her disability. And, well, you heard her when she thought you died. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s mentally recovered from that yet.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I don¡¯t want to keep her out of the loop for too long. It just¡­ feels wrong, like I¡¯m lying to her.¡±


    ¡°Yea, lie by omission. But that''s not really a lie, and the truth would hurt her a lot more.¡±


    ¡°Yea, and when should I tell her then? Next week? Next month? Next year? Never? I just need to convince her I¡¯m still me, I managed to convince you.¡±


    ¡°Yea, but I¡¯m a dumbass. Anna isn¡¯t, she will freak the fuck out the moment you show her.¡±


    ¡°Then we let her in on it slowly. I¡¯m not going to keep her in the dark any longer. Can you pick her up tomorrow? I¡¯ll invite her and tell her I¡¯m gonna be practicing magic. And once we¡¯re done I¡¯ll actually show her some magic, that should make her happy.¡±


    ¡°Ugh, fine, I can pick her up if I get a time. Mark my words Lucy, this is going to go poorly.¡± Charles says with a hint of resignation.


    ¡°And when it does it will be on me. Anything else you need? Class is going to start soon.¡±


    ¡°Nah that''s it, I¡¯ll catch you later Lucy, thanks again.¡±


    And right as Charles walked away the dinging sound indicating the next period was starting rang out over the PA system. I quickly finished stuffing the next set of books into my bag and booked it to fourth period. Fourth period was civics, where we learned about laws, taxes, and other important things we need to know as members of society. Today¡¯s topic, was funny enough, defenders.


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    The teacher, cranky old man he was, ribbed the class about paying attention before even starting the lecture. Then he actually started teaching. Most of this stuff I already knew thanks to having to deal with it on Monday, but there were some tidbits I didn¡¯t know. Like apparently you can get in trouble for trying to harass someone doing the starter tutorial, regardless of the reason, except for if they''re in danger or posing a danger to others, it''s a misdemeanor apparently. Likewise its illegal to interfere with a registered defender when they are performing duties such as killing demons. That''s not even accounting for if they are also law enforcement or military. Basically let them do their thing. It''s also illegal to have or possess a D.I.D, which is the nickname for the defender identification card, if you''re not actually a defender. It''s considered similar to identity theft. If you find one and it''s not yours, drop it in a postage box or call law enforcement to turn it in. Huh, I remember reading something about that in the handouts they gave out at the orientation thing. My D.I.D should be coming in via the mail soon. Shit, I hope my mother doesn''t get to it.


    The rest of it was stuff I already knew, like you need to register, blah blah blah. Fifth period was chemistry, that was neat. I got paired up with Anna and she almost blew up the room because she couldn¡¯t hobble over to the burner fast enough and the stuff in the beaker boiled free of the lid. Open all the windows and turn off your burners because that might be a potentially explosive fume. Why highschoolers are doing processes that may result in explosions is beyond me. But as long as I get an A and don''t explode, it''s not my problem. At the end of class I invited Anna to me and Charles'' little outing tomorrow while helping her to her locker. I thought she was gonna explode she got so excited. We made it to her locker and then the bus in record time, on account of Anna¡¯s new found enthusiasm. The whole bus ride back Anna interrogated me about what I was gonna practice tomorrow, but I held strong and told her she¡¯d just have to wait and see.


    I¡¯m thinking it''s been a pretty good day as I walk in the front door and start taking my coat off. Of course, I don¡¯t even get to finish taking off my coat before my mother gets on me.


    ¡°Lucy Bretmont, come to the kitchen.¡± My mother says with her I¡¯m going to scold you tone.


    Oh boy what now? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve done anything that should warrant her wraith. Then again the twins could have triggered it, I''ve caught flack for their fuckery before. Like that time they tore up the backyard and said I did it. I¡¯m hoping it''s minor and I can just get around it with a quick yes, no, or sorry mom.


    That hope is instantly destroyed when I round the corner into the kitchen and see my mother holding an orange card and torn open envelope in one hand, and reading a letter with the other. Orange is the color D.I.D cards normally are¡­¡­shit.


    "What is this?" My mother asks while gesturing with the card and waving the letter around.


    "Um, an orange card?" I ask, feigning sweetness and ignorance.


    "Do not play dumb with me. How long have you had magic? Why didn''t you tell me?" My mother asks me with a hard gaze and a stern frown.


    Ah yes, it appears I''ve incurred the wrath of the inquisition of the church of the mother. I''m not going to hear the end of this, and she''s going to try turning me into a pin up doll. Best part is she would only be doing it so she could tack the twins onto me to make them famous as well. I already planned to get through college on scholarships and move across the country. I can put up with a few months of hostility from her if I need to. But if she gets her claws into my ''image'', I''ll never be rid of her.


    "Didn''t seem important and I had it handled so I figured you didn''t need to know." I reply feigning ignorance.


    "Excuse me!? Didn''t need to know? I am your mother, young lady! It is my right to know what is going on in your life! You will show me the respect I deserve! Magic is incredibly dangerous, you are a danger to both yourself and everyone in this household, that is why I need to know! What do you have to say for yourself?!" She demandingly shouts at me before crossing her arms and starting to tap her foot.


    I could try and argue with her, but logic has never been her strong suit, especially when she''s angry. To her a logical argument is just backtalk. I decide to just stay quiet and stare back at her. I''ve got some mana left so I don''t need to run up to my room just yet.


    Mana: 314/4224


    "Well?" She asks, clearly growing impatient.


    Yea, I tried to do this peacefully. But she is just going to keep escalating until she backs me into a corner and tries to make me submit to whatever god awful plan she''s been concocting ever since she opened my mail. I''ve even told both my parents multiple times not to open my mail, just leave it for me to get later. I''ve let her get away with this crap too much before. oh that''s a nice science project you''ve halfway finished for the science fair. Why don''t you let the twins help, and then my name magically disappears from it. I got good at ballet? Well the twins need lessons and mine get slowly reduced until. But this, this is my magic, I''m not letting her take this from me right before I get free.


    "Do you even know what magic I have? No you don''t. I haven''t even cast anything in the house! So stop acting like I''ve offended and endangered the entire family by keeping personal info to myself!" I snap back at her.


    She apparently didn''t expect that as a response, as she just sits there flapping her mouth open and closed for a few seconds before regaining her composure, and Oh boy is she pissed.


    "That''s it! You''re grounded! Give me your phone! No more extra curricular activities for you! I''m taking away your laptop. Clearly those idiots you talk to online are a bad influence on you!" She yells while starting to stomp across the kitchen to me.


    Idiots? She''s calling Charles, Anna, and James idiots?! Any minor trepidation about opposing my mother is instantly replaced by anger as the words register in my mind. She complimented my friends plenty of times when they were over. Now she''s insulting them, hypocritical bitch!


    "Do not call them idiots." I snap back.


    I guess all the yelling attracted Tommy''s attention. Because I sense him getting ready to round the corner of the hall into the kitchen behind me. Upside of not taking my hat off until I get to my room, I can sometimes sense where my family members are and avoid them. Or say high if it''s Tommy and or my dad. I turn around and snatch Tommy up as he toddles into the kitchen, much to his amusement.


    "Lucky play! Eheheh." He says while squirming around in my grip.


    "Hey little man! I''ll play with you later, lucky and mom have to finish talking. Why don''t you go play with your logs and make a nice tower and I''ll look at it when I get there."


    "Yay!" Tommy screams as I put him down and he bolts back round the corner towards the living room.


    "We are not done young lady! Phone now!" My mother demands from directly behind me. I turn around and find her standing there with her hand extended out in a demanding grasp, tapping her foot all the while.


    "No. You need to understand that I''m not going to go along with whatever scheme, plan, whatever you want to call it. I''m going to my room, this¡­ conversation is over. Do not follow me, I''ll talk this over with dad when he gets home." Because if I keep talking with her one of us is going to blow a gasket. And in a physical altercation I would probably break her bones accidentally. I hate her guts but that doesn''t mean I want to rip them out.


    Unfortunately she didn''t listen, and instead opted to follow me up stairs yelling at me until I closed and locked my door in her face. She pounded on it for a minute before giving up and going back down stairs. Not the way I wanted that to go, but at least she didn''t try to grab me or anything. If she won''t respect my boundaries I''m not going to just bend over for her anymore. I decide to get my homework out of the way while I wait. Dad will be pissed, but at least I''ll be able to actually talk with him.

 Chapter 21: Family Drama Two

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    A few hours later I hear a commotion down stairs. I can¡¯t quite make out what exactly is going on for a few minutes, but slowly it becomes clear two people are having a very loud shouting match. I get up and walk over to my door, planning to just crack it a little so I can hear what''s being said. But as I get close I can feel a small, low to the ground presence in the hallway, and I notice the door knob jiggling slightly, like someone is trying to turn it. I think I know who is on the other side of the door.


    Mana: 2732/4224


    Checking my mana really quick, I find it high enough that I can comfortably transform. So I put all my demon parts away and open up the door. Sure enough Tommy is on the other side clearly trying to get into my room, but failing since he probably didn''t realize I had the door locked.


    "Tommy, you know you''re not supposed to go into my room." I tell him sternly. He just looks up at me with sad little eyes.


    "Mama Dada yell." He says in a sad voice while pointing down the stairs.


    Sure enough my parents are still yelling, except now I can make out what they are saying.


    "... not our place to pry! She is a teenager, she needs some space!" My dad yells.


    "What she needs, is to tell us these things so we can make informed decisions!" My mom yells back.


    Pick Tommy up and pat him on the head and start heading down to the living room. I promised to play with him earlier and I might as well keep him distracted.


    "She''s almost eighteen! She can make her own decisions. We need to support her, not fight her!" My dad continues yelling.


    "We know what''s best for her! She doesn''t even realize how dangerous magic is!"


    "You think YOU know what''s best for her! I''m not going to go along with your preaching anymore. I''ve been resented by my oldest daughter enough!"


    "She''s just an angry teenager! She''ll grow out of it! She needs to learn respect and discipline!"


    Hold on, is my dad standing up for me? Normally he''s either a pushover or goes along with her bullshit. Why is he pushing back against her now? Well either way, it will help keep her off my back, so not like I can disapprove. Though poor Tommy seems to be confused and scared. I get to the bottom of the stairs and slip around the corner to the living room unnoticed by the still screaming inhabitants of the kitchen.


    "We almost lost her, Agitha! We almost lost her and we didn''t even know it. She didn''t tell us! Why!? Because she doesn''t trust us! Because you keep doing shit like this!"


    "What, what do you mean!? She did something with magic, didn''t she!"


    "No she didn''t! She fought a fucking demon on Monday! She got hurt and didn''t want to tell us! Because you would have turned it against her instead of comforting her!"


    "Bullshit, why didn''t we hear about it then!"


    "Because she didn''t want to tell us! I only figured it out when my coworkers brought it up and I found the news story!"


    "Th-th-th-that couldn''t have been her!"


    "I know my own daughter when I fucking see her Agitha!"


    At this point I walk into the family room and put Tommy down while tuning out the conversation. He immediately runs over to his blocks and starts stacking them into a tower. From the kitchen I can hear my mother sobbing. Damn, talk about family drama. Unfortunately for them, I don''t plan on giving them another chance. They''ve had years to stop, too late to ask for forgiveness now. Well, OK, my mom and the twins are getting cut out. But after that little showing, my dad might, just might be able to bring it back. I highly doubt it though. They had to have been arguing quite a few times before this for it to finally blow up like this. Still not my problem, I''ll be gone in four months off to college. Originally I planned to bolt, find a place to live, and take multiple jobs to support myself until school started. But with my magic, I might be able to drop the multiple jobs part. I¡¯ll probably be able to get to a better place too. Now if only I didn¡¯t need to turn into a demon to get it, ah well, can''t have everything I guess.


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    By the time I''m done with my musing Tommy has successfully built his tower and seems quite pleased with himself. Then he grabbed the box with the remaining blocks and dragged it over to me.


    ¡°Lucky build tower too!¡±


    So I took my turn building a tower of blocks, all while Tommy constantly monitored and ¡®corrected¡¯ my work. It was a surprisingly soothing experience, one that I needed after all the chaos and insanity of the last week. But all good things must come to an end. After a few minutes and a couple more towers, my father walks into the living room holding an orange card.


    ¡°Hey kiddo, mind if we have a quick chat?¡± he asks me with a sheepish smile while holding out the card.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to talk about?¡± I ask, feigning ignorance while getting up to take the card.


    ¡°Lucy, don¡¯t be like that. Me and your mother are concerned about your safety.¡± He says as I grab the card, but he does not release his grip. I don¡¯t let go either, instead looking up and silently meeting his gaze, calling his bluff. He quickly lets out a sigh and lets go while sitting down on the couch.


    ¡°Your mother got a hold of your mail, obviously. I¡¯ve talked to her and she shouldn¡¯t do it again but keep your eye out just in case. Unfortunately, she took the liberty of calling a few of the numbers and trying to arrange things. I¡¯ve made her promise to call them back and cancel but¡­¡± He says in a dejected and tired voice.


    ¡°But she might not do it, and even if she does they still know and might harass me.¡± I say interrupting him.


    ¡°Yea, that¡­. Look I¡¯m not going to claim your mother had this completely thought out, but please try not to hate her.¡±


    ¡°Kinda hard to do that when she¡¯s trying to turn me into a pinup doll against my will.¡±


    ¡°That''s... A bit of a harsh way to look at it. Look sweety, we¡¯re a bit concerned. You''re exceptionally young to have these kinds of abilities. I for one don¡¯t want you getting in over your head and ending up in a bad way. Your mother¡­ alright I¡¯ll admit she hasn''t focused on you as much as your siblings, and I¡¯ve been absent a lot because of work, but that doesn''t make it right. You¡¯ve always been more independent than the twins and well¡­. You¡¯ve seen their grades. We, your mother especially, focused more on them because they needed the attention.¡± He says, followed by a sigh. When I don¡¯t respond he takes that as his cue to keep talking.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t give you as much attention as you deserved growing up sweety. I thought your mother had it handled and by the time I realized she was playing favorites, well¡­¡­ I should have been more attentive, that''s my fault. I know you don¡¯t want much to do with us, and I can¡¯t entirely blame you. I¡¯ll try to keep your mother off your back and maybe we can do some stuff on my days off together, but I¡¯ll admit now it will be hard because of my work. They demand as much time as I have and then some.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, Aren''t you still working twelve hour shifts five days a week?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yes, its utterly exhausting. But the good news is you, the twins, and Tommy have your college paid for and then some.¡± He says with a smile. I just give him the raised eyebrow look, because no way in hell my mom hasn¡¯t gotten a hold of that money.


    ¡°What, don¡¯t give me that look. I get paid well, your mother wanted a bigger house but I convinced her to stay here. It¡¯s a small but cozy place that''s big enough for our needs. The last three years of nonstop overtime have stolen my soul but it''s worth it knowing you kids are all taken care of. I set the accounts up so your mom can only deposit, not withdraw or transfer either. So unless I die tomorrow you¡¯ve got more than enough to get through college. Not that I think you will need it. You''re a bright girl sweety, you do well and apply yourself. You¡¯ll probably be able to go on only grants and what not. So anything that''s left over, you can, I don¡¯t know, buy a house with it or something.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I ask, stunned.


    ¡°Yes really. Contrary to what you might think I do actually love you sweety. I¡¯ve just been¡­.. Bad at it.¡±


    That''s¡­. Wow. I was not expecting to actually feel loved this morning when I got up from, well, I didn''t actually get up because I don¡¯t sleep. I get up and walk over to dad, then give him a hug. One he happily reciprocates.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± I say, barely keeping the tears out of my eyes.


    ¡°Your welcome sweety. Like I said, I¡¯ll try to talk to your mother¡­..¡± My dad says, only to be interrupted by Tommy jumping up and joining in on the hug.


    ¡°Huggys!¡± he yells.


    This would be a wonderful moment, if it wasn''t punctuated by my mother''s sobs in the background.

 Chapter 22: A Picnic with Friends

    Charles picked me up the next morning and we went over to grab Anna. Anna was waiting for us with one of her brothers, and was bouncing around on her crutches as we approached. Her brother on the other hand had a face that made it clear he drew the short straw. After we got her loaded into the car, we were off to wherever the hell middle of nowhere Charles had picked out. It was a mostly uneventful, just us talking about random stuff and what we are going to do on the minecraft world. That is until Still Alive by Verdi started playing over the radio. Me and Anna immediately started singing aloud together, much to Charles''s suffering. By the time the song was over he looked like he wanted to repeatedly slam his head into the steering wheel.


    "Can you not, I heard enough of that song from my little sister." He says dismayed.


    "Not our fault your taste in music is lacking." Anna fire back.


    "Not what I was saying but whatever, we''re here." Charles replies.


    Here, is the dirt road dead ending into a small little clearing in the forest with nothing but a rotting wooden table with benches in the center. I wasn''t paying super close attention to where we were going, but I know we''re at least a few miles outside the city. And a bit ways off the beaten path at that.


    "Damn Charles, how the heck you find this place?" I ask him as we pile out of the car.


    "It''s an old spot my family used to visit a lot on weekends before my dad got promoted and started traveling. Help Anna out of the car, I''ll get the basket and blanket." He says.


    I turn to help Anna get out of the car, only to find her already out and using one of her crutches to close the door. She just gives me a bit of side eye before hobbling over to Charles and playfully poking him in the leg with her crutches.


    "Ow, what was that for!?" He asks.


    "Thinking I need to be babied." Anna playfully scoffs before going over and sitting down on the blanket.


    "So, food first or¡­.?" Charles stats to ask, only to be interrupted by Anna.


    "Magic! Magic first! Show me the magic Lucy!" Anna practically shouts.


    "No, food first. It''s a bad idea to practice or watch on an empty stomach." I scold Anna.


    "Buuuuut you''ve been taunting me all week with it Lucy! I wanna see the magic! It''s not fair! Charles has gotten to see it!"


    "Actually, she hasn''t shown me any. Well OK, aside from the first day when she had to prove she had it, but that doesn''t really count." Charles says trying to calm her down.


    "Yes it does! I wanna see magic too!" Anna says.


    "After food." I sternly say.


    Anna pouts but seems to get the message that I''m not going to change my mind. Charles finishes unloading the food, which is a bunch of assorted nuggets, burgers, and cookies from Wendy''s. So we sit down and enjoy a fairly good brunch. Anna of course absolutely destroys the chicken nuggets. It''s a good thing I planned eating a burger anyways. She''s like a dragon but instead of hoarding shiny things it''s chicken nuggets. Charles tried to swipe one from her, almost losing a finger for his troubles.


    "Jesus Anna, put the crutches down, they''re just nuggets." Charles says while tipping over backwards to avoid another light crutch jab.


    "My nuggies! Get your own!" Anna playfull replies before jamming another nugget into her mouth.


    "We can''t, you instantly hoarded all of them like a damn dragon." I reply.


    "Sounds like a skill issue." Anna says mid chew.


    "Skill issue my ass, you''re acting like you''re starving. When''s the last time you ate?" Charles asks sternly.


    Instantly the joyous mood disappears as Anna simply stares straight ahead for a moment. Then she mutters an apology and tries to pass off a box of nuggets, which me and Charles both reject.


    "Anna, do you not have food at home again? Did your father drink away all the food money again?" Charles asks.


    Anna just meekly nods her head and starts silently crying. I immediately crawl over and immediately give her a hug.


    "It''s OK Anna, you can have the nuggets. You need to tell us these things, we can get you extra food." I say.


    "No, you guys don''t need to do that. Its¡­."


    "No buts, we''ll stop by Chick-fil-A on the way back and get you some food for the day. You don''t need to feel bad Anna, your father is an asshole" Charles says while joining in the hug.


    Anna just cried for a few more minutes before finally recomposing herself and asking to move on. Unfortunately next on the agenda was the reveal, since I can''t exactly test my mana when it''s all being sucked up by mimicry. I shot Charles a look that told him it was time.


    ¡°So, Anna, you remember last week right?¡± I ask.


    ¡°I lost half my fucking leg, so yea, I remember.¡± She replies terse.


    Oof, off to a great start. Come on Lucy, stop fucking it up.


    ¡°Well, you know my story about how I escaped the demon?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Yea, you got dropped on a roof when a defender started fighting with it? Right?¡±


    ¡°Yea, about that. You see, I didn''t actually get away unscathed.¡± I try to say as calmly as possible.


    Immediately Anna freezes mid bite on a nugget like a deer caught in headlights.


    ¡°Lucy, what do you mean?¡± She asks hesitantly.


    ¡°Well, um, how do I put this? You see, I kinda got turned into a demon.¡± I say, opting to just rip the metaphorical bandaid off.


    Anna freezes for a moment, a mix of emotions running over her face before finally settling on¡­. Rage?


    ¡°Lucy¡­.. Thats not fucking funny!¡± she shouts.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Is all I can muster in return.


    ¡°What kind of a fucking joke is that? Why?¡± She screamed at me.


    ¡°Anna, she¡¯s not joking.¡± Charles quickly interjects.


    Anna immediately freezes again, and I can tell her brain is running in overdrive to try and process what she just heard. Finally, she snaps out of her stupor.


    ¡°Prove it!¡± She snaps at me.


    I take my hat off, revealing my horns for her to see. She is about to open her mouth again to say something when she sees them, and immediately freezes staring at them. A second passes, then another, then a third. Then Anna starts trying to talk, her mouth moving but no words coming out, just incoherent noises. After another moment she just freezes again, then faints. Me and Charles jump forward and I barely manage to catch her before she crushes a box of nuggets.


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    ¡°Shit, I told you this was a bad idea!¡± Charles yells at me.


    ¡°I know, I just, shit! I thought it would go over better than this!¡± I respond.


    ¡°At Least she didn''t start screaming.¡±


    ¡°Yea, I fully expected screaming. Maybe even some swinging of the crutches.¡±


    ¡°Think she¡¯ll wake up?¡±


    ¡°Fucks sake Charles, of course she¡¯ll wake up, I didnt kill her!¡±


    We carefully set Anna down on the blanket and wrap her up. But it doesn''t take Charles even three seconds after we finish that to change focus.


    "Soooooo, testing?" he asks.


    "Charles, are you fucking kidding me? Don''t make me throw you up a damn tree!" I snap at him.


    "Oooh. Let me get my tools out first!" He elegantly replies while bolting for the trunk of the car. It seems that despite being turned into a demon I''m still the most sane one here. Ok, Anna might qualify as more sane, for now¡­..


    After a bit of rummaging Charles comes trodding back over with two gym bags full of stuff, a tripod, and a tool box. Oh dear.


    "Charles, what the fuck man! You look like your ready to fuckin dicect me."


    "Only if necessary. That''s a joke, please don''t yeet me into a tree. Most of this stuff is to test and compare your physique and more demonic parts. I also got a handheld scanner to see if we can get it to ping you."


    "Where the fuck did you get a handheld scanner?"


    "My dad let me borrow it."


    "Yea, I''m not gonna ask. Fine let''s get this over with."


    Charles didn''t reply, instead getting straight to work with a measuring tape of all things. He started measuring everything, and I mean everything, and writing those measurements down in his little notebook. When I asked him if keeping records like this was a good idea, he just brushed it off, saying none of it was identifiable to me and no one else would get to read the book anyway. When he got to my more personal measurements, I told him to sod off. So he promptly, and wisely, skipped over them. After that was done, he wanted to see the wings. So I reluctantly stripped my shirt off and popped the wings out. Charles of course, ignored the fact I only had a bra for my top now and immediately started ogling my wings. Boys are weird, but Charles is especially weird. After a bit of poking, prodding, and feeling up my wings, Charles asked me to fully extend them. I happily obliged, quite enjoying the sensation of stretching them out.


    "Damn, fifteen feet, two inches wingspan. Slightly larger than your average succubus. Did you know how to use them right off the bat, need to learn, or what? Can you fly with them?" Charles asks.


    "Uh, can you please not compare me to those¡­ things. Still a bit of a sore spot." I admit to Charles.


    "Oh, uh yea sure, sorry."


    "As for flying, I haven''t tried. I did seem to somehow know how to move them from the beginning though."


    "Interesting. The skin seems tough, probably won''t rip or anything. Though I don''t know if you could actually fly with just the wings. People are usually too heavy to fly, and I''m pretty sure there are a bunch of other things that prevent it."


    "I''m going to pretend that you didn''t just call me ''heavy''. I do have natural flight magic, so maybe they''re supposed to work with that?"


    "Maybe, it could also be a fluke. There are plenty of demons with wings that don''t fly."


    Charles spent a few more minutes doing whatever it is he does. At the end of it all he wanted to see how much they could lift and it turns out, it''s a lot. My wings can individually support up to seventy pounds each before I started to feel the strain, depending on position and what not. Not only that, but the things have punch to them as well if I use them right. But the angles I can successfully smack stuff with them at are limited.


    Anna was still sleeping, so before Charles tried to start the next round of mad science I popped over and tried to wake her up. To my surprise, she actually stirred.


    "Unnnng, brahh! I don''t wanna get¡­.. Nooooo! I fell asleep!" Anna shouts while trying to jump up. Until she looks up and sees me, and immediately lets out a horrified shriek so loud it makes me wince.


    "Ah, Anna, calm down, it isn''t as bad as ghak!" I try to calm Anna, only to get a crutch jabbed straight into my kidney for my trouble. I honestly could have avoided it, but I thought letting her hit me might make her feel better or something. Unfortunately I underestimated how hard she could swing, thinking my newfound power would protect me from a pitiful strike from weak little Anna. And for my hubris I was left on my knees while clutching my side  and groaning. Anna jumped to her one good foot, then quickly hobbled off towards Charles. Who was still rummaging around the back of the car preparing for his next round of ''testing''.


    "Charles! Charles! We got a get out of here¡­. What are you doing! Wait, oh god, oh god no! No! No! No! No! Don''t tell me she got you!" Anna screams after stopping mid hobble seeing how uncaring Charles was about the whole situation.


    "Nah, it''s cool Anna, I got her tamed. Watch this!" He says while pulling out another tool, this one looking like the hand scanner.


    What the fuck does he mean by tamed? Am I gonna have to kick his ass?


    ¡°Hey Lucy! Come get scanned!¡± Charles calls out.


    ¡°Fuckin busy mourning my kidney!¡± I yell back.


    ¡°Ah quit your whining! She couldn¡¯t have hit you that hard, it''s Anna.¡± he replies.


    ¡°Guys¡­.. What the fuck?¡± Anna murmurs, finally breaking out of her stupor.


    ¡°Yea, Lucy got on some weird shit and turned into that. I have verified that it''s still her though.¡± Charles says while walking up to Anna.


    ¡°Wah¡­ What? When!? How!?¡± Anna demands, probably asking about both me and in response to Charles¡¯s claim. And I really hope Charles doesn''t answer the ¡®when¡¯ question.


    ¡°Since last week, remember friday?¡± Charles stupidly replies. RIP charles.


    ¡°What yes I¡­¡­ Oh my god! You knew the whole time and you didn''t tell me!¡± Anna screams. Moments later she swings her right crutch into Charles¡¯s shin with the ferocity of an angry woman. That is to say, very, very, hard. Might have even been harder than when she jabbed me in the kidney.


    ¡°Ouch! Damn it Anna! This equipment is expensive, don''t make me drop it!¡± Charles yells while falling over.


    ¡°Fuck you! And you, why didn''t you tell me!?¡±  Anna screams while jabbing her crutch at me accusatively.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I wanted to tell you, but you just lost your leg in the attack. I wanted to give you some time to recover.¡± I reply while finally getting back to my feet.


    ¡°Bullshit! Why now!?¡±


    ¡°Because I didn''t want to keep lying to you.¡±


    That wipes some of the anger from her face, so I keep going.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to keep it from you Anna, but when Charles told me you lost a leg I knew I needed to hold off. I only roped Charles into it because I needed help, badly. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but it was better for everyone if we held off." I say while slowly approaching her.


    "Lucy¡­.."


    "Oh how adorable. A hideous child is trying to get along with the mortals." A squeaky, etheric voice calls out from above us.


    I look up and what I see has my blood turn icy in my veins. My throat tightens, and my chests feels heavy as a succubus lands high up in a nearby tree. Its red skin contrasts against the bony white horns above its ears. Said horns bend out then curve back in, further highlighted by void back hair that runs down to and proceeds to look us over with orange colored eyes containing a hungry gaze.


    "My my, aren''t you just an interesting, but ugly little thing." It says while narrowing its eyes at me.


    "Lucy, what do we do?" Anna asks behind me in a panic. Charles however raises the scanner and points it at the demon. It lets out a few short beeps, which drawing its attention, before the scanner starts letting an ungodly loud ear piercing ringing.


    "Ugh, what an atrocious little noise maker!" The demon recoils at the noise before slowly lifting its finger and pointing it at Charles with an evil smirk.


    "Do shut up for me." It says as its finger starts to glow.


    I turn back and lunge for Anna and Charles moving faster than I ever have before. My feet leave the ground as I subconsciously spread my wings and burst forward with my yet to be used flight magic at breakneck speed. I slam into Anna first, and she lets out a shriek as I loop an arm around her and simply keep going. A moment later I fly into Charles looping an arm around him and sending all three of us tumbling away at high speed. I tuck my wings around Charles and Anna and try to absorb as much of the impact as possible while we skid along the ground. As we come to a stop I finally register the immense heat radiating from behind us, feeling akin to being much too close to a fireplace in summer. I quickly look back to see the spot where Charles and Anna were standing in a black scorch mark, a hole of molten slag at the center. The car faired no better, its back half being turned into a melted mess, and the remainder of the front is on fire.


    "You little shit! You think that will stop me!? I''ll show you¡­." She screams and points her finger at us again, this time it takes on an ominous purple glow. But mid sentence she stops, before curling her hand back into a fist as she screams like spoiled child and stomps, breaking the branch underneath her as she takes flight once more.


    "Fuck you! I hope the mangy mutts tear you apart!" She screams as she turns and bolts off into the distance.


    Charles immediately kicks off and tries to untangle himself from me and Anna. He stomps on my wing in the process, much to my chagrin, but gets free and stands up. Anna meanwhile continues to lay in my arms, but now bawling her eyes out due to the traumatic experience.


    "Shhh, shh, it''s OK Anna. It''s gone, I''m sorry. It''s going to be alright." I try to comfort her in a soothing voice.


    "Uhh, Lucy, about that. You can fight right?" Charles asks with a very frightened sounding voice.


    I look up at Charles, then over at where he is standing, and see five canine figures slowly making their way into the clearing from between the trees. They look surprisingly dog like, aside from the very lightly glowing eyes and quad split snouts that revealed serrated razors for teeth as they growled.


    Those are corjo demons, and they look like they want blood.

 Chapter 23: Stuck in a Tree

    The five demon dogs continue to slowly prowl towards us, their features more apparent as they creep closer and move around. Two of them look like German shepherds, another like a golden retriever, with the final two looking like some kind of pit bulls. A good look reveals all of them have extra long claws on their front paws. Spikes protrude from their backs along their spines. As well as from their tails, which have taken a mange infested appearance.


    "OK, so good news and bad news." Charles says.


    "How is any of this good?" I ask him while jumping to my feet still holding Anna.


    "The scanner is a newer model that should ping the location and type when a demon is scanned. So help should be coming soon, assuming the signal gets picked up."


    "And the bad news then?" I ask as the corjo demons start to spread out to surround us.


    "We are way out in the woods and those are corjo demons, pack hunters by nature. Individually they''re weak, at least by demon standards. But they work together as a group to compensate for it."


    "Shit. Ok, can they climb?" I ask.


    "Climb?" Charles questions, confused.


    "Yea, like climbing a tree?"


    "Oh, no idea, maybe?"


    "Still a better place than here. Let''s go!" I say as I reach out to grab Charles, then turn and  run towards the nearest tree.


    The demons of course see this and decide to chase, immediately breaking into a run and bolting after us. I stop at the base of the tree, looking for a branch to jump up to while Charles catches up. Charles of course runs right into my back, bouncing off and almost falling on his ass.


    "Grab on!" I told him while extending my wings. Time to see if these things have any push. As Charles throws his arms over my shoulders I bend down and push off, flapping my wings as hard as I can as I try to activate my flight magic for some extra height. We boost off the ground, my wings coming back close to my body to avoid the branches as Charles barely holds on and Anna screams in my arms. It''s barely enough, but we get just high enough off the ground that I can get a stout branch under my feet. I plant myself firmly on the branch, taking one hand off Anna and using it to balance myself on the trunk.


    "Charles, climb! I got Anna!" I say as I start looking for branches higher up that look strong enough to hold the weight of two people. Charles, having somehow kept his head on straight, immediately jumps off my back and starts climbing. Thankfully the tree I jumped into is an older oak, meaning plenty of close together branches to use as foot holds. We get a couple of seconds head start as the demons make their way to the base of the tree. Charles gets a bit higher than me on account of my wings being unwieldy in this mess and me having to carry Anna, but overall we get good height.


    We''re about twenty feet up when the first demon gets to the tree and tries to jump up. It gets good height but still not enough to be even halfway to us. But it''s so focused on us that it doesn''t even try to gain any footing, instead snapping at us at the apex of its jump before falling back down, bouncing off of and breaking branches in the process. The demon hit the ground with a thunk and bounced back onto its feet, seemingly enraged by its failure as it snarled up at us.


    Other demons weren''t idle either, two of them were circling the tree from a short distance away, probably to cut off any attempts at escape, while the remaining two were clawing at the base of the tree. We climbed up a little more, stopping almost twenty five feet off the ground. A nasty distance to fall, but it still didn''t feel far enough away from the demons below us.


    ¡°Hey Charles, can you call 911? I don¡¯t trust your stupid scanner thing.¡± I ask him while keeping my eyes on the demons below.


    ¡°Yea, give me a second. I think I got service.¡± Charles replies.


    I turn my attention to Anna, who¡¯s still shaking. She looks back at me with a conflicted expression, tears still streaming down her face.


    ¡°Hey Anna, you OK?¡± I ask her in as soft a voice as possible. She doesn¡¯t answer with words, simply nodding her head a bit.


    ¡°OK, that''s good. Do you think you can sit on your own? I need to change back and maybe deal with the problem at the bottom of the tree.¡± I ask her. Again no words, she just nods her head and reaches out to grab onto a branch so she can pull herself over. I help her sit down on a particularly big branch and find hand holds to help keep herself stable. She seems reluctant to sit alone, so I motioned to Charles to come sit near her while he was talking on the phone. From the sounds of it he had just gotten through to the 911 operator, but he made his way down anyway to try and comfort Anna. With my friends taken care of, I turn my attention back to the issue that drove us up the tree in the first place while shifting my more demonic parts away. I debated on trying to fly out of this shitshow, but realized after checking my mana that doing that with Charles and Anna isn''t viable. Just getting into the tree was expensive as hell.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Mana: 2137/4224


    Down below three of the demons were still trying to figure out if they wanted to climb the tree or not while another was still patrolling. One of the demons that was originally patrolling had stopped in place and was chewing on something. It took me a moment to make out what it was chewing on, but after a few moments of squinting I realized it was the mauled remains of one of Anna¡¯s crutches. Destructive little shit chewing on it has turned it into a barely recognizable pile of scrap metal, the other crutch is nowhere to be seen either. Maybe it got dropped and melted in that beam thing that melted the car. Said car was also now burning, the front half finally catching fire from the intense heat.


    Finally one of the demons below, seemed to have tired of waiting around, and starts clawing at the base of the tree. After a moment it backs up, then runs forward and jumps a couple feet up the trunk. I desperately tries to sink its claws into the trunk with some success, but eventually fails and loses grip, falling back to the ground. Unfortunately, both it and the other two are emboldened by its particle success. All three demons back up before jumping and attempting to scale the tree trunk. Two of them fall back to earth, but the third finds grip and starts slowly crawling its way up the trunk. I¡¯ve seen videos of dogs climbing trees online, but it is way more fucking horrifying when its corjo demons and the tree is a one you¡¯re in.


    ¡°Charles! These things figured out how to climb!¡± I yell at him while the other two demons try again, and successfully start climbing the trunk.


    ¡°uuuuuhhhhh¡­ shit! Yea, they¡¯re climbing the tree¡­¡­¡­.. I don¡¯t know, maybe? Hey Lucy, can you knock them down with something?¡± Charles asks me after talking on the phone for a moment. Anna meanwhile, breaks into hysterical crying and starts hugging Charles. Poor Anna, she is not having a good day.


    ¡°Yes¡­ actually, you just gave me an idea Charles.¡± That hopefully works, because if it doesn''t, we will have angry demons in the tree with us.


    The three demons slowly climb their way up the trunk, slightly staggered in distance but still aligned enough that I think I can get them all with one hit. So I wait, and wait, seconds go by as the demons continue climbing. After about half a minute they are getting close to where the branches start about twelve feet up. If they get onto those branches my plan might not work, so it''s now or never. I inhale, pumping as much mana into the screech spell as possible, then release it with intent to cause disorientation.


    The ripped blast of sound flies down the tree, snapping a few weaker branches and shaking the rest before rushing over the demons climbing the trunk. The effect is immediate, they become disoriented and lose grip. They flail about as they fall back to earth, trying desperately to right themselves before impact, but failing due to the effects of my attack. Two of the demons land awkwardly on their sides with heavy thuds, before getting up and limping away. The last one lands on its head and neck at a funny angle, and a nasty crack. After a moment of no movement it becomes clear it''s dead.


    I pump my fist as I congratulate myself on the plan going better than expected. One dead, with the other two no longer being able to try climbing judging by how they¡¯re limping. The remaining two that were circling the tree don''t seem very keen to try either, instead opting to keep circling at a distance. They may think they can wait us out, but help is on the way¡­. Supposedly. Up behind me I can hear Charles comforting Anna through her sniffling.


    ¡°Hey, see, it''s fine. Lucy even managed to kill one. We just gotta wait till help gets here.¡±


    That seemed to give Anna a lot more confidence, as I hear her sniffling imminently die down. Now that it''s quiet I can hear a faint sound in the distance, muffled due to the distance but definitely coming closer. After a few moments I realize it''s the sound of helicopters, a lot of them. It doesn''t take long for them to arrive. The first to show up are some kind of gun ships. One is a newer type, having quad jet engines, one on each corner of the craft. It looks more like a flying T than a traditional helicopter. I can''t remember what it''s called, but supposedly the design is so it can easily mount large modular weapon systems, troop transports, equipment, etc. This particular one had a particularly dangerous looking rack of missiles mounted to it.


    The other one was a newer looking Apache attack helicopter. Looking decked out with more missiles and a particularly large nose cannon. Said cannon was already pointed into the clearing, probably at the demons, but not firing. The reason why became clear as the helicopter dove low, and someone dropped off the landing rails on the other side to slam down in the middle of the clearing as the helicopter sped off. I can''t quite make out much about them, other than they are armored, and to survive a fall like that it''s going to be some high tech armor, or they are a defender.


    The demons wasted no time in turning their attention to the new arrival. Breaking off their camping of the tree and blitzing straight for the interloper. The question of defender or decked out soldier was answered as the new arrival raised their hand and let loose a bolt of some kind. The bolt split into four a moment later, each sub shot speeding towards a target. The remaining demons never stood a chance, their heads exploding the moment the bolts made contact. And just like that it was over. Until a stupid popup almost knocked me out of the tree!


    - Power level threshold met! Beginning class selection!

 Chapter 24: Class Selection

    ¡°Gah!¡± I yell as a flail in surprise, barely managing to grab a branch in time to keep myself from falling out of the tree.


    ¡°Lucy! What''s wrong!?¡± Anna calls out in concern from behind me.


    ¡°Fucking system popup nearly spooked me outa the tree! I swear to god I need to install a popup blocker for this thing!¡± I yell, causing Charles to start laughing behind me.


    - The current window is the class selection window. This window will be displayed at every ten thousand power level to allow you to upgrade or change your class.


    - Class upgrades are always an objective improvement over your current class, even if the upgrade is selecting the same class again.


    - Other listed classes may be side grades or different paths altogether.


    - When choosing a different path you will retain progress upon your current path and can switch back anytime class selection is available.


    - To select a class, simply indicate which you desire, then confirm your selection.


    Well¡­ that''s cool I guess.


    ¡°What popped up?¡± Anna asks.


    ¡°Class selection. And I can''t close the window till it''s done.¡± I say while trying to will the class selection window away for later. But it refuses to disappear, instead opting to keep imposing the majority of my vision until I finish.


    ¡°Hey, you kids! Where is the major demon?¡± A digital voice calls from below us.


    ¡°Flew off. Left those things to eat us.¡± Charles replies before I can ask who is talking. It''s probably the dude who dropped in.


    ¡°Demons don¡¯t just fly off without trying to kill you first.¡± The voice replies from below.


    ¡°Did you not see the half melted, on fire car on your way in? It did try to kill us¡­¡­ Now my moms gonna kill me! Fuck!¡± Charles yells back.


    I¡¯ll leave Charles to argue with the defender below us. Mainly because it would be hard to hold a conversation right now, courtesy of a certain overbearing magic system. Getting up in my face and refusing to leave until it gets its way, reminds me of my mother. Well, this is an important life decision, so I need to focus on it anyway.


    I take a good look over the classes, reading their light descriptions and comparing them to one another. Some of these are instantly on the no list. Charmer, not happening, I don¡¯t want to be that kind of girl. And it feels a little too close to a certain type of demon for my liking, best not to tempt fate in any way. Brawler is out also, I don¡¯t want to run around punching stuff, and I don¡¯t want to be known for running around punching stuff. That leaves, Defender, Bard, Enchanter, and Aider. Defender and Bard are also probably a no. I don¡¯t feel like getting punched for other peoples benefit. Hell, I don''t feel like getting punched period. And Bard sounds like I¡¯d just end up running around making noise and drawing attention. I don¡¯t like attention, because attention means trouble.


    That leaves Enchanter and Aider. And I¡¯m honestly torn on which I should take. Echanter sounds cool, using magic on stuff to make things. Although I don¡¯t know what kind of things I¡¯d be making or what they do, at least not until I take the class. Aider on the other hand, healers make money. And Aider sounds like, and its description reads a lot like a healer. I¡¯m not opposed to helping people, sometimes I like helping people. But money, the world revolves around money. So after a few moments of contemplation, I decide I like money more than possibly cool stuff.


    I use my finger and poke the yes button on the confirmation prompt. Immediately I feel something about my mana change. By the time I turn my attention inward to see what''s happening it¡¯s already finished. Looking at the flow of my mana I can tell something is different, but I can''t quite tell what. I feel a bit creeped out knowing something about me has just changed like that, but I guess that''s the price of improvement.


    - Congratulations


    - You have been granted starter skills and/or spells by your class.


    - You receive Minor Heal, Haste, Small Regeneration Support Crystal.


    - More spells are available in the magic shop.


    - The shop page can be accessed simply by thinking or saying shop or magic shop, or by wishing to view it.


    - You are given ten points to start with. Ten more points are received every thousand power level.


    - If you wish to view a tutorial on the magic shop, simply think, say, or will shop or magic shop tutorial.


    - Congratulations! As the first ever of your race to hold the Aider class you receive a bonus.


    - You receive double the point to spend on spells.


    - Congratulations! As the first ever of your race to have access to magic you receive a bonus.


    - You have been granted the progenitors purity skill.


    - Congratulations! For reaching full system status as a member of your race you are awarded the following.


    - You have been granted the contractual summoning skill.


    - Starting tutorial for toggle ableoggleable magic skills.


    The fuck!? Hold up, no, cancel, stop! Too much shit to deal with right now!


    - Tutorial canceled, you may restart the tutorial at any time.


    Wow, it actually listened for once, thank god. And what the hell is progenitors purity? Or contractual summoning? Too much new shit to deal with, and that defender dude is yelling at us now to boot.


    Oh, that''s ¡­hmm. I''ve not gone over my thoughts about having kids since before turning into this. Before I think I would have had some eventually. Now I¡¯m not so sure. But those double points, damn! And the double store points! ¡­.. And this dude needs to shut up. Like damn, he''s somehow more annoying than the twins!


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    ¡°I said don''t move! And keep your hands up! No touching the branches! I said no moving! And what is her problem?!¡± He demands while pointing at me.


    It takes me a moment to realize that my hands are still clamped to the branches around me, and that I''ve probably been staring straight ahead while dealing with the system stuff.


    ¡°Sorry, I had a system screen that wouldn''t get out of my face until I dealt with it.¡± I reply while carefully putting my hands up.


    ¡°What screen?¡± He demands tursly.


    ¡°Class selection.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Well congratulations. I guess me offing those demons was enough to push you over the edge then? Here¡¯s to hoping you''re not mind controlled into picking a shity class.¡±


    ¡°Wait, why would we be¡­¡­ right, fucking sucubi.¡± I start to ask, only to realize the answer to my own question before I finish it. My last encounter with one is still fresh in my mind, how my limbs were not my own. And that was probably just so it could play with me. If it had wanted to it probably could have just straight up mind controlled and brainwashed me into giving myself over to it. But the bitch wanted to have her fun, demons are evil like that. Not that it changed the outcome anyways.


    ¡°Sooooooo, do we just sit here or what?¡± Charles asks.


    ¡°Yes. If you try to move, well, let''s just say I won''t kill you, but it will probably feel like it. That''s not including the fall.¡± The defender replies.


    ¡°Right, noted¡± Charles replies.


    Since we are gonna be stuck here a while, I take some time to look over my interface, mainly the newest addition to the windows. Afterall, what girl can resist shopping?


    Is this it for the selection? Wait, I''m dumb, there¡¯s a second page.


    Only two panels so far, but the selection seems to be pretty decent. Reminds me a lot of buying spells on an mmo, though I think that''s the point. The shop looks pretty straightforward, spell name, its type, what it does, and how much it costs all bundled into a neat interface. Better designed than some menus in games I¡¯ve played, that''s for sure. I read over the options available, some of which are bloody expensive. Ten points, if I didn''t get double points that''d be everything I have. Some of the options stick out, both for good and bad reasons. Charm is out the window immediately for the same reasons the charmer class was. Gore I will probably avoid because a, I don''t want to fight shit, b, I definitely don''t want to use my horns when fighting shit.


    But the rest of these spells, and the one skill, seem good. Some better than others though, some I''m not so sure of. Pocket spell crystal sounds cool, and useful. Though I''d have to figure out how to ¡®activate¡¯ it, it mentions breaking so maybe smashing it? The rest of these are just buffs, empower seems exceptionally cheap for what it is. Definitely grabbing enhanced mana regen, can never have enough mana regen. Manasurge sounds broken, aside from the cool down and point cost. I can just heal any damage it causes to the person. And a shield spell, so I don''t have to worry about stabbing my toe or getting a paper cut ever again. The problem is I only have twenty points to spend, and too much cool stuff to spend it on. Time to consult the expert.


    ¡°Hey Anna, I can buy magic spells now. But I''m not sure what I should get.¡± I say, Anna''s eyes lighting up before I even finish the second sentence.


    ¡°Ooooooo, whatcha got available?¡± She asks in an excited tone. As I thought, magic talk immediately flipped her mood a hundred and eighty degrees.


    ¡°Alright I assume you know what the store looks like?¡± I ask her.


    ¡°Duh, I''ve seen all the drawings done by artists and defenders.¡± She replies.


    I proceed to read off the list of available spells and the one skill, minus gore and charm. As well as their descriptions, and prices. Anna''s excitement seemingly increasing with every word out of my mouth. By the end of it she looks like she''s about ready to pounce on me and knock both out of the tree.


    ¡°The problem is, I only have twenty points to spend. So I''m not sure what I should buy. You''re the expert.¡±


    ¡°Oh my gosh this is so cool! I''ve never heard of pocket spell crystal before! You should totally buy it!¡±


    ¡°Shouldn''t I wait and find out more about it?¡±


    ¡°Oh I know, I''ll Google it on the spellopedia!¡± Anna says while reaching for her phone.


    ¡°Keep your hands out of your¡­. Kid, do you wanna get zapped?¡± The defender below us starts to bark an order, only to realize Anna is not following it. Intact, she seems to be ignoring him altogether in favor of typing on her phone.


    ¡°Yea, good luck with that dude. Once she gets like this, not even a freight train smashing into her can stop her.¡± Charles comments.


    ¡°OK so, it''s not on the spellopedia! Which means it''s not publicly known! What if this is an all new spell! Oh my god this is so cool! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! Buy¡­.¡± Anna starts to chant.


    ¡°Hey, you kids can come down now. It''s all clear, the demon is gone.¡± The defender calls out, interrupting Anna before she can explode.


    I don''t waste a moment clambering over to Anna and quickly hoisting her onto my back with Charles''s help. Anna was not pleased we were interrupting magic time, but getting out of the tree was more important. Charles clamored down first to get out of the way. Then I started the slow process of weaving through the branches to descend the tree. It was quiet until about halfway down, when Charles reached the bottom before us. The defender immediately set into questioning him. Stuff like what it looked like, where it came from, what we were doing before it showed up, to which Charles replied we were working on practicing my magic.


    ¡°Hey lucy¡­. Um, thank you. And, I won''t tell anyone. I''m sorry for freaking out.¡± Anna quietly whispers to me.


    ¡°It''s fine, honestly, I would have freaked out too. And thank you.¡±


    ¡°Soooo, did you buy it yet?¡±


    ¡°No Anna, I¡¯ll get it once we are on the ground.¡± I say with an exacerbated eye roll, which Anna of course can''t see.


    I get to the bottom and land without any problems after dropping the last few feet out of the tree. I decide to just carry Anna on account of her crutches being chewed scrap metal and molten slag.


    ¡°Got to say, it''s impressive you kids didn''t get killed.¡± The defender complements us as I walk over with Anna.


    ¡°Yea, now my mom''s gonna kill me instead!¡± Charles says as he laments over the remains for the car.


    ¡°Awww man, my crutches.¡± Anna says dejectedly.


    I lost my purse with all my makeup, and the house keys. Thankfully I still have my wallet, I learned to keep that in my pocket. I feel like I''m forgetting something. A moment later a stiff breeze reminds me of exactly what I''m missing. Where''s my fucking shirt! Oh my god I''ve been in only my bra this entire time!


    I look over and find that the Picnic area is somehow unscathed, aside from where a demon clearly trampled through it while chasing us, sending food flying and knocking through blanket around. But the important part was everything was still there, including my shirt.


    ¡°Charles hold Anna for a second!¡± I tell him while trying to poffer Anna off to him.


    ¡°what, why?¡±


    ¡°My shirt!¡± Is all I yell is response while running over to the picnic area.


    I quickly throw my shirt on and turn back around to rejoin the group, only to find Charles and Anna red-faced trying to hold back laughter.


    ¡°So, what were you kids doing out here then huh? Have a bit of teenage fun?¡± Asks the defender, immediately dousing Anna and Charles humor as they realize the implications of the statement.


    They go on the defensive immedelty, while I decide to leave them to their self made suffering and buy that spell from the shop like I promised Anna.


    e


    - You have acquired the pocket spell crystal spell.


    Yea, doubling the cost of a spell is going to be expensive. But making it storable and so that others can use it. As long as it doesn''t disappear after a shittily short amount of time that''s going to be powerful. Now to test it, what''s my mana at?


    Mana: 2101/6024


    Oh, nevermind then. I''m a broke ass bitch in the mana department and I''m going to need every bit of it I can get to make it through. Actually, I have ten points to spend, which means ten more points into attunement!


    That should hopefully help a bit. Though the boosted capacity won''t do me any good right now it will help later. Unless¡­. I could grab manasurge. That would be all of my points gone for now, but honestly having the safety net might be worth it. Ahh fuck it, better safe than sorry.


    - You have acquired the Manasurge spell.


    And done, safety net acquired.


    ¡°Alright Anna, I bought the cool stuff. But I don''t have the mana to do anything right now.¡± I call out, interrupting Anna and Charles''s attempts to defend themselves


    ¡°Oh what did you get!¡± Anna shouts while rapidly trying to turn around. Poor Charles almost gets pulled over in the process, getting yanked around by the forget Anna who is leaning up against him.


    ¡°Pocket spell crystal and Manasurge.¡± I say while pulling out my phone. Time to make the dreaded phone call. Definitely calling dad, he''s probably at work but if I call mom I''ll never hear the end of it.


    Charles and Anna take the hint and Charles pulls out his phone. Anna has trouble finding hers before motioning to the picnic area, causing Charles to sigh and start walking her over there. Out of the corner of my eye I see a humvee followed by an apc rolling their way into the clearing. I just let out a sigh as the phone continues to ring. The day feels so long and it''s not even remotely over yet.

 Chapter 25: Spell Testing

    The crunch of gravel under the car tires disappears as we turn back onto the main road. The trees illuminated by the headlights and moon light start to pass quickly as the car picks up speed. My dad lets out a sigh as I kept looking out the window. He wasn¡¯t pleased when I had called him at work, in the middle of a meeting, to tell him I needed to get picked up because of a demon attack. He was even less pleased when he had to wait around for almost literally half a day because I was being questioned. Yea, they look so long that I ended up having cast mana surge. It turns out that mana surge makes the target glow blue for a second. And the ¡®minor¡¯ damage it caused ended up being aches everywhere and a little bit of blood in my mouth. It turns out that the army boys didn''t take that well, I kicked the hornet''s nest apparently. So a few hour detainment and a game of twenty questions turned into half a day of five hundred questions.


    Eventually they let me go, after figuring out that my answers to the same questions weren''t going to change. Still the damage is done, dad is very displeased. I don¡¯t blame him, I don''t need to sleep, but he¡¯s normally in bed by now. Stupid army dickheads, you¡¯d think they have never seen a spell before. Speaking of spells, I never did show Anna any magic, aside from mimicry. I¡¯ll have to pop some spells into crystals overnight and show them off to her next time I see her. I should also look into making one of those support crystal thingies, a mana one to be precise. Hopefully it will help offset the drain of mimicry, which is getting better, but not as good as I would have hoped. I can probably go ten or so hours on full mana, not including manasurge being used. I let out my own sigh, then return to looking straight ahead.


    ¡°Sweety, I thought I told you to stay out of trouble. Why did you get into another fight with demons?¡± My dad asks in a tired voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault. They chased us up a tree.¡± I mutter back.


    ¡°¡®Sigh¡¯ So they said. At Least you got everyone out safely, good job. But your mother is going to throw a fit in the morning, if she isn''t waiting for us already.¡± My dad says, showing a small smile before going dead inside again.


    ¡°Ugggh, whatever. She can butt out and mind her own business. I¡¯ll deal with her if she starts throwing a fit.¡±


    ¡°No, you won''t. If she complains I¡¯ll talk to her. We don¡¯t need a screaming match.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Is all I muter back before the ride goes quite again until we get home. Surprisingly the house is quiet when we get home, no angry troll waiting for us.


    I tell my dad good night and retreat to my room. He doesn''t even try keep me or anything, just says good night in a tired voice as he slowly clomps up the stairs behind me. Shutting my door I¡¯m  happy to finally be able to drop the mimicry and stretch my wings. I¡¯m getting too used to these things, it''s a little freaky actually.


    I plop down in my chair and open up vidshare. Only to be instantly bombarded by news clips of ¡®A major military movement outside shimerview.¡¯ and ¡®More trouble in the city of Shimerview.¡¯ I take a quick look at one of the clips and find that thankfully there isn''t any information about me, Charles, or Anna. Last thing I need is reporters hounding me every step of my day.


    After that I watched a few more funny videos while letting my mana regenerate. Once I was back up to almost full, it was time to get to work for the night. Starting first with that regeneration support crystal thing. What was its description again?


    Oh right, it''s bloody expensive. Still, it doesn''t say anything about a time limit, so I think it''s permanent. Five thousand is a good investment for a permanent booster, I think. Only one way to figure it out. I cast the spell like I would mimicry, pulling on my mana flow and focusing on the spell.


    Select crystal type: health, stamina, mana


    Imminently the mana goes neutral, like it''s waiting, and the system prompts me for a type. Let''s go with mana to start with. I barely finish the thought before the mana starts moving again. I watch is amazement as I feel the mana exiting my right hand and coalescing, slowly starting to form a visible blue dot about an inch above my hand. I try shifting my focus away from the flow of mana, only for it to immediately start to sputter out. I quickly shift my focus back onto maintaining the flow before it can die completely and it restores back to normal. Apparently there will be no multitasking while casting this particular spell.


    Slowly the blue dot starts to expand, building upwards in a spiral like pattern. I felt the mana slowly weaving itself into patterns so intricate I couldn''t hope to understand them. The patterns built upon one another, slowly expanding the shape into a hexagonal diamond structure. Once it reached the top, it came together all at once, and with a small flash it finished.


    The crystal stayed floating in place for a second when I moved my hand away, before starting to float toward me. I felt the connection to it form immediately, and I understood how to order it around. I also felt the small boost to my mana flow it provided. It wasn''t anything amazing, but I definitely could notice it, if barely. And over time it will only increase with my attunement. And a little prodding confirmed my suspicions, the crystal was permanent until it¡¯s destroyed or dismissed.


    I stood up and pumped my fist in victory while walking to the center of my room, intent on observing my new creation for a bit. I watch as the crystal just floats around me a few times, seemingly following a random trajectory that is orbiting my center of mass, and being a random distance between two and six inches away. When I reach out and put my hand in front of the crystal it simply floats around it and continues like nothing happened. Next I grab a book out of my backpack and hold it out in front of it. This time the crystal doesn''t change course, and instead bonks right into the book. The crystal just sits there for a moment afterward, before reversing course and floating backwards along the path it was originally taking.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Interesting, maybe some kind of anti stuck mechanism. But it didn''t trigger on my hand, it just went around it. Next I reached out to try and grab the crystal, fully expecting it to drift away from my grasp as I got closer. But to my surprise it simply continued to float normally until my hand wrapped around it. Once in my hand it ceased all attempts at movement, simply remaining idle while I handled it. I let the crystal go, and it floats back up into the air before resuming its orbit around me. Deciding on one last test, I grab the crystal again. Then I walk over and set it down on my desk, before quickly darting back to the other side of the room. I watched the crystal slowly rise up off the desk and spin in place for a moment, before slowly starting to drift back towards me. It kept drifting towards me even after I moved, and once it got back to me it resumed its regular pattern floating around me.


    What a neat little thing, clearly it likes staying near whoever it is assigned to. I didn''t feel any drop in the boost when it got farther away but that doesn''t mean there isn''t one. My room might not be big enough to test it. I know I''ll get Tommy¡¯s help tomorrow, I''m sure he¡¯d love to play with them. I decided that I¡¯d at least spin up at least one more crystal before the night was over. I should be able to have one of each type if I read the description properly. I¡¯m going to keep the mana one on me, but I¡¯ll probably give the stamina one to Anna to help with her fatigue. And I''ll keep the health one somewhere for whenever. I decide to go look over my skills again while my mana regenerates, since I didn''t really have time to do it before.


    I didn''t really get to look at the contract summoning one since all the crazy crap was going on when I got them. The progenitor''s purity seems pretty straight forward, I get extra points and all of my children are gonna be like me. Pfff, as if I''ll ever have children, especially now. I¡¯ll still take the extra points, though I should probably keep that a secret. I don¡¯t want anyone to get any stupid ideas, which could lead to problems, which could lead to me getting revealed. And by extension murdered, so let''s not! Now onto the contract summoning. It sounds straightforward enough, but it involves contracts. And contracts make everything complicated! Can I get screwed over by these contracts if I¡¯m not careful? It says I can¡¯t die, which is nice, but what about those long term effects? Can someone brainwash me before the contract ends and I become their servant or sleeper agent or something? And it says it''s toggleable, how do I even know if it''s on or not?


    Contract summoning: Disabled


    Well, at least that question is answered. Even with all my questions it still might be worth it to look into using this. If I play my cards right, I might be able to gain a lot of essence with what is essentially little risk to myself. I¡¯ll just need to be carefull, very careful. I¡¯m sure Charles and Anna will freak a little when I tell them. Charles because of the connotations, Anna because it¡¯s cool magic. Actually, I might try it out tomorrow. Assuming my day stays mostly free, I might have to set a time limit if I can.


    Mana: 843/7028


    Well, I¡¯ve been looking over and musing to myself for the last twenty minutes and I¡¯m only up to eight hundred. Though that''s definitely more than I would have had before for the same amount of time. Still not nearly enough to make another crystal, so let''s see what some of these other spells do.


    I''ve already used mana surge, just gave me joint aches, a mouth bleed, and made me glow blue for a moment. Also pissed off some army jerk offs with nothing better to do but that''s besides the point. What I haven''t tried out or looked at yet are my healing, haste, and the pocket mana crystal. Anna better be right that it''s cool because it was expensive as hell. Unfortunately, I can only afford to cast Haste right now. So I decide to watch vidshare for a while then play a round of DRG2. Always funny watching some dude spamming rock and stone get abducted by a cave leech.


    About two hours later I finally decide to check my mana again and what do you know I¡¯ve got about half my mana back. Looking at the clock I notice the time is half after six am. Since its a weekend I¡¯ll have a little longer than normal, so the rest of the house will probably wake up around eight or nine. That gives me a few more hours to mess around before I need to get out, so one more round of testing, then save the rest of the time for regenerating mana. Plan in place I get up and prepare to resume testing.


    First up is haste, because it''s the cheapest. I pulled on my mana, selected the spell, and cast. Immediately I felt the mana weave into a


    spell on my hand, then start looking for a target. After a moment it seemingly gave up and rushed back up my arm, rushing over me before seeping in. After a moment the feeling of the spell faded away, but another feeling lingered. I felt faster, for lack of a better description. Unfortunately I don''t exactly have a good way to test it. Going outside would require transforming, which would use mana, and I don''t have a baseline anyways.


    I sigh at my own lack of foresight. Well, one more thing to try out. Now, how the hell does the pocket spell crystal work? I try casting it without any other spells. To my chagrin nothing happens, leaving me wondering how I''m supposed to get this to work. The description isn''t much help, simply saying of whatever type I choose. Maybe I need to choose as I''m casting it? I give it a try, thinking about selecting haste as I try to cast the spell again. To my surprise it works, and I feel two separate draws start up. Both go to my hand, and one starts up a familiar process I had felt just moments before. The other starts an entirely different process. It starts weaving, similar to when I made the regeneration crystal, but still different somehow. I can''t quite tell how, I just know that it is. On my hand I see a small blue dot form, and start to expand as the spell continues to weave. But unlike the regeneration crystal, this one starts to pick up speed, weaving back and forth quicker and quicker each time. I watch as the blue dot quickly expands into some sort of rhombus looking shape. Mere moments after it started the crystal finishes in tandem with the haste spell. Instead of looking for a target like it did before, the haste spell jumps from my palm into the crystal with a light flash. After the excess light fades away I¡¯m left holding the newly constructed blue gem. It¡¯s much smaller than the regeneration crystal, being at most the size of my thumb, and has a white little foot with wings on it. That probably to indicate it contains a haste spell, neat.


    I set the crystal down on my desk. I''ve done enough testing for now. I can try activating it later. For now I need to let my mana recharge, and worst case scenario I''ll just give it to Anna as a souvenir. Of course Charles might ask for one too, but he''ll have to wait. I pull up my browser and prepare to waste a few more hours on vidshare when the stack of papers piled up high on the corner of the desk shifts a little, catching my attention.


    Right, all those letters, invitations, recruiting pamphlets. They''ve been piling up for a few days. I need to go through them and sort them out. Welp, not like I''ve got anything better to do.

 Chapter 26: Interlude - Recruitment Drive

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    <div>


    <div>


    ¡°Alright, let''s get this meeting started.¡± Tomas, the head of recruitment for Renders stated.


    ¡°Did we have to do this at 5am?¡± Randy, an older man and senior manager bemoans through his screen.


    ¡°Prospective recruits get snached up quickly. you know how time is off the essence Randy.¡± Josh, a middle aged man replies.


    ¡°New information has come out about the girl, which makes her more valuable. Other guilds with more resources will definitely take special note of her now and start moving. We can''t match them in resources so we need to get there first to get her hooked. Thankfully Marcy was already nearby.¡± Josh continued.


    ¡°If by nearby you mean two states away then yes I was quite close.¡± A younger woman with strawberry red hair fights to say as a yawn visibly tries to overpower her.


    ¡°Yes, I know it''s sudden. Thank you for making the trip. We''re here to discuss what we should offer her. Marcy I cannot stress enough that you need to nail the first impression.¡± Josh says.


    ¡°Yea yea, that will be easier the better the offer you give me to work with.¡± Marcy replies.


    ¡°You''ve mentioned how she is a good catch but I''m not seeing it. Literally every other prospect so far has more achievements to their names than she does.¡± Shelby, the surly looking middle aged HR woman says.


    Instantly Randy''s mood becomes visibly annoyed, while Josh simply rolls his eyes. Marcy simply yawns into the camera again, only Tomas is able to keep a professional face.


    ¡°Ms. Shelby, I understand you may not be fully versed on the process. But I can assure you that when vetting candidates the quality of their achievements is much more important than the quantity. I can assure you that this girl is one of the most promising candidates to date. One assist and one confirmed kill. With said kill being achieved while defending two non combatants, one of which was disabled. All this within two weeks of getting her magic. And that isn''t even accounting for her known abilities, Randy if you would.¡± Tomas said with a professional smile


    ¡°A reminder that officially we don''t know any of this. My contact managed to slip me this report but technically it is still restricted material. Other guilds will get a hold of it themselves soon enough, so we need to be quick on the draw. A few things catch my eye, first she stated she used flight magic to boost herself into the tree while carrying the other two. Flight magic is always a good type that combos well with practically anything.¡±


    ¡°Second, she used a spell called manasurge on herself at one point. I did some digging on it, its a known but rare spell. Third, we know she has some sort of yelling based attack that can disorient or damage anything caught in range. I managed to pull the report from earlier in the week where she got the assist. It states she used the attack to cause damage to the attacking demon. But in this report she claims to have used it to disorient the demons and cause them to fall out of the tree. It could be different abilities, but I personally suspect it''s the same one, very versatile, gives quite a few options for its application in combat.¡± Randy continues.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Are we including the fact that she''s currently the third youngest defender registered? Ninth overall In the world. She could have a long and successful career ahead of her. That however does pose a small problem itself, she is currently under age. Meaning anything is going to have to also go through the parents. So you need to impress them as well Marcy.¡± Josh cuts in.


    ¡°Perfect, so what''s my budget and target terms?¡± Marcy says while fighting off another yawn.


    ¡°In light of recent information, your budget Is basically unlimited. Just contact me if anything extreme pops up. As for initial offering, we should go with a veterans package with a few extra incentives to start with. I¡¯m thinking we offer personal trainers for her magic, access to contacts for purchasing better gear¡­¡­¡± Tomas says, only to be interrupted by Randy.


    ¡°Tomas, you''re still thinking about this like she¡¯s a veteran we¡¯re poaching from another guild. She¡¯s not, she¡¯s a seventeen year old, probably about to graduate highschool if she isn''t in college. While the trainers might interest her, most of the veterans package perks and a line on newer gear wont. Hell, she probably doesn''t have any money to buy any gear. We should look into power leveling and college tuition instead. It¡¯s a shame we don''t have more time to build a profile on her.¡± Randy says.


    ¡°I¡¯m working on that now actually, but the pickings are slim. She has some social media but only really likes posts and tells her acquaintances happy birthday. Once I¡¯m done with that I''ll move on to seeing if I can learn anything about her parents. But it¡¯s looking like you will be going in blind on this one Marcy.¡± Josh says.


    ¡°Thanks, send it over with whatever we want to offer her when you get the chance.. Now, if I¡¯m not needed anymore I¡¯m going to go get a few hours of sleep before acceptable visiting hours.¡± Marcy says while barely keeping her eyes open.


    ¡°You are good then Ms. Marcy. Thank you for attending, get some rest. We need you on your A game for this one.¡± Tomas says as the meeting application closes.


    The strawberry redhead closes her laptop before haphazardly dropping it into the business briefcase by her bed and her face onto the pillow. Despite sleeping for a few hours on the plane ride she¡¯s still dead tired due to the car ride to get from the airport to the small city, which does not have one of its own yet. She¡¯s asleep almost instantly, stopping only for a moment to set her phone''s alarm to eight pm. She¡¯s here way ahead of the competition, so hopefully a few extra hours of sleep won''t ruin her massive head start.


    ¡ª-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    ¡°Well Anvasta, I¡¯ll be damned. You actually did it. All those centuries of work, not for nothing after all. Hmmm, I¡¯m a demon of my word. I¡¯ll go along with your plan then. But not just because I¡¯m a demon of my word. Oh no, I want to see where this is going. Countless eternities and the impossible has finally happened, the universe is changing at last. And, we¡¯re, going, in!¡±

 Chapter 27: Anna’s Home

    I sigh as I throw the last generic invite paper into the trash pile spilling over the edges of the can. First I sorted the crap pile into two smaller piles, actual mail and spam mail. Spam mail consisted of stuff like companies offering stuff or services, generalized hey we¡¯re recruiting crap, and other miscellaneous stuff. Actual mail was important stuff, or stuff that seemed to be at least directed at me. The spam pile immediately went into the garbage. The real mail I decided to read over. Most of it was also generic crap, just with the added flavor of naming me. There were quite a few power leveling services offered, must be a big industry after all. All but two of the letters went in the trash.


    The first was a personalized offer from a small guild called Free Birds based here in Virginia. They actually took some time to do their research, I know this because part of their offer is possibly paying for part of my college tuition. I don''t need the assistance, but it would still be nice. And they are probably more willing to negotiate on terms and some big group with a take it or leave it mentality. I do need to do some research on them though, from the letter they mentioned they mainly do tournaments with community outreach, demon hunting, and frontline service as secondary activities. Might be interesting, I wouldn''t mind participating in some community outreach and service.


    The other letter was from the healers union. It wasn''t directed specifically at me per se. But it mentions joining what is effectively an intern program for people who are pre-class selection. Basically you attend some online lessons and if you do get and select a healer class you get fast tracked in. Of course, I''ve already got my class so I need to sign up the normal way.


    I look over at my phone, the time is eight forty two. Damn, I probably missed breakfast. I check my mana. Finding the level satisfactory I put my wings away, wrap my tail around my waist under my shirt, throw on a hat, and head downstairs. I walk into the kitchen as my mom is finishing up putting away something.


    Mana: 3439/7084


    ¡°Lucy, you missed breakfast, and no hats in the house. And what is that floating around you?¡± She says as she gives me a slight glare before going back to cleaning up. I just transform my horns away and take off my hat, not worth the argument.


    ¡°Sorry, I''ll get my own food, don''t worry. I was sorting through all the mail from the last week.¡± I say, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.


    ¡°Oh, did you find any groups that you like?¡± she asks, her tone suddenly becoming sweet and almost endearing.  I just roll my eyes since she''s looking the other way.


    ¡°No, all of it was generic garbage so I threw it away.¡± I state flatly. I have two letters saved but I sure as hell ain''t gonna tell her that.


    ¡°Oh, well maybe something good will come eventually. You have more mail on the table by the front door by the way.¡± She says, sounding a mix of dejected and annoyed.


    ¡°Thanks¡± is all I say in return before going into the fridge and pilfering some leftover scrambled eggs and ham. No bacon or pancakes, those always get demolished. Not that I''m complaining about the pancakes, but bacon is always good damnit!


    I walk over to the dining room table and sit down to enjoy my food. But before I can start my phone starts ringing with a call from an unknown number. I debate for a moment if I want to risk answering it. Probably a scammer, but given how Anna¡¯s purse and phone got cooked yesterday she may have gotten a new one. I decide to take the risk and accept the call.


    ¡°Hello?¡± I ask, bringing the phone up to my ear.


    ¡°Hello, my name is Marcy ¡®beep¡¯.¡± I didn''t even let the woman finish her sentence before I hung up. Fucking scammers, pricks are everywhere.


    I go back to eating my breakfast, only to receive a text message from the same number a moment later. Only the first part was visible in the notification bubble, but it was her introducing herself again. Damn, persistent one. I opt to just ignore the message for now. Instead I scarf down my breakfast before putting my plate away and skedaddling back upstairs to my room.


    Once in the safety of its confines I sat down, but debated on if I should undo the transformations. And that''s when Charles decided to call on discord.


    ¡°Hey Lucy! Holy crap yesterday was wild!¡± Charles opens.


    ¡°No shit it was wild, we got chased up a tree. The car got half melted and half cooked. How''s that going by the way? I bet your mom is pissed.¡±


    ¡°Yea, might be an understatement. Dad was not happy I yoinked a bunch of his workout stuff for our teenage tomfoolery, as he put it. Mom was pissed that the car got destroyed. They said they are so happy I''m alive and unhurt¡­. Then they grounded me for a month.¡±


    The last statement had me laughing so hard I had to mute my microphone for a bit. It''s just the way Charles said it. When I finally got my laughter under control I replied.


    ¡°Damn that sucks! Didn''t your parents have insurance?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they even got the stuff that covers your shit being destroyed by demons so the car is covered. But they are still pissed at me. Dad says I instigated it with the scanner, I mean he''s not wrong but¡­.¡±


    ¡°Whoa whoa whoa, that''s bullshit. Yea you pissed it off a little but god knows what that fucker was going to do if you didn''t. Hell, I''d say the scanner actually scared it off. Once it realized people who could actually fight were about to drop in on its head it fucked off and ran.¡±


    ¡°You think so?¡±


    ¡°That''s my take on it. I know I wouldn''t stick around if the thing had put a positive ping on me.¡±


    ¡°Heh, fair enough. So the major difference is I''ve got a curfew at nine every night and any plans need to be approved by both my parents before I''m allowed to do anything.¡±


    ¡°Damn, not what I was thinking when you said grounded but that still sucks.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it. Oh, did you by chance hear from Anna? I know her phone got destroyed but she hasn''t messaged on discord yet which is weird for her. Normally she¡¯s way more hyperactive. I also haven''t gotten a reply from James even though I messaged him yesterday. I know he doesn''t hang out with us all the time but normally he''s pretty good about responding.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Yea, that is weird. Well I can walk over to Anna''s place to check up on her in a bit. I need to give her something anyway. It will probably cheer her up.¡±


    ¡°Yea, yesterday could have gone better. But we are all on the same page now at least.¡±


    ¡°Yea, I really didn''t want to freak her out like that but I guess I rushed it too much.¡±


    ¡°I was talking about the demons running business up the tree but I guess that counts too.¡±


    ¡°Right, totally on the same page.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Very funny. So you check on Anna, I''ll try to get into contact with James. Sound like a plan?¡±


    ¡°Yep, I''ll catch ya later.¡±


    ¡°Cya.¡±


    And with that Charles ended the call. I quickly throw on my coat, zip the blue little crystal floating around me into a pocket, and head down stairs. Yelling to my mom I was going to hang out with Anna. Not like she''d care but at least now she can''t bitch at me later.


    I made my way to the older part of town. Taking the general route I use to get to the bus stop for school. Except for the final turn, I got right instead of left, cutting through another alley and ending up on a battered street. About a block later I reach my destination. Five fifty three four shit hole lane, not the literal name but probably should be given the state of everything around here. Anna¡¯s ¡®home¡¯ is one of the small apartments on the third floor of this place.


    I walk up the exterior stairs, the elevator still broken and covered in graffiti and caution tape, same as it has been for the last god knows how many years. Reaching the third landing I''m greeted by three doors, one on the center, left, and right sides. I walk up to the center door, apartment thirty two, and knock. I¡¯m greeted by silence. Not at all surprising, Anna''s dad is usually blacked out, her mother is working, and her youngest brother is as useless a piece of work as her father. Normally she would answer the door, but she''s crippled and her crutches got destroyed. I wouldn''t be surprised if she''s bed ridden right now.


    After a minute I knock again, this time slightly harder, hoping to get the attention of someone inside. Again I''m met with silence, which is odd. I''ve been turned away before, sometimes her dad would be in a bad mood and tell me to go away after a knock or two. After another minute I put my ear up to the door, curious if they are just ignoring me or if no one is actually home.


    ¡°Said you''re going to pay for those crutches one way or another! Now keep scrubbing! This kitchen better be spotless by ten or I''m gonna belt your ungrateful ass you¡­.¡±


    Her father''s tyrade is interrupted by me banging on the door, hard, multiple times.


    ¡°Mr. Smith, open this damn door right now or I''m calling the cops!¡± I yell, probably loud enough for the neighbors to hear.


    It takes a few moments, but her youngest brother, a boy about fourteen years old and as tall as me, finally comes to the door and opens it a crack. Just enough I can see his face, and hear Anna''s sobs from inside.


    ¡°What do you want skank, my father aint¡­¡± he says to me in a snarky attitude, only for me to cut him off.


    ¡°First off, call me that again and you will need more than just new teeth. Second, I heard him yelling at your sister. Let me see Anna or I''ll call the cops.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off.¡± The mouthy little shit says as he slams the door in my face. Fucking hell, I knew her little brother was a piece of work but I didn''t think he was as bad as the father.


    ¡°Fine then, we''ll play that game.¡± I say as I pull my phone out and start back down the stairs.


    The nine one one call connected instantly, and the operator started by asking where the emergency was. I gave them the address and apartment number. Which caused her tone to audibly shift.


    ¡°You said you heard screaming coming from inside?¡± She asks in a dour voice.


    ¡°Yes, they stopped after I banged on the door but I''m concerned they''re abusing my friend.¡±


    ¡°Alright, you''re not in any immediate danger, correct?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m fine. But please hurry, I think they are going to take it out on her.¡±


    ¡°Alright, just stay on the line. We have officers on the way.¡±


    After that it''s just a bunch of awkward waiting in front of the complex. It only takes a few minutes for the police to arrive. I hear their sirens closing in in the distance, before going silent as they pull into the complex¡¯s parking lot. Two officers jump out of the futuristic looking Ford cruiser and rush past me to start climbing the stairs of the complex. As they rush by I inform the operator then listen to their conversation instead.


    ¡°This guy again! I¡¯m getting sick of getting called here!¡± The lead officer says.


    ¡°Just chill, he¡¯s on parole remember? We catch even a hint that something is off and we cuff him.¡±


    ¡°Right, then this wife beating asshole gets locked up for good. I¡¯m getting sick of his second chances.¡±


    ¡°Yea, get ready. ¡®Thump¡¯ ¡®Thump¡¯ ¡®Thump¡¯ Shimerview Police! Wellness check, open the door!¡±


    It takes a minute, but I hear Anna¡¯s little shit of a brother answer the door. I can''t make out the specifics, but it sounds like he¡¯s getting mouthy with them. It only takes a few moments for the mouthing off to devolve into an argument, with the officers demanding to be let in and the idiot refusing them. Moments later more cops show up and rush up the stairs, the operator asking for updates all the while.


    Something tells me these guys have dealt with Anna¡¯s dad before. Despite knowing Anna since middle school I haven''t met her father all that much. Probably because she tries to keep everyone away from him since he¡¯s an angry drunk¡­. Who is never sober. So I¡¯m not surprised he¡¯s in trouble with the law. I knew Anna was having home troubles, but I didn''t know it was this bad. I would have walked her home and kicked her father¡¯s ass! Well, luckily for him it seems like the cops want him first.


    It sounds like the son just got taken down for trying to keep the cops out of the apartment. As I listen to the struggle unfolding upstairs two more cars pull up and the officers driving them jump out and rush up. At this point I figure the situation is handled, so I thank the operator and hang up. Then it''s back to waiting as the struggle continues to unfold upstairs. Now it sounds like multiple fights going on, and a bit more yelling. Something about it being his house.


    After a few minutes of struggling, the cops finally have it under control. The two sentient piles of garbage are practically dragged down the staircase kicking and screaming profanities. When the younger one spots me upon getting to the bottom, he absolutely let''s loose.


    ¡°You fucking bitch, whore, cunt! I''m going to beat you within an inch of it then¡­!¡±


    ¡°That''s enough! You keep resisting, you''re gonna get tased.¡± One of the cops dragging him along barks at him.


    ¡°Do it fucker I dare ¡®ugk¡¯!¡± He didn''t even get to finish his sentence before the cop in question pulled his taser from its holster, stuck it to his back, and gave him a nice shot of the compliance juice.


    Damn, if someone had told me I''d be watching an idiot get tased and arrested I wouldn''t have believed them but here we are. My lifes starting to feel like a soap opera at this point. The father isn''t much better, but seems to be more concerned with cussing out the cops then pointing his attention to me. Works for me, I simply slip past the fiasco and start making my way back up towards Anna''s apartment. By the second floor I can hear Anna''s sobbing over the screaming from below.


    When I get to the third floor landing I find the door to Anna''s apartment open. I can hear one officer inside trying to comfort her, while another walking around checking the place out.


    ¡°Yep, alcohol, right here. Violation of his probation and then some.¡± The officer walking around says.


    I get to the door and finally get to see inside. To call this place bad would be an understatement. Dirty clothes litter the living room and connected open kitchen. It smells like three week old gym socks and old food going bad. The old food smell probably coming from the wide open fridge that clearly hasn''t been running in a while.


    The one officer is in the kitchen looking through an open cabinet above the stove. While the other is trying to talk to Anna, who is sitting on a dilapidated stool near the kitchen, bawling her eyes out. She looks like shit, only wearing a tank top and underwear, but covered in bruises on her arms and legs. I''m going to kill those two downstairs if I ever get my hands on them again. It''s a good thing I didn''t kick in the door, because I would definitely be up on murder charges.


    I walk in, over the piles of old clothes littering the floor and straight to Anna. They don''t notice me until I''m right next to them. Anna¡¯s eyes go wide and a look of fear strikes her, like I have just caught her in the wrong. I ignore the officer trying to talk to me and go straight to hugging Anna before she can say anything.


    ¡°shhhh, it''s OK. It''s gonna be OK.¡± I tell her.


    I do all I can to comfort her as she continues to cry into my shoulder.

 Chapter 28: Healing and Icecream

    First thing I wanted to do was heal Anna to get rid of all the clearly painful bruises. I was about to when the officer nearby stopped me. I was about to call him a whole bunch of very not nice names when he pointed out that they first need to get pictures for evidence. A completely valid point, but one I still didn''t like. Of course, Anna didn''t want to have random dudes taking pictures of her basically naked, which everyone completely understood. That unfortunately meant we had to wait for a female officer to arrive, which took awhile. I took that time to unzip my coat pocket and let the regeneration crystal out to float around and show to Anna. I explained how it worked, increased my mana regen, bumped off things, and that I could assign them to other people. She made a game of poking it every time it came around to make it backtrack. Her mood improved considerably when I promised her that I was going to make the stamina one and give it to her tomorrow. I was keeping the haste crystal in my pocket for last, and was about to pull it out to keep her distracted when the female officer finally arrived.


    The cops were clearly a little hesitant to let me stay at first, but decided not to say or do anything. A smart move on their part. Me and the officer took Anna to her room to get the pictures and get her some actual clothes. Well, I princess carried Anna while the officer just followed us. Anna¡¯s room was much cleaner than the rest of the house. The stench wasn¡¯t nearly as bad either, but still there due to the rest of the house. We closed the door and the officer went to work getting photos with her phone camera for evidence while I raided Anna¡¯s wardrobe for something fabulous for her to wear. Unfortunately, I was horrified to discover that Anna didn¡¯t have much in the way at all for clothing. Ten shirts of various types, a few skirts, some pants, a meager amount of underwear, which I didn''t mean to peek on, it was just there when I opened a drawer. And oh my god the girl only has five pairs of shoes! Five! Who can live on five pairs of shoes! When I asked Anna why she keeps wearing the same stuff over and over she said it was because she liked it. If only I had paid more attention, maybe I could have noticed something sooner. I put my lamentations about being a bad friend aside, and grab some clothing.


    I pick out a cute pink blouse, a pink bra I found, and a nice light blue skirt for her to wear, along with a sock and one of the nicer shoes. Once the pictures were taken I helped Anna get dressed. Well, I just stood around handing her clothes. Anna seems to have gotten changing on her own down pat, even without her crutches to support her.


    ¡°Alright, we don''t need any more pictures or witnesses or anything like that? I can heal her now, right?¡± I ask as Anna finishes putting her shoe on.


    ¡°Yes, that should be everything evidence wise. You can heal your friend now.¡±


    ¡°Lucy you don''t need to¡­¡±


    ¡°No butts! Your getting healed, and once we are done here I''m taking you out for ice cream if I have enough mana left.¡±


    Anna just meekly nods and partially lifts her shirt, seeming to accept that I''m not taking no for an answer. I gently put my hand on her side and tug on my mana while wanting to cast heal. I feel the magic get drawn off and immediately start to shape itself. Another complex pattern was formed as the mana weaved itself in the span of a mere second, before shooting off through my hand and into Anna. She gasped and clutched at her side as a green light spread across her body. After a moment the light seemed to seep into her body, and the bruises started to visibly fade away. We all watched in awe until the process finished, at which point the officer let out a light whistle.


    ¡°Damn, seeing it happen irl is a hell of a lot cooler than the videos.¡± The officer says.


    ¡°Oh my god that felt¡­ weird, but so cool! Thank you Lucy! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!¡±


    ¡°Alright, alright, calm down! Good to see you''re in a better mood. Let''s go get you that ice cream.¡± I say while moving to pick Anna up.


    ¡°Not quite so fast girls, unfortunately you still need to talk to the detective and a social worker.¡± The officer says with a sorry look on her face.


    I want to put this whole thing off for Anna''s sake, but getting everything properly documented and handled will be better in the long run. I can feel Anna stiffen up a little as well, clearly not liking the idea either.


    ¡°Can we atleast do it down stairs? I think getting out of here would be good for her.¡± I state.


    ¡°Sure, let''s head on down.¡± The officer agrees.


    She radios ahead while I argue with Anna on how to proceed. I want to carry her down but she insists I just support her as she tries to walk on her own. Eventually I cave and just support Anna on her bad side. By the time we manage to make the journey down the steps both the detective and social services worker are waiting at the bottom, talking with various officers and viewing photos on their devices. The detective ended up wanting a recap of what happened, and the social worker wanted to know if there were any other issues at home.


    Anna started by telling them the story of what happened, starting from the beginning early this morning. Her father burst into her room some time before six in a drunken rage screaming all sorts of crap about her and how she wasted money. That''s when he beat her up, indiscriminately punching her everywhere but the face. Her mother had already left for her morning shift, and her two older brothers were already out doing things as well. It was only her and her shitbag little brother who took after his father a little too much. Apparently they¡¯ve been abusive before but only verbally. This is the first time her father has ever hit her, and according to both the detective and social worker, it will be the last.


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    Apparently he has quite the rap sheet, lots of public intoxication, duis that caused him to lose his license and job, drunken fights. The detective says he probably isn''t getting bail again, and the social worker is going to try to get a protective order thrown in to keep him from coming home. So, it''s all resolved, for now. Good thing to, if it wasn''t I''d probably be drawing blood on some mother fuckers right now.


    Anna¡¯s mother actually showed up as we were finishing up and about to leave, so the social worker went to talk to her. Eventually they finished, and it was decided that on account of her father being put away, Anna would remain at home. Anna''s mom wanted her to stay home, but Anna didn''t seem very interested. So off to the ice cream shop we went.


    Mana: 1160/7084


    But great but not bad. Though with the regen crystal I can definitely make it to the ice cream shop and back without issues. Anna wanted to walk there, but it''s to long a walk for that. I gave her the choice of monkey on back or a princess carry. She chose monkey, so I picked her up and we headed off. I looked up a shop nearby, it''s ratings weren''t amazing but it should get the job done.


    As we got farther along the streets became more crowded. We were drawing more than a few looks, the one legged chick being carried by the other with the floating crystal, as I overheard one dude put it. Finally we got to the ice cream shop, I put Anna down at a table and took her order, then went up to the counter to get the ice cream. All was well and good, we were eating our delicious dairy confections, enjoying the day, talking about what boys at our school were cutest. Until we were rudely interrupted, that is. Because peace and tranquility are apparently overrated.


    I noticed him the moment he walked in the door. Slicked back blonde hair, fancy suit, briefcase in one hand, sharp look in his eyes as he scanned the small interior of the shop. Way too overdressed for this part of town, and basically screaming trouble. Of course his eyes lock onto me and Anna sitting in the corner minding our own business. He doesn''t waste a moment, confidently striding over while taking up an inviting smile.


    ¡°Hello ladies, my name is Mark Hamburt. I''m a recruiter with the guild Healers Incorporated. Would either of you happen to be Lucy Bretmont?¡± He asks with a sweet tone, but looking straight at me the entire time. Asshole already knows the answer.


    ¡°Hmmm, oh y¡­¡± Anna starts, only for me to cut her off.


    ¡°Whatever you''re selling, we¡¯re not interested.¡± I state with quite a bit of annoyance and finality in my tone. Hopefully making Anna realize that I don''t want any kind of conversation with this guy.


    ¡°Oh but Ms. Bretmont, I''m not selling anything. But I have come to offer you membership in our guild. We are one of the oldest and most prestigious healer focused guilds in the entire world. We¡¯ve reviewed your history and think¡­.¡±


    ¡°Not interested.¡± I cut him off. He seems dazed for a moment, as if unable to comprehend what just happened. His smile slips for a slight moment, before coming back as he continues.


    ¡°No need to be like that Ms. Bretmont, your future is important. I simply wish to show you the benefits you could¡­¡±


    ¡°Dude, since you can''t get the memo I guess I''ll have to say it straight, fuckoff! I am not interested in joining a guild, especially one represented by a dense assclown.¡± I snap at him. Instantly his demeanor changes, the smile drops and a cold hateful look takes his gaze.


    ¡°Such harsh words aren''t necessary. One of the things I was going to tell you about was that our guild is on the verge of a major breakthrough in limb regeneration. But the list for the treatment is very restrictive, such that many will be cut before they can even apply for it.¡± He says while side eyeing Anna.


    ¡°Bullshit.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± He asks with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°I said bull, shit. If your guild had something like that they would be screaming to the high heavens about it. Now get lost before I call the cops.¡± I say, pulling out my cell phone.


    He opens his mouth to speak again but is cut off by the employee behind the counter.


    ¡°Hey, stop harassing customers and get out!¡± The old man behind the counter barks at him.


    The dude finally turns to leave, but not before muttering. ¡°We''ll be speaking again very soon Ms. Bretmont.¡±


    Finally he''s gone, and me and Anna can go back to eating our ice cream in peace. Anna''s quiet for a few minutes, but I can tell she has something she wants to say. Eventually, she musters up the courage to ask me.


    ¡°Lucy, do you really think?....¡±


    ¡°No Anna, they don''t have it. Like I told that dickhead, if they have it, or are even close, they would be screaming about it. It would be on the newsstand very hard to miss. I''m sorry, he was just trying to use you to get at me.¡±


    ¡°I thought so.¡± Anna says with a dejected tone.


    Great now she''s sad again, so much for a trip to get ice cream cheering her up. Damn dickhead, so Healers Incorporated is definitely on my hard blacklist, pricks. Oh I know! I fish around in my pocket, finding and pulling out the blue gem with a white foot with wings on it.


    ¡°Here, I''ve been meaning to give this to you but keep forgetting.¡± I say as I offer up the shiny little gem.


    Anna, being the magic goblin she is, immediately figures out what it is. She lets go of her spoon, and would have dropped it if it wasn''t in her mouth, and snatches the gem out of my hand.


    ¡°You actually made one! This is so cool! How does it work?¡±


    ¡°It says that breaking the crystal causes it to cast like whoever is holding the crystal cast it. No idea if it works¡­..¡± I didn''t get to finish my sentence before Anna crushed the crystal between her fingers. It disintegrated into dust as a light shot out of it and into her hand.


    Anna shot straight up and went rigid, clearly caught off guard. Hell, I''m caught off guard. I didn''t know it was that easy to break, otherwise I would have warned her.


    ¡°Ah shit, I didn''t know it was that brittle. Don''t worry about it, I''ll make you another tomorrow.¡± I tell her, hoping to calm her nerves.


    Instead she just looks at me, then pokes me on the nose.


    ¡°Boop¡±


    And that''s when I felt the haste spell settle over me. And Anna went from deer in headlights to about to erupt like Yellowstone.

 Chapter 29: Unwanted Trouble

    ¡°Oh my god! This Is Awesome!¡± Anna screams at the top of her lungs before I rush over and shove my hand over her mouth. The guy working the counter gives us a funny look but otherwise ignores us.


    ¡°Shhhhh, did you just do what I think you did?¡±


    Anna excitedly nods her head in reply. She cast a fucking spell! Well, OK, the crystal probably did most of the work, but still. Anna doesn''t have system access, wait¡­.


    ¡°You don''t have magic right?¡± I ask.


    Anna vigorously shakes her head no, seemingly getting more excited every second.


    ¡°Alright, just don''t explode yet. Do you know if anything like this has happened before? Things that let non magic people cast spells?¡± I ask, slowly taking my hand off Anna''s mouth.


    ¡°No! The closest thing I can think of are artificer gizmos! But those cast the spell for the person. That was me, actually me casting! Oh my god this is so cool!¡±


    ¡°Yea, real cool.¡± I say, lost in thought.


    So, another boon for me. I can probably literally sell spells now. Of course, that also makes me high value. Which is going to invite waaaay more dickheads like the Healers Inc guy. Unless no one knows about it. Well, just another secret to be kept I guess. This one not as life threatening as my last one though, so that''s a plus.


    ¡°Lucy! Earth to Lucy! What''s up?¡± Anna asks while poking me in the cheek.


    ¡°Anna, look, I know you''re excited, but I need you to keep this quiet.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Think about it for a second. That last dude was an asswipe, and I''m not even that powerful or whatever. Now imagine how aggressive he would get if he knew I could make portable, cast anytime spells. Even if the number of spells was limited.¡±


    ¡°You''d be super popular¡­. Oh.¡±


    ¡°Yea, being that popular draws the bad kind of attention sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Alright, I won''t tell anyone, promise!¡± She says, while side eyeing me expectantly. Of course Anna wants a bribe. Normally she wouldn''t, but she and magic are like a druggy and crack, and now that she knows she can indulge, she wants her fix.


    ¡°Alright Anna, no need to side eye me like that. I¡¯ll give you more crystals to play with on occasion.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°Buuuut! You can''t use them on anyone but me and Charles, at least until its public knowledge I can do this.¡±


    ¡°Deal!¡± She says, before shoving the final spoonful of ice cream into her mouth.


    ¡°Good, now let''s get you home. I¡¯d invite you back to my place but your mom would have a fit.¡±


    Anna just huffed as I took her trash and threw it away. I picked her back up and off we went, Anna asking me a million questions on the way home. What am I going to do with the spell crystals, how many can I make at once, how many am I willing to bribe, ahem, I mean give to her. After like five minutes I just zoned out, absentmindedly answering her questions as I weaved back through the streets. Finally we got to her house, the rundown craptastical apartment complex seemingly back to a normal non cop infested shithole after the early morning fiasco got resolved. Anna¡¯s mom answered the door puffy eyed and red faced, but I didn''t pry. I simply handed Anna off and headed home myself.


    Everything was fine until I got halfway home. That''s when I was settled with the feeling that something wasn''t right. At first I just brushed it off, thinking it was the winter chill or something. But it just wouldn''t go away, instead it kept getting stronger. Maybe I was paranoid, but I decided to keep track of my surroundings anyway. It takes a few minutes, but I notice a red sedan with completely blacked out windows showing up an awful lot. Sometimes it¡¯s driving slowly behind me before making a turn, other times it seems to be circling the block. I decide to change my route, taking a slightly longer way home to see if it keeps following me. Of course it does, and after a few more blocks I notice something even more disturbing. The car doesn''t have any plates either. Yea, might as well hold up a sign and scream hey we are kidnappers.


    I act like I¡¯m going to change paths again, ducking down an alley between two buildings and watching over my shoulder for the car to pass. Once it does I stop and backtrack out of the alley, but instead of continuing to backtrack I continue on my route home. Sure enough after a few more minutes it showed up again. But this time was different, this time it was just sitting there. Parked on a spot at the end of the block with its engine still running, facing my direction no less. I stop in place and stare at the car, waiting to see if they want to move.


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    The stand off is short lived however, as the light hum of an engine slowly rolling up behind me gets my attention. Black van, blacked out windows, no license plates. Yea, how about a whole lot of nope! I turn and bolt into the alley between the buildings, the engines of both pieces roaring as they try to accelerate to give chase. Halfway down the alley I see a fence and jump it. Ending up in an enclosed private alley, I''m fenced in on both sides. Which means they are fenced out. Sure enough, by the time I''m almost at the other end some goons come running up behind me. They start yelling up a storm when they run head first into the fence. I continue on my way until I get to the other end, before jumping that fence too.


    Once back out on a main street, I cross and duck down another alley just as one of the vehicles comes flying around the corner. I didn''t see which one it was, but it was going fast enough I heard it. I keep running to the end of that alley before exiting it and crossing the next street. I follow that street for a block before entering a parking lot and ducking between some of the cars. Sure enough a moment later I hear one of the cars again, and the red sedan goes flying by. I stay down for a few minutes, carefully watching the road. The goons from before finally catch up, but they don''t pay the parking lot any heed as they run past further along the route I would have taken if I had kept running straight. I wait a few more minutes, and after no more cars roll by I decide it''s safe enough to come out.


    Once I''m back on the street I check my phone to find out where I am, then plot a course home and carefully make my way through the remainder of the city to the suburbs. I''d call the cops but it''s not like they''d be able to do anything. Yea hi, I got chased by some dudes in black clothing with face masks and unmarked non descript vehicles. Though the paper trail might be nice, I don''t have the mana to play fifty thousand questions with them today. I''m already running low.


    Mana: 704/7068


    Yea lets not tempt fate oh having my wings, tail, eyes, and horns pop out in front of everyone. Thankfully I managed to make it home without any more incidents. Those kidnappers were totally incompetent. Then again I also do run way faster than a normal person or even a new defender. I''m not going to tell mom either, she''d have a fit and wouldn''t actually contribute to the situation in any meaningful way. I''ll tell dad when he gets home. I highly suspect we won''t be able to do anything about it though, and that this won''t be the last attempt.


    I have a sneaking suspicion about who hired them, fucking Healers Inc prick. Shit, maybe I do need to join a guild then. If anything it might make any others give up trying to do stupid shit like kidnap me. Then again, if they''re dumb enough to think kidnapping is a valid recruitment strategy then just being in a different guild might not do anything. I''ll need protection, which will be costly, meaning I''d have to be worth it. Though, I''m apparently valuable enough to kidnap so that  may not be an issue. God what a pain in the ass, I thought magic was supposed to make you cooler, not paint a target on your back. But some people, or groups, just have to be exploitative assholes I guess.


    I get up to my room and lock the door, then loosen up and let my wings n stuff out. I sigh as I go over to the computer and sit down. I open up Google search in a new tab and get to work. First I look up the healers union and go through the process of creating an account. Total pain in the ass, but I get it mostly done. They want verification that you are in fact a healer, so I need to create an appointment with someone they approve of to verify and sign off. The good news is the appointment system they had in place will let me know when someone is available at the times I specified.


    After that was done I did some research on the Free Birds guild. They do in fact focus on any kind of competition, this includes some of the demon hunting ones. But they seem a little too competitive for my liking. At least they are upfront about it on their website, requirements like participating in x number of events a year, ect. So I''m probably going to give them a no. I don''t even know how a healer would participate competitively. Though they sent the letter out before my class selection so they didn''t know.


    I close out the tab I was using for research and reach over to my phone. I go to text Charles but stop when I notice the message from that Marcy lady earlier today. The previews for conversation shows two words that the notification didn''t, a recruiter. That piques my interest, so I open the conversation to read her message.


    ¡®Hello, my name is Marcy Brown. I am a recruiter for the guild Renders. If you have time to talk I''d like to extend a recruitment offer to you. You can reach me at this number or at [email protected]</a>.''


    Huh, so she wasn''t a scammer. Wait, how did she get my phone number? I certainly haven''t given it out, and the registration process supposedly only used it for contacting purposes. Yea, probably bullshit, it got sold like everything else these days. But in a way that works for me, more offers will get tossed my way. I text Marcy back, stating that I''m interested but can only meet on weekends due to school. I didn''t even have time to put my phone down before I got a response.


    ¡®Wonderful to hear from you, I can meet later today at a location of your choice if you are available.¡¯


    Later today, which means she''s already local. Not a surprise, I''m sure a lot of recruiters flew in after the disaster due to how many people became defenders. I still remember the absolute zoo outside the gym when they all jumped at the newly registered defenders. Well, convenient enough for me. I just need to let my mana recharge.


    I text her back saying I''m available to meet at a cafe about two miles from my house at five pm. That should give me three and a half ish hours to recharge my mana and another hour or so to walk that way. So I text Charles before putting my phone down and going back to researching possible guilds to join. Just because I''ve agreed to one meeting doesn''t mean I''m going to limit my options after all.

 Chapter 30: Meeting Marcy

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    I walk into the cafe and look around. It''s mostly empty, save for a couple chatting about their days at a corner table. I find a seat facing away from the front windows and take off my ski mask. Nice thing about winter is that no one bats an eye when you wear fully concealing clothing. I ended up ditching my hat, changing jackets, wearing a ski mask to cover my face, and slipping out the back door to avoid any possible detection. It seems to have worked, since I wasn''t accosted on the way here.


    I''m twenty minutes early, which gives me plenty of time to settle in and observe the place. Not that there is much to observe, It''s a quiet little cafe I''ve never visited before. The atmosphere is ocean themed, with boats sailing the seas painted on the walls with ropes and life preservers acting as decorations on the wooden counter. It''s a self serve establishment, you go up and buy whatever you want from the counter then sit down. The girl manning it eyed me when I walked in but otherwise doesn''t seem to care. I might go over and buy a sandwich or pastry while waiting for Marcy.


    I don''t get the opportunity though, as the bell on the door chimes indicating someone has entered the establishment. I crane my head back to check who it is, making sure they aren''t trouble or anything. Standing near the door scanning for a place to sit is a woman with strawberry red hair and wearing one of those nice business suits with a skirt. Her eyes cross over me as she scans the room. They widen in surprise for a moment before a friendly smile settles on her face as she makes her way over to me.


    I did a bit of research on Renders before coming here. A small to medium sized guild that focuses on front line combat, but does dabble in a bit of everything. Not exactly a hard no, but I''d prefer a guild with a little less focus on fighting. Still, the diversity is a plus, lots of doors to get my foot in. Marcy sits down across me from me at the table, placing her briefcase down next to her but not pulling anything out yet.


    ¡°My apologies if I kept you waiting. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me.¡± She says all smiles. Lady, we''re twenty minutes early, like damn.


    ¡°It''s fine, I was early. So, I''d like to get right to the point if you don''t mind.¡± I reply with a smile of my own.


    ¡°Certainly not a problem. Our guild Renders is a medium sized guild focusing on front line tours of duty. We do offer a wide variety of other avenues such as crafting, enchanting, community service, but they aren''t as big as our front line program.¡± She says while pulling out documents from her case.


    She offers one to me and I take it and read it over for a moment. It''s listing off all the benefits of the various programs and avenues they offer. Including a list of everything they do offer.


    ¡°Hmm, how exactly does front line service work?¡± I ask, my interest piqued.


    ¡°Well, you first join a guild or military. As a part of a guild, you would then volunteer for front line combat. A guild doesn''t need to have a presence on the front for members to volunteer, but it can make their lives significantly easier while there. The pay while performing front line service is also very very high, we are talking six figure salary for even basic army personnel. Defenders of course get even higher wages. In the case of a guild that does front line work, we give you extra training to help you survive, haggle to get you better pay for your skills, and sometimes widen the range of areas you can choose to serve in. We also have deals in place allowing our members to pick who they serve with if they want to, including with people from other guilds. Finally, we maintain guild member exclusive facilities ranging from housing, workshops, armories, stores, and even recreational facilities near the front to assist with your needs while deployed.¡±


    Interesting, I knew people could volunteer to go to the front. But I didn''t know it was so complex. She also didn''t mention what non combat class would do, though I assume those are who run the workshops and whatnot.


    ¡°Hmm, good to know. But I don''t know if front service is for me. What other programs and opportunities do you offer?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Of course, we have a wide variety of opportunities available. Some of the ones I think might interest you are the community outreach, magic exploration program, veteran support. And of course our healing services program.¡± She says, carefully trying to gauge my reaction to each one.


    ¡°Cool, but why do you think healing services would be good for me? I''m pretty healthy.¡± I say feigning ignorance. I''m hoping to probe to see how much they know. If Renders also knows I''m a healer I might be able to figure out how they know and plan accordingly.


    ¡°Oh, I was under the impression you have a healing class. Do you not?¡±


    ¡°I do, I''m just trying to figure out why you know that information, I certainly haven''t told anyone.¡± I say, giving her a pointed look.


    ¡°Oh that, I''m not privy to details but let''s just say larger guilds have connections for obtaining information, sometimes very quickly. The things they tell you are secret actually aren''t if you know who to talk to. Unfortunately it''s less a matter of how protected your personal information is, but how fast it gets spread around.¡± She replies, catching on that she should at least play along enough to give me a general idea.


    ¡°Ugh, great. That might explain that ass from earlier today at least.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you were already approached by another recruiter?¡±


    ¡°Yea, a guy named Mark something from Healers Incorporated. Approached me and a friend while we were out and wouldn''t take the hint to leave us alone. Ended up making a huge ass of himself so I rejected his offer.¡± I say, not bothering to try and filter the annoyance out of my voice or the scowl off my face.


    Marcy on the other hand blanks for a second, before looking worried.


    ¡°You rejected them? Pardon my lack of professionalism for discussing another guilds recruitment with you. But surely they couldn''t have made that poor of an offer?¡±


    ¡°I didn''t even hear the offer. Dude walked up to me out of nowhere and made a fool of himself, so I told him off and told him to take a hike.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡­ you''re not aware of their reputation are you?¡±


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°Oh dear. Healers Incorporated has a bit of a¡­.. Reputation. They don''t like being told no, and tend to get aggressive. You should expect them to start using underhanded tactics to pressure you now. But, I''m surprised they learned about you this quickly though.¡±


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    ¡°Yea, I guess you could call it that.¡± I say, trying to gauge her reaction. I need to know if other guilds will react poorly to healers Inc having it out for me.


    ¡°Oh no, don''t tell me they''re trying things already. What did they do?¡± She asks, sounding even more concerned.


    ¡°Well, I have no proof it was actually them. But after rejecting the dude some guys tried to stalk and kidnap me.¡±


    Marcy froze in place, her fingers hovering over another piece of paper she was getting ready to pull out of her briefcase. Well, that''s not a good reaction. Though that might be part of their plan. No one might want to get involved with someone who has thugs after them, risk of bringing trouble along with the.. But Healers Inc would still graciously accept me into their ranks and even offer protection.


    ¡°You''re not joking, are you?¡±


    ¡°Do I look like I''m joking?¡±


    ¡°No, have you gone to the police yet?¡± She asks while pulling out her cell phone and doing something on it.


    ¡°No, the last few times I''ve talked with police or army it''s been five hundred questions about my personal life and magic. I''m not dealing with that again just so they can tell me to avoid parked cars and shady alleyways.¡± I reply.


    Marcy doesn''t say anything in return, instead she keeps messing with her phone before putting it up to her ear and calling someone.


    ¡°Excuse me for one moment. I need to check something with someone.¡± She says as she stands up and walks outside. Unfortunately for her, I can still hear her outside because the door doesn''t close all the way. Albeit barely, passing cars and ambient noise sometimes drown out what she¡¯s saying.


    ¡°Hello, Randy. Sorry to bother you so late but we might have ¡­. hiccup in the process.¡± She says before pausing for a moment.


    ¡°Well, it ¡­¡­  underestimated the competition a little. ¡­¡­ already talked to her.¡±


    ¡°No, she ¡­¡­. Apparently they didn''t take it well. She says someone ¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Says they won¡¯t help. Do we want to get ¡­¡­.?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re sure? Alright.¡± With that she turns and comes back inside, but instead of hanging up her phone she holds it out to me.


    ¡°My boss would like to talk with you if that''s ok.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Hello?¡± I say while taking the phone, a little skeptical.


    ¡°Hello, you must be Lucy. Pleasure to speak with you, I¡¯m Randy Stocks, recruitment manager of Renders and fellow defender. I understand that you¡¯re having some trouble with some pushy recruiters.¡±


    ¡°I guess you could call it that. I take it you''re still interested despite the potential problems.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m even more interested now.  Healers are hard to come by, and most of them cower away when confronted with a challenge. It¡¯s refreshing to find one with some spine.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, but flattery will only get you so far. I''m hoping that joining a different guild will make them leave me alone, so I''m exploring my options.¡±


    ¡°Smart move. Though if they are actually the ones trying to kidnap you joining another guild might not fully dissuade them. But a guild could help shield you from the effects of their harassment. And generally repeatedly going after another guild''s members is grounds for a fight, which a guild consisting of all healers would try to avoid.¡±


    ¡°Why would they? I''m sure they have plenty of friends in high and low places. And some are capable of fighting.¡±


    ¡°Yes and no. It''s a very complex environment, the politics between guilds. But generally when two guilds go at it for a legitimate reason all bets are off. Which would let them directly attack each other''s members and property with near impunity.¡±


    ¡°Wait, they¡¯re allowed to just start murdering each other and shit?¡± I ask, my composure dropping for a split second at the sheer insanity of his statement.


    ¡°Not quite but pretty close. You can only damage property owned by the other guild. And you can only target other defenders employed by the guild, not regular people. That''s what is meant by members.¡±


    ¡°Even so, that''s still extreme. What if a defender doesn''t want to participate?¡±


    ¡°Then they leave their respective guild. Yea it''s extreme but the process to a guild war is long, complex, and very open. Everyone will know when a fight is starting and have time to get clear. There are rules in place to manage this kind of thing after all. The government learned long ago that trying to stop two groups with superpowers and super egos generally ends poorly.¡± Randy says. He pauses for a moment before continuing.


    ¡°Still, we''re getting off topic, the point is that harassing other guild''s members is considered acceptable grounds for a guild war. So joining a guild would go a long way to shield you from their more overt attempts at harassment. Renders of course would provide you with as much protection as we can, including physical, should you choose to join us.¡±


    ¡°Well I am here to explore my options. So what else are you willing to offer me?¡±


    ¡°I believe Ms Marcy has the full details on our offer. It would probably be better for you to read over them while we negotiate to prevent any misconceptions. Also due keep in mind this offer is based on what we know about you. If you have anything you would like to add we are open to negotiation.¡±


    Right on queue Marcy hands me a tablet. A quick glance reveals it''s showing a contract, specifically an offer letter for membership. I ask for a minute to read over it. A quick glance reveals A LOT of legal jargon I can hardly begin to comprehend. Yea, I''m going to need an expert opinion for most of this. But some of the parts I do understand, especially the ones dictating what I would get paid. One hundred and seventy five thousand a year is a lot of money for¡­ well anyone. That''s not accounting for the other stuff they say they are going to give me, like secondary education, equipment, training. To call it a shock is an understatement, I knew defenders got paid well but this is ridiculous. There''s gotta be a catch somewhere in here. If it''s too good to be true, then it is. Oh god I just realized unless I wait another month my parents would also need to look at and sign this. I do not need my mom seeing this, the bullshit would never end. I''ll deal with that later. Right now I need to see if they will let me try to get a second opinion or hardball me. Because a hardball approach would be an instant no.


    ¡°You wouldn''t mind if I took this and got back to you later would you?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. We wouldn''t want you to sign without full understanding of everything. Unfortunately, I have to go now. Ms Marcy will help you with the rest of the process. I''ll also have her give you my contact details as well. And a final word of warning, as you can tell from our offer you''re quite the catch. As other guilds and groups discover you they will also come to you with similar offers. As you discovered with Healers Incorporated, some will be aggressive than others. Expect to be approached a lot while in public, and your primary email and phone number to get inundated with spam.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the heads up.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re welcome, goodbye.¡± And with that the phone beeped indicating the call had ended.


    I hand the phone and tablet back to Marcy and in response she slid a business card across the table. On the front were her details, and written on the back where Randy''s email and phone. I started to wonder about her timing until she turned her head to pull something else out of her briefcase. That''s when I saw the earpiece hidden away mostly under her hair, how sneaky.


    ¡°Alright, I think that covers everything. Any more questions?¡± Marcy asks as she hands me aa few pieces of paper, all extolling the virtues and advantages of her guild.


    ¡°Nope, all gold on my end. I take it you already have my email for the contract?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I''ll send over the current version after our meeting. We will have a revised one that includes details on protection and assistance ready by the end of business tomorrow. It''s been a pleasure but I''ll head out now, have a nice day.¡± She says while extending her hand for a hand shake.


    ¡°You as well.¡± I reply while shaking her hand.


    With that she got up, stashed her tablet, phone, and a few loose pieces of paper back in her briefcase, and left. I walked over to the counter to grab some food really quick before heading home. Mom will probably have dinner ready soon, but it isn''t fair to the cafe to use their table space and not buy anything. Not that the space would have been used otherwise. I think maybe one person walked in, bought something, and walked out in the time I''ve been here. The two at the corner table left a little while ago, leaving just me and the clerk inside. And this girl honestly doesn''t seem like she could give less of shit. I get up to the counter¡­¡­ and a city wide siren starts to wail an ear piercing screech. You gotta be fucking shitting me.

 Chapter Delay

    Just wanted to let every once know so people were not left wondering. Ive had a bunch of stuff pop up recently that''s caused a lot of delays and sapped my energy. I have no idea when the will get dealt with unfortunately, but ill try to keep up with pushing out new chapters on time after this. Unfortunately royal road needs 500 characters so this last sentence is just filler.


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 Chapter 31: Things Go Wrong

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    I immediately turn and bolt. The reality breach siren giving me more than enough reason to not bother with throwing my ski mask back on. It''s been a fucking week and we''re getting another reality breach event! What the fuck! I bolt through the streets, weaving my way through the crowds and traffic as people try to make their way to the probably under prepared bunkers. It''s a little less frantic this time around, people seem to be keeping some semblance of order but are still pushing and shoving to some extent. Wait, what are my mana reserves at?


    Mana: 3689/7068


    Still just over half. Damn, this mana regen crystal does work! Said crystal is still zipped into my jacket pocket. Good news is they definitely don''t need to be floating around to work, just near.


    My thoughts on my new regen crystal are interrupted by the screeching of tires, as a car barrels into the already occupied intersection ahead of me and t-bones a bus at full speed. The bus crumples, literally bending from the force of the impact as it slides sideways across the intersection on screeching tires. Fucking idiots, its already been thirty seconds and no shattering, so it can be worse than last time. I run past the crash, determined to leave the area before even more panic sets in, which has already started on account of the crash. It''s not like I could do anything anyways, I have only half mana and low level healing spells. Injuries from that kind of crash are out of my league.


    As I run down the street at a considerably faster pace than everyone else, the screams of the chaos slowly fade into the background behind me. I''m maybe halfway to the central bunker by the two minute mark, and still no shattering. Which is good, people are slowly and slightly calming down as time goes on. Both the shock factor wearing off and the realization that it''s going to be a lower severity finally getting people to behave somewhat civilized again. Unfortunately that effect didn''t last long.


    Four minutes in and I break into the giant parking lot in front of the bunker, only to find a scene of utter chaos. It''s somehow worse than the first breach event. Cars are parked haphazardly, some having crashed, people running and screaming incoherently in varying directions. And I immediately see why, the doors are still closed, all of them. The exterior lights aren''t even on, no personnel outside to direct, reassure, or guard. The bunker should be wide open right now for mass ingress, instead it''s locked closed with thousands of people piling up outside as a giant buffet for whatever demons are about to crash through into our reality.


    And as if on queue I''m hit with the unnatural feeling of prickling along my skin and against my very senses. Followed moments later by the ethereal sound of glass shattering. I look down at my phone, almost five minutes on the dot. The effect is instantly, complete pandemonium would be an understatement. I throw myself against the nearest building in an attempt to avoid the crowd. Those knowing they won''t get into the bunker turn and flee, running straight into those who are running towards the bunker in a panic. The two groups run into one another and trample each other. Above the crowd I notice the air start to contort, twist, and bulge. Almost as if something is trying to force its way through.


    Yea nope, not sticking around to see how this goes. I turn and run to the door of the building, which appears to be some sort of commercial office space. I run up to the glass doors and try to pull them open, but have no luck. Looking in it looks like the building is closed, which makes sense. It''s after working hours and a weekend. The screams of the crowd reach a new level of intensity as I start searching for something to break the glass on the door with. I quickly spot a large rock within a decorative planter near the door. I snatch it up and without hesitation hurl it as hard as I can at the door. In my slight haste, totally not panic, I forgot that I¡¯m quite a bit stronger than a regular person. The rock rockets through the first door, shattering it completely before smashing through a second set of doors I didn''t realize were there, coming to rest in the middle of the lobby surrounded by glass. The sound drew no small amount of attention, and people came rushing over to try and pile into the building to escape the mayhem on the street.


    I didn''t wait around for the door to become plugged, running straight in ahead of the crowd and for the elevators. I pressed the call button, before realizing how much of a stupid idea getting on an elevator is right now, and instead run for the stairwell. I crash through the door, not caring about any damage I cause to it. Of course it''s never that easy, in front of me on the first half floor landing is a distorted patch of air with a demon already halfway out.


    It looks like a blue jellyfish with six tentacles acting as legs, but has a beak on its underside between the tentacles like a squid would. It leaps down off the landing at me, tentacles splayed out. I throw my hands up to shield myself while jumping back but I¡¯m not quick enough. The evil little shit snags my right hand with one of its tentacles and quickly latches on as I fall back out of the stairwell. To my shock it doesn''t try to immediately rip my hand to shreds, instead it tries to hold fast, extending a tentacle or two up my arm in an attempt to climb up while keeping itself secure. It doesn''t work, and I let out a horrified scream as I rip it off with enough force to tear chunks out of my jacket¡¯ sleeve before throwing it to the ground and stomping as hard as I can. My foot comes down and pops it like a grape, sending purple viscera splattering all up my front and into the surrounding area.


    Ew ew ew! Fucking demon guts are not cool! I frantically try to wipe the blood and gore off my front, but only succeed in making more of a mess of my poor jacket. Fuck! That¡¯s two jackets the demons have ruined now! A scream from behind me causes me to stop lamenting over my jacket and spin around. A dozen or so people are in the lobby panicking, screaming, and pointing to a woman who has just wandered into the lobby. Her movements are twitchy and unnatural, she has blood around her mouth and all down her front, and has one of those weird demon jellyfish wrapped around the back of her head.


    You gotta be shitting me, don¡¯t tell me those damn things can control people. She lets out a horrid wail before rushing at the nearest person, a younger dude who is panicked and completely unprepared. She lands on him, an empty look in her eyes as she overpowers him in a mere moment, drags him to the ground, and starts to literally eat him alive. Everyone else starts screaming and running in panic as the zombie woman claws her way up to his face and starts chewing him apart.


    I stand rooted to the spot in shock as the various other people in the lobby run every which direction. Two people run out the front door back onto the street. The elevator doors open and three people run in, only for two to scream and run back out as the third tumbles back into the lobby spasming with a jellyfish latched to the back of his head. Four people run to the other stairwell on the opposite side of the lobby while three rush past me. The last man bumps me, knocking me out of my stupor and allowing me to join them in ascending the stairwell.


    Despite entering last I quickly become first, my speed clearly far greater than that of a regular person''s. I pick a random floor and throw open the door, finding a large office space open before me. I slip inside and close the door behind me, moments later the sound of people thundering up the staircase passes by.


    I lean against the door and slowly slide down, trying to get my mounting panic under control. Everything went to shit so fast I¡¯m still trying to wrap my head around it. Zombie mind controlling demon jellyfish and a non functioning bunker. Not only that, their damn spawn rate was quicker than what''s supposedly normal. Supposedly it¡¯s supposed to only start with a few breaking through at the beginning and ramp up over time. That''s why bunkers are still effective, because with only a few demons at the beginning evacuation is still manageable. But that, there were fucking three of them right off the bat! Granted a squished one of them, at least the jellyfish themselves seem to be weak. Maybe that''s why they popped in so quickly, smaller stuff breaks through more easily at the beginning. As time passes and the metaphorical, or possibly literal, hole in reality widens and more powerful things can come through. At Least that''s the explanation the textbooks give on why you need to find shelter quickly. Of course, the more powerful, or more things pushing on the barrier the faster it fails. Thus the tiering system is based on time.


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    This is only a level one breach, but it already feels worse than the level five from last week¡­. On second thought, level five will always be the worst breach in my book. But this one still sucks! I finally build up enough courage to stand up and move away from the door, but I keep my eye on it out of paranoia that a damned zombie will burst through at any moment. Slowly I make my way over to the window. The screams of terror and agony filtering their way through the glass, indicating the shit hasn''t stopped hitting the fan outside. Timidly I get close enough to the window to peek over the edge of the floor and outside, and immediately regret that decision. Hell on earth might be the only apt description. The streets run red with blood, bodies wrapped and contorted all about the street. Almost two dozen jelly controlled zombies scattered about are hunched over corpses and taking their fill. Well most of them are corpses, i notice one particular man fighting desperately to break free from the creature consuming him, but it doesn''t care as it just holds him down and consumes his legs alive and kicking.


    I step back from the window, doing everything in my power to prevent a panic attack and keep my lunch in my stomach and not on the floor. I put my head in the elbow of my still good sleeve and take deep long breaths. It takes a minute but I finally get the feeling of throwing up to go away, and my anxiety to a manageable level. Thank god I didn''t actually get to eat any dinner. I make my way farther back towards the middle of the floor. I pull out my phone and notice a flurry of texts from different people. The first is from the automated system with the same usual crap. I reply ¡®SOS¡¯ and make a silent prayer that I¡¯ll still be around to be rescued when someone actually gets out here. Second one was from dad, wondering where the hell I am and if I''m safe because mom says I wasn''t at home. I debate for a minute on how I should reply. I¡¯m in all likely hood fucked, less so than a regular person, but still not in a good position. He should be safe at the factory, that place is like a fortress. And judging from the fact he isnt panic texting, mom, the twins, and Tommy probably made it to the southern bunker. Which means the southern bunker is working. The last thing I need is him doing something stupid like trying to charge out here to try and save me. I resolve to tell him a bit of a lie while formulating a barebones basic plan with end goal. ¡®Am fine, in city, heading for southern.¡¯ is what I quickly text back before silencing my phone. Last thing I need is an errant notification on the latest pop culture reference popping a notification at the wrong time.


    With that out of the way I take better stock of my surroundings. The floor I''m on consists mostly of open cubical space, with a few offices and a conference room along the only wall in the place. The other three sides are glass, it looks like the same company owns the entire floor here. Though there isn''t any distinctive markings to indicate which company. Unfortunately, an office space really limits my options. I might be able to lock myself in an office or hide in the cubicles, but any demon with half decent senses would probably detect me. I might be able to collect some improvised weapons, maybe some sharp pens or something. I start searching through the cubicles, looking for anything that might make a decent weapon. I quickly discover that most pens and pencils are the cheap plastic kind that will break if I twitch my finger wrong. But a few good metallic or hard plastic ones are scattered about, and I greedily snatch them up and stuff them into my pockets. Of course, unzipping the pocket that the mana regen crystal is in lets it escape to resume its orbiting path around me. I don''t care at this point, focused more on gathering while I can. Eventually I find something good, well as good as an improvised office space weapon can be. A very nice metal stapler is on the desk of the first office I search. Small, metal, heavy, a damn good throwable weapon.


    The second office gave me false hope. As I entered I noticed a sword hung up on a plaque on the wall behind the desk. I beeline for it and ripped it off the wall, only to discover it was a cheap plastic knock off. Even a cheap metal sword would have been a godsend right now. Otherwise it''s just more useless garbage. There is a small kitchen area in the conference room consisting of a cabinet with a coffee maker on top and a mini fridge. I managed to find a metal butter knife in the cabinet, not a cheap one either. My impromptu weapon looting complete, I make my way back to the door to the stairwell.


    Current plan is to loot a few more floors for anything usable as a weapon while outside calms down some. After that I''ll either make my way south or shelter in place depending on if the demons are actively hunting or not and how bad it is outside. Primitive plan in place I move to the door leading to the other stairwell on the opposite side of the floor. I put my ear up to the door but don''t hear anything. Deciding to try my luck on another floor I slowly turn the handle and quietly open the door. Who knows, I might be able to find some of those other people on the upper floors.


    I get the door about a quarter of the way open when I notice it standing on the edge of the landing. A zombie in sweat pants and a jacket is looking straight up the staircase. A sick feeling hits me as I realize this is the dude who tumbled out of the evivator. I freeze, hoping for a moment that it will walk away. But it just keeps standing there and looking up. I debate closing the door again for a moment but decide that it might draw its attention no matter how quiet I try to be. The longer I look at the thing the more disgusted I am. The demon jellyfish has eight tentacles, four big ones that have barbs all over them and are currently wrapped around the guy''s head and neck. Four small tentacles also wrap around his head, two going into his ears and two more around to the front of his face. The small tentacles pulse with an ominous purple glow at random intervals, it isn''t super bright, but still enough to notice.


    Actually, now might be a good time to take it out. I don''t hear anything else in the stairwell, and it''s currently facing away from me. It clearly can''t see behind itself otherwise it would have noticed me already, which is weird since the demon jelly is on the back of his head. Maybe I''ll figure out why after I kill it. I''ve already killed one so I know the jellyfish are extremely squishy, I should be able to take it out with a well placed throw or hit. It will be hard to fuck this up, it''s facing directly away from me, and is only three feet away. Despite all that I''m still nervous as I pull the metal stapler from my pocket and slowly edge myself through the partially open door. Using my foot to keep the door propped open I slowly cock my arm back and prepare myself. If I miss that thing will be all over me and probably make a lot of noise. But if I get rid of it now while it''s alone, that¡¯s one less demon haunting the building.


    Finally I take one more deep breath, putting a sharp pen in my off hand just in case. I throw the stapler with all the force I can muster while keeping it on target. My arm snaps forward, the stapler leaves my hand at high speed and flies through the air. I''m on target enough to land a decent hit, the majority of the stapler hitting the majority of the jelly. The effect is instant, a splatter of purple and blue gore shoots out everywhere as the jellyfish has its upper half basically obliterated by the stapler. The body it was puppeting dropped as the stapler clattered off the wall and hit the floor, making a shit ton of noise that reverberated up and down the stairwell.


    I dive back inside the door and slam it shut. I wait with my ear on the door, listening for anything else possibly coming around to find the source of the noise. First a minute passes, then two without any indication of anything else having shown up. I carefully poke my head back into the stairwell, scanning for any visual signs that something is there or has been through. When I find nothing I determine it''s safe enough to investigate some more and move back out into to look at the body. The lower part is still wrapped round the dude''s head. He''s also dead, staring wide eyed and unmoving at the wall with blood seeping from his ears and nose. I try pulling the thing off but it''s stuck firm, the barbs on the large tentacles holding it in place. I carefully pull the large tentacles free, making extra sure to avoid the barbs in case they are poisonous or something. The whole jellyfish is a nasty slimy mess but I manage to get it off using the stapler and some pens. As I finally get to pull the remains off I discover something a little more disturbing. The beak has dug into the back of the dudes neck, before opening up and shooting what can be best described as yellow tendrils straight into his spine. I recoil back at that, seeing someone''s spine is a little too much for me.


    I move to the edge of the landing and look up and down the rest of the stairwell, searching for any more of those things, or other demons. I don''t see anything up or down the stairwell, which opens up my options and leaves me with a choice. Do I go up and look for the other people and or more supplies, or go down and try to get to the southern bunker as quickly as possible? The decision is made for me as I hear a door crash open and screaming coming from above.

 Chapter 32: They Go Very Wrong

    I stare up, rooted by uncertainty as the screaming continues from above accompanied by the sound of struggling. Then¡­. silence, nothing but a low gurgling echoing down the stairwell. Well shit, they''re fucking dead I guess. I let out the breath I was holding and start to sneak my way down the stairwell. Above me I hear movement as what I am assuming are new zombies start to get up and move around. I don''t encounter any problems on my way down thankfully, and im quiet enough that the ones above me don''t hear. Everything seems to be going good, and I''m confident as I reach the bottom of the stairwell. I slowly open the door as quietly as I can, trying to minimize the squeaking of its hinges. I get the door open just a crack and peer through with one eye¡­. and make eye contact with a zombie that was staring at the door!


    I slam the door closed as the zombified business woman from before let out an ear piercing screech and threw itself at the door. Unfortunately, stairwell doors open into the stairwell, so I have to use all my available strength to keep the door closed. Above me I hear the new zombies scream as well, and start scrambling down the stairs.


    ¡°Bloody dickhead¡± I curse aloud, unable to contain my anger.


    Of course there was a damn zombie at the bottom of the stairs, staring at the door! Because where else would a zombie be in the entirety of the building!? I continue to hold the door as the group above continues to thundering down the stairs but a weird sound starts to echo off the walls. It sounds like flesh hitting metal? And it''s echoing out repeatedly and getting closer. I hear one final loud twang from above before a thud and accompanying splat indicate something landed behind me in the stairwell.


    Fearing the worse I spin around, almost letting the door open in the process before I throw my back against it. Laid out before me is the mangled remains of a zombie, the jelly controlling it nothing but a colorful smear on the floor. The stupid demon fell down the staircase! Whatever works for me, problem is that its friends are still thundering down the stairs, and the one at the door won''t let up! I need to deal with this one at the door before the others get here or I will definitely be screwed. Ok think, zombies are stupid, as evidenced by the one dead on the floor. I wonder if I can trick it into overshooting then hit it from behind or run through the door. Worth a shot I guess.


    I pull the butter knife out of my pocket and start trying to feel when the best time to jump out of the way would be. The zombie is throwing itself against the door but sometimes backs off to slam slam against it with some extra force. I just need to get my timing right. I don''t need to wait long, the pressure on the door lets up for just a moment and I jump to the side. The moment I get clear the demented abomination bursts through and stumbles over, clearly not expecting to actually burst through. It doesn''t even have time to fully hit the ground before I jump on its back and plunge the knife in as hard as I can.


    As I suspected, the demon jellyfish are extremely squishy, and the knife sinks in like a hot knife through butter. I yank the knife back, gutting the damn thing and managing to get even more crap on my jacket in the process. It''s not like it''s salvageable anyways. The creature shudders for a second along with the body it''s connected to, before both flop to the floor lifeless. I don''t waste a second, jumping back up and rushing through the door, slamming it closed behind me. And just in time to, as the small horde smashes into the door as it clicks into place. Thankfully they aren''t smart enough to know how to use the handle, and the metal fire door seems to be strong enough to hold them for now.


    I let out a sigh of relief then walk down the small hallway leading to the lobby proper. When I finally come to the lobby, I almost wish I hadn''t. The front windows and remaining doors are completely smeared with blood. The floor of the lobby is no better, with blood kicked about or pooling up under the few half eaten corpses remaining in the lobby. Tiles hang loose or have fallen from the drop down ceiling, a body blocks the elevator from closing, causing them to constantly reopen and try to close.


    Repulsed, I turn away in disgust, throwing my hand over my mouth and gagging. Yea, I should have expected that. Something tells me I''m going to be doing a lot of almost throwing up before this is over. I carefully step through the lobby, weaving my way around the corpses and towards the door. I''m wondering if I should take the risk and bring my horns out, maybe my tail too. Being able to sense stuff through walls could be useful, and being able to feel these fuckers might give me more information on them. And the tail, well I''m pretty sure that thing is stronger than my actual arms so yea, deadly weapon in its own right.


    I unshift my tail and horns, feeling the detection aura and fifth limb settle over me almost instantly. Three more zombies come barreling from the hallway, instantly giving chase after the first one. I decide to hedge my bets on my remaining mana, and prepare a full power screech to damage them.


    Mana: 3128/8162


    More than I thought I''d have, given I''d kept everything shifted away until now.


    Right when the first one is halfway to me I let loose, sending out a sonic blast that cracks the tile floor, shreds the drop ceiling, and blows plaster off the wall. The zombies don''t fair much better, their clothes are ripped into ribbons instantly, with the ribbons then flying away from the force. The skin underneath is ravaged by cuts of varying sizes and an angry shade of red. The jellyfish don''t fare much better. The attack causes them a lot of pain apparently, as some of their tentacles actually lose grip and flail about, causing the host bodies to falter. One of the back ones stumbles but keeps going, the other two just straight up trip and fall over each other. The one in front stumbles but tries to lunge for me anyways. It crashes next to me as I scramble back trying to avoid its lunge.


    I notice three things the moment it enters into my sensing perception. First, the host and the jellyfish demon have separate essence signatures. Second, both the jellyfish and host feel significantly weaker than me. And third, the jellyfish seems to be stealing essence from the host body somehow.


    I don''t give it any time to recover as my tail shoots out and tries to smack the jelly directly. It manages to turn the hosts head just in time to take the blow. I end up smashing it in the jaw instead. A sickening crunch comes from its face as the head snaps back and the zombie falls to the ground, my tail left stinging like a mother fucker. Ouch ouch ouch! Feels exactly like when you slap someone too hard. Good news is I''m pretty sure nothing is broken at least.


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    I reverse my direction and charge towards the downed zombie, keen to make the most of this opportunity. I get over top of it as it flips over onto its stomach in an attempt to claw at me, then stomp down right on the now exposed jelly. The jellyfish instantly splatters sending guts and blood everywhere as my foot continues down and I feel the neck give way with a nasty crack.


    The jellyfish''s essence falls apart like a ball of water that''s lost cohesion; it spreads and fades into the background, spreading out and becoming more diluted as it goes. Some of the essence makes contact with me, and I feel the smallest of rushes as I absorb it. The same thing happens for the host a moment later, as it seems whatever the jellyfish was doing was the only thing keeping their essence cohesive. That or its because I snapped their neck. Probably a mercy honestly, I can see anyone coming back after what those demons are doing to them.


    Unfortunately the other three aren''t intimidated by their friend¡¯s execution, as the two that tripped are getting back up and the other one is almost on top of me. But I think I''ve figured out how to deal with them. From the few I''ve watched I notice they always lunge at their victims the moment they get close enough. Once you avoid the lunge they are at a disadvantage and exposed. I spin around to face the second zombie, getting my stance ready to evade it when it tries to jump on me. Sure enough the moment it''s close enough it launches itself at me, not quite a jump but close enough that it now has poor control over its direction. I scramble to the side to avoid it as it flies past flailing and trying to sink its claws into me. I immediately flick my tail the opposite way, allowing me to rapidly change my momentum and run up on the zombie before it even finishes hitting the ground. This time the angle is better because I got up on it so quickly, so I''m able to give the jellyfish a nasty kick from the side instead of a stomp. I feel its essence dissipate the moment it becomes a splatter flying across the lobby. Unfortunately its victim''s essence also dissipates a moment later, confirming that the demon jellyfish are the only thing keeping them alive.


    Damn, but probably better than living after what the demon jellyfish have done to them. I gotta remember that tail flicking trick, didn''t even know I could do that. Guess it''s a part of the whole naturally knowing how to use it bullshit. Well, two done, two to go. I turn my attention back to the final two zombies who have finally gotten back up and started charging across the lobby at me again. This is going to be a bit more complicated, I''m debating on blasting them with another screech. But do I really want to expend the mana necessary? At this point I''m less concerned with keeping myself disguised and more concerned with not getting my face ripped off. In that respect, it''s probably better to spend mana before blood, aka, use mana to avoid getting hurt.


    So, following that logic it''s better to blast them again to improve my odds. I take a deep breath and pour mana into the spell. I wait until they are about to lunge, then blast them at almost point blank range. The few tattered pieces remaining of their clothing are instantly destroyed as a new wave of cuts and blood spreads across their bodies. The jellyfish flail as the blast hits the tentacles wrapped around the heads, causing no small amount of damage and one of the tentacles to even fall off. The zombies tumble to the floor at my feet, barely controlled and having a hard time moving due to the accumulated damage. I think the left one even has a broken arm.


    I don''t give them any chance to recover, rushing forward and stomping down on the neck of the closer of the two, instantly destroying the jellyfish by making it to a splatter pancake impression. But when I turn to the other one, I find it''s detaching from the host body and trying to run. It''s not nearly fast enough. As it leaps away from the host body my tail shoots out and slaps it out of the air causing no small amount of gore and blood splatter to be added to the canvas that is me. I wipe the gunk away from my eyes with my one good sleeve and take stock of the carnage. Four more bodies lie among the lobby, fresh blood and bits of demon jellyfish adorn the walls and floor. Plaster has been knocked away, ceiling tiles are missing and broken on the floor, said floor now has no small amount of cracks in it.


    The chaos inside now matches the chaos outside, fitting for a breach event where it seems everything that could have, definitely went wrong. My knees give out and exhaustion hits me like a truck as the rush of fighting fades away, leaving me alone and scared in the middle of this carnage filled shithole. OK deep breaths, I made it this far through not super great encounters, I can get through this. I''ve survived worse, the tail, horns, wings, and eyes are all constant reminders of that. I let out a sigh as I stand back up, determined to keep going and get out of this hell hole.


    I take stock of myself to check for any injuries, I think I dodged all their attacks but better safe than sorry. No injuries as far as I can tell, just demon and possibly person blood and guts covering me. Only slight problem I foresee is my shoes are starting to fall apart from all the stomping and kicking. I should probably stick to using the knife or else I''ll be walking around barefoot before long. I also need to keep an eye on my mana, running out at the wrong time would probably get me killed. If not by demons then by responding soldiers and defenders trying to purge the city. And after an event like this, it''s going to be a HARD purge. They will turn over every stone in this city leaving me with nowhere to hide. So I''ll need mana to blend in or get executed, because the ¡®oh I''m not actually a demon¡¯ excuse sure as hell won''t fly in the middle of a breach event. Speaking of mana, I''ve killed a lot of shit, what''s my mana and power level at.


    Well, mana is higher than I expected. And I guess killing all those demons wasn''t a waste of time. Those twenty points go into attunement, aaaaand done!


    Wait, what was the ratio you needed to follow when putting all your points in one stat again? I think it was forty something¡­ right forty two! One point in everything else for every forty two. How many points have I dumped into attunement? Let''s see, started off at two hundred something power level, ten for the two sets before five hundred, thirty for the three sets after, so forty points. So my next set should have at least half of them spread across the other stats. Though that ratio is for humans, and I''m not exactly human, biologically at least. So does the ratio even apply to me? Hmm, I''m sure there''s some kind of ratio, but it might not be the forty two to one. For now I''ll follow that and adjust as necessary.


    Dealing with my magic done I turn my attention to looking outside. It''s hard to see with the setting sun blaring light straight through the front windows but what I can see is carnage. Once the sun sets the only illumination will be from the¡­.. wait, it''s eerily quiet. Is the fucking power out? I do a quick check, finding a light switch in the lobby and flicking it, only for nothing to happen. You gotta be shitting me, when did that happen? It had to have been some time after I left the stairwell, because that had working lights.


    Of course, I just now noticed the camera mounted above in the middle of the lobby while inspecting the lights. Shit, I really hope the power died before that thing saw me transform. If it didn''t, gah! I''ll deal with that when it comes to. I start making my way towards the exit, hoping now to use the cover of darkness to sneak my way south.

 The Nu Demon - Chapter 33: Out, Around, and Up

    To say the street was pure carnage would be an understatement. It looks the same as it did when I looked down at it from above, so I managed to not gag at the sight of it this time. What I did gag on was the smell, I should have expected it, but I didn''t. Blood and guts does have a smell, it''s just there isn''t normally enough blood to smell. But out here, there is more than enough. A couple dozen bodies line the street, most half eaten or contorted in some weird way. Somewhat thankfully, no sign of any jelly controlled zombies. That just begs the question. Where are the damn things?


    Right on queue I feel a presence scuttling up behind me and immediately jumping straight at me. A flick of my tail leads and an audible splat sounding out behind me and some gore landing in my peripheral vision on my right. Also made my tail sting again! I finally got it to feel better after slapping that zombie! Good thing I decided to pull my horns out, I have a feeling I''m going to be using them a lot today, and that my tail is gonna hurt like hell at the end of this.


    I let out a sigh and start creeping down the street, trying to head my best approximation of south. I know for a fact that the streets aren''t perfectly aligned with the cardinal directions, so I''ll have to weave my way through the city.


    It''s quiet until I reach the end of the street, at which point I need to cross an intersection and head a different way. Of course as I go to cross a damned jellyfish scuttles out from under a car and leaps at me. I''m ready for it of course, but it was a bit faster than I anticipated. I miss my stomp and end up panic punching it out of the air head on. The hard beak scrapes my knuckles as I turn the ugly bugger into goo, giving me a nasty cut along the back of my left hand.


    ¡°God damn it!¡± I shout while cradling my hand, the cut throbbing with pain.


    Fucking little shit! I can''t afford the mana to heal myself right now. This is exactly why I want to stomp, kick, and slap them. I take off my jacket and rip the one remaining sleeve off, then tie the clean part of it around the cut to act as a bandage. Fuck it, while I''m here I might as well go all in. I tear the remains of my jacket to pieces, then tie those pieces together as a makeshift face covering. This way if anyone sees me with my tail and horns out I can at least hide my identity. Not that there is anyone around to see me by this point.


    I reluctantly continue onwards, trying to keep a constant vigil on my surroundings for any trouble. But strangly, it''s still quiet. Like all the zombies just up and left, only bodies litter the streets. I sense another jelly fish hiding in a car with a broken window, and this time prepare properly for it. The little shit lunges at me the moment my hand appears in the window, and promptly impales itself on the butter knife I hold out. It slides off back into the car with a wet plop and I continue on my way down the street.


    I thought I would need to hug alleys and hide in shadows but if there isn''t anything out here aside from these demented little fucks I can just run down the main roads and get there faster. I cross an intersection at a hardy jog, only to have a jelly fish try to burst out of some bushes and rush me. It''s far enough away I can''t sense it, but that also means I have plenty of time to react. I simply step to the side as it leaps and hold the butter knife out. Unfortunately, the butter knife has had enough, and with a clank the blade snaps off the handle. The jellyfish tumbles to the floor with the blade still protruding from it, but thankfully dead, and I''m left holding the unless handle.


    Well shit, I was hoping it would last longer than that. Then again, for a cheap butter knife that was decent I guess. Given they probably didn''t make it with the expectation people would be slashing and stabbing demons with it. I pull a pen out of my pocket and take it in hand to use as a replacement weapon. These things will probably be one time use if they even do any damage. Hopefully my supply holds out until I get to the southern bunker.


    At that moment, a flash followed by a loud bang rings out from a high window of the building next to me. Followed immediately by another, then a third a few moments later. Gunfire, someone is still alive in this absolutely horrendous hellhole. The flashes and bangs keep ringing out for a few more moments, then silence. Either they got whatever was after them or they are a demon food now. Hard to tell from out here, but I didn''t hear a scream. They might be dead, might not be. Unfortunately I don''t have the mana to help them either way.


    Mana: 2203/13,908


    Strangely that gunfire didn''t bring anything else out of the shadows. Hold on, now that I think about it, even stranger is the fact I can''t hear more gunfire. The breach happened what, a half hour ago-ish? This place should be crawling with defenders, soldiers, drones, everything! And I know for a fact the military did not roll out of town overnight, because they were pestering me all night! Then again it''s pretty apparent this whole thing is ten different sets of sideways given how the central bunker was sealed.


    I let out a stressed sigh as I look up to the slowly darkening sky, the sun finally starting to dip below the horizon. Is the southern bunker even safe? I assumed it was before because dad texted me and it didn''t seem panicked, but maybe he was still texting them as well. It¡¯s impossible to ask him now, since the power outage took cell service down too. Which is also weird, because I¡¯m pretty sure cell towers are supposed to have backup generators or batteries. Fuck, I¡¯m going to get to the southern bunker and find a bloodbath aren¡¯t I? I just know it won''t be that easy.


    I let out a huff and resume jogging down the street, picking up my pace a little to keep making use of the little sunlight remaining. I¡¯m going to have to make use of my phone''s flashlight, or unshift my eyes and see if they provide any night vision. I don¡¯t want to do that though because nothing screams shoot me like having glow in the dark eyes in the middle of a blackout combined with a breach event. And using the phone as a flashlight isn''t the greatest idea either because I might need it if the power gets restored or I can at least get a signal.


    My internal bemoaning is interrupted by yet another jellyfish trying to jump at me, this one coming from somewhere behind me. It gets unceremoniously slapped out of the air by my tail as I pay minimal attention to it before going back to my griping. I don¡¯t get to gripe for long though, because as the final rays of the sun disappear behind the horizon a long, unsettling, unified moan echos from everywhere in the city at once, so powerful it literally shakes the ground. What the fuck was that?! Oh hell no!


    The thump of something against glass on my left gets my attention. I look over and can make out a silhouette of someone banging on the window of some sort of bakery across the street. A moment later the figure throws themselves at the window, shattering it as they fall out onto the street. Yea, if that''s not zombie behavior I don''t know what is. I quickly start sneaking up the street, trying to get distance between me and the bugger. Out of nowhere the window of the building I''m passing blows out, covering me in glass and making me let out a surprised yelp. A body falls next to me, and instantly looks up straight at me. I freeze, it stares, then opens its mouth and starts letting out a continuous and horrendous screech that rips through the street.


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    Shit! I stomp the jelly fish on the back of its head to shut it up but the damage is already done. All around me similar screeches follow, then the sounds of shattering windows and the thud of bodies hitting the ground. Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! I take off in a sprint, barely avoiding a zombie tumbling out of a window in front of me. Well I guess that answers the ¡®where they all where¡¯ question. Fuckers were waiting inside the buildings! But why didn''t they come out before for things like the gunshots? Unless, where they were waiting for the sun to go down? Fuck!


    I continue running as controlled bodies pile out of buildings around me, some going through doorways, but most bashing down the doors or going out windows. One falls from above, smashing into the car next to me and setting off its alarm, adding more noise to the chaos. I keep running, hoping to find somewhere to lose them, but they keep coming relentlessly from all directions. Behind me I hear the rushing of footsteps as the ones who have finally gotten up start to give chase. But my options quickly thin out, as zombies continue to pour into the street from all sides. I''m quickly boxed in, nowhere to run as zombies tumble over each other out of the door of the building next to me. A light pole on my right is the only place they aren''t, so I look up and leap as high as I can. I almost reach the top of the fifteen foot steel pole, grabbing onto the pole part with both hands and wrapping my tail around the light arm. I quickly scramble up to the very top as the tide of bodies crashes into the pole, causing it to begin wobbling as they try to climb it themselves. Being stupid and weak only a few of them actually get some foothold or a boost and get a foot or two up. Of course they instantly fall back into the sea below, but it¡¯s still scary as fuck given I can only see their silhouette right now, but even that final trickle of light is about to finish fading.


    Fuck it! I un-shift my eyes, the orange glow coming through and trickling out over the demonic controlled hoard below. My vision improves, not immensely, but I can now make out individual bodies in the crowd and shapes in the environment. I also make out just exactly how much they are making the pole sway with their banging, clawing, and slamming against it. It¡¯s a lot, as the pole starts to rock back and forth a good two feet in distance and let out creaking to voice its displeasure at the punishment. It¡¯s clear its not going to last long at this rate, so I start looking around for my exit strategy. The building is the closest thing to me, about six feet away, but its roof is still another seven feet up. An easy enough jump normally, gets a bit more complicated when your footing is narrow and swaying back and forth. Other options include a pole down the street, or trying to jump over the zombies and continue running.


    But that final option is nipped when I notice more bodies coming out of the darkness to join the mass at the base of the pole. Great, the continued screeching is attracting more. I thought they were deaf, apparently only selectively. If I jump to the other pole it will just be a repeat of this one, so roof it is. I start edging myself up into a crouching position, trying to adjust my balance in tune with the swaying to stay on. The pole¡¯s creaking continues to get louder as I line myself up with the edge of the roof, preparing to jump up to safety. I wait for it to sway away, then back towards the building. At the apex of the swing I launch myself up towards the ledge. My calculated trajectory is a bit off, and I end up slamming my chest into the edge of the roof instead of landing on it. My legs flail for any kind of foot hold as I desperately dig my fingers into the roof material and wrap my arms over the edge. It takes a moment to lock in my grip, but as I do I hear a metallic snap, followed by the loud clatter of metal hitting the ground and the zombies going even more ballistic with their howling. I take a few breaths, then swing my right leg up and hook it over the edge before rolling myself onto the roof.


    I lay there panting for a few moments, the clamor of the zombie horde still going on below. Judging from the sound of it, I made my jump just in time. I flip over and stare off the edge of the roof at the mass below, the zombies stare back, clamoring at the side of the building like they did the pole in an attempt to climb it or knock it down. Unfortunately for them, the building is a lot tougher and seems to be taking no damage from their assault. But I don¡¯t know if that will last, as even now more of them are emerging from the darkness to join the cabal of munching on Lucy''s brains. There has to be at least fifty of them fuckers down there so far, and the number is going up!


    I stand up and step back from the roof edge, keen to take stock of my available options before getting into a situation where I need them. On the other three sides are other buildings, the one behind is much too tall to jump up to, basically being a skyscraper. But I might be able to break a window and enter it if need be. The one down the street is a little one story building, making the jump down to its roof easy. The problem is the building past that is as tall as this one, meaning I''d have to jump back up to continue. And up the street is a full story taller, but easily jump-able. So I at least have somewhere to go if shit hits the fan. My only concerns are the zombies below knocking the building down, or¡­..


    My train of thought is broken by the sound of shattering glass somewhere above me, followed by the constant screech of a falling zombie. I watch as the silhouette comes into view, continues falling, then slams into the roof so hard it punches through while rattling the whole building. Yea that, fucking raining zombies is not what I need to deal with right now. Come on any more? No? Thank God.


    It seems the tower is at least empty, or close enough that I won''t have a constant rain of zombies on me. Though if it really is empty, it''s not a bad option. I walk back to the edge of the roof and stare down into the horde below, their screeching reaching renewed peaks upon seeing me. Fuck, there is at least seventy of them down there now! Wish I had a grenade or something, I don''t think my screech could hurt them from up here. Not that I''d want to waste the mana. Then again, my max capacity has gone way up. Which means more mana and more damage per attack. Nah, I need to save my mana. The drain may be lowered but even with my tail, eyes, and horns out I''m still losing mana, albeit a lot slower than before. Just a few more points and I might even be positive. I got to remember to grab that passive skill too. I should have taken it to start but I had Anna going bananas in my ear.


    Well, the good news is I''m a lot closer to evening out the mana regen than before. The bad news, it only took a shit ton of people around me being turned into zombies to do it. I let out a sigh and go to the other side of the roof next to the big sky scraper. Better to get away from the hordes while I can. The skyscraper seems to be abandoned, if they low amount of falling zombies is any indication.


    There is about a seven foot gap between the roof and the skyscraper caused by the alley between the buildings. The alley currently has nothing in it, but if the zombies figure out I''m on this side I''m sure they will fill it. Speaking of filling, all the windows on the sky scraper are still filled in, and I don''t have anything to break them with. I discarded the broken butter knife pieces because I figured they would be dead weight. All I have on me are pens and pencils, and I''m not throwing away my phone. I take a quick look around, but it''s an old flat tar roof. Nothing up here except for some ac units, vents, the access ladder hatch, and the hole from the falling zombie.


    Wait, I''m strong as fuck now, why don''t I just rip an part or piece off of something and throw that? I walk over to the nearest vent and inspect it. Sure enough it¡¯s old and rusty, and a quick tug results in it almost coming apart in my hands. I manage to wrestle it free of the roof without destroying it completely, then walk back over to the edge. I line myself up, and chuck the thing as hard as I can at my targeted window, a large full floor panel for a conference room of some sort. I might have gone a bit overboard, as it smashed the window out and continued sailing into the dark room, resulting in a loud crash and the sounds of metal tearing and wood splintering. Whoops, if anyone asks I''ll say the zombies did it.


    Of course said zombies don''t hear shit on account of them being half deaf and screaming at the top of their lungs. I back up halfway across the roof to give myself a running start then run at full speed and jump off the roof into the opposing building.


    OH SHIT TO FAST!

 Chapter 34: Office Floor

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    I groan as I extract myself from the remains of the drywall of the¡­ shit I think I''m in a hallway. I''m pretty sure I overshot and went through the wall. A quick look around reveals the person sized hole on through the wall behind me, and a smaller two foot wide hole next to me. Yep definitely overshot, well I''m gonna keep blaming the zombies. But what is this other hole for? I poke my head in it to find what looks to be a break room, with what I''m pretty sure are the mangled remains of the air duct on the floor. Ah, that would do it.


    I pull my head out and finish dusting myself off, knocking the drywall bits out of my hair and what not. I''m going to need a makeover after this crazy as shit. I wonder if Charles and Anna would want to help. Actually on second thought, giving Anna control over My look I''d a bad idea and Charles wouldn''t care. Anna would probably hook me up with enough bows and pink to make a Disney princess look goth in comparison.


    I brush off that tangent thought along with the last of the dust, then start creeping down the hallway and checking rooms as I go. I''d like the think that anything on this floor would come running after my little crash, but better safe than sorry. This floor seems to be office space, but instead of cubicles in an open layout it''s lots of small offices in a bunch of always. I also manage to find the stairwell access thanks to the emergency lights above the door.


    Thankfully the floor is clear, undisturbed aside from the damage caused by my entry. Once I know the floor is clear, I start looting, I mean reappropriating items necessary for my survival. Like the last office it''s sparse on usable items aside from crappy pens and pencils. Unfortunately I don''t have as much pocket space as before due to tearing my jacket up, so I need to be selective about what I carry. I do find another nice stapler that I can throw around. And the break room has a small assortment of cheap, but metal, implements I can use. Including a steak knife, score! By the time I''m finished loading up, I have four forks and four butter knives added to my pockets, with the steak knife firmly held in my tail''s grasp.


    Current plan is to wait out the night or rescue, whichever comes first. Thankfully the breach closed at some point during my escape from the zombies, so I don''t have to worry about new spawns anymore. To that end I take off my shirt and fully undo my transformation, allowing my wings to stretch out and my mana to start regenerating. The good news, it''s regenerating fast, I''ll probably have max in a few hours. And once it''s maxed I''ll be able to stay fully transformed for probably a day or two straight. Which is good, because after this the scrutiny will be heavy. Next I start finding anything I can and piling it against the door, just in case any zombies decide to try and explore. I can keep the door from opening since it opens into the stairwell, but I can make a blockade on my side of it to force anything trying to enter to make a lot of noise or move slowly. And since I plan to wait here and hunker down, both are a win in my book.


    After the barricade is piled up, consisting of tables, desks, chairs, and a few file cabinets, I tie my shirt around my waist and just wait. I quickly get bored, daydreams about anywhere but here or being famous can only keep me entertained for so long. I pull out my phone and check the battery, sixty six percent remaining. Against my better judgment I keep it on and look over some of the few memes and cat videos I have saved. It keeps me entertained for an hour and some change before I run out of material. Rather than look at everything again repeatedly I now decide I should actually save the battery and turn it off.


    The good news is the office clocks still work, being battery powered, and when I get close enough the light from my eyes illuminates them enough to read. Eight twenty, and still no sign of any kind of counter offensive from the military. To call it concerning is an understatement. They should be crawling all over this place, especially over three hours later. The only upside to this is I get to regenerate more mana.


    Mana: 5697/13,903


    Two hours ish and almost at half recharged. Though at this rate I''m wondering if I''ll need that mana for disguising myself, or for surviving the apocalypse, because the lack of response isn''t looking good. Speaking of not looking good, I finally realized how covered in guts I am. Jeans are caked, don''t know how I didn''t realize they were soaked in the stuff. My shoes are just a lost cause, no amount of soap is gonna remove that much crap. Jacket is¡­. we ll the jacket was already a write off from the first incident. The only thing ¡®clean¡¯ is my shirt, and even it has a few splotches.


    I''m gonna need a complete new set of clothes if I get to the bunker. And god knows what kind of tacky crap they will scrounge up to stuff on me. Unfortunately my lamenting of clothing session only gets to last so long, as some funny noises from the stairwell get my attention. Oh come on, can I get no peace in this shithole? I sneak my way over to the barricade and carefully try to listen to the stairwell. At first it''s just the sounds of something shuffling outside, then I see a beam of light flashing near the door.


    ¡°Do you think we should check this floor?¡± The a man whispers.


    ¡°We should head back up stairs and hide with the others! This is stupid, we aren''t going to find anything useful or anyone not turned into¡­ whatever the hell those things are!¡± A second man quietly hisses at the first.


    ¡°We need the supplies though. Who knows how long it''s going to take for rescue. You said it yourself, the army should be here by now and the fact they aren''t means something else is going on. We need to stock up at least a few days of food and water just in case.¡±


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    ¡°Just because happened to have a case of water and snacks left over from last week''s party doesn''t mean any of the other offices will have shit. Besides, we should be doing this during the day when we can actually see without broadcasting where we are.¡±


    ¡°It''s fine, all those things went outside. You hear them screaming earlier. Besides, we haven''t encountered one yet.¡±


    ¡°Because we have gotten lucky! Now let''s not press that luck and¡­. What the hell?¡± The second voice says slightly louder than before as I hear the door to the stairwell click open.


    Holy shit people! Oh shit people! I immediately start shifting my non-human parts away and putting my shirt on, however the first person has zero patience and does something stupid


    ¡°Hello! Is anyone there!?¡± He screams as loud as he fucking can straight further into the floor.


    Holy shit, this guy is gonna get us killed with how loud he is screaming!


    ¡°Shut the fuck up! Are you trying to get us killed!?¡± The second person hisses at the first.


    ¡°But there might be someone alive in here!¡± The first guy responds, still yelling.


    ¡°And they might be one of those things now! So stop yelling you fucking idiot!¡± The second guy responds in a stressed tone.


    I¡¯ve finally gotten my wings away and my shirt on, so I make my way over to my makeshift barricade. I¡¯m happy to know I''m not the only one left in this shity hellhole. But at the same time, if I group up with other people I¡¯ll have to be way more careful about my mana usage and hiding my demon parts. That and this first dude seems more inclined to get everyone around him killed then help. Seriously, has this guy never watched a horror movie?


    ¡°Hey, you wanna maybe make enough noise to get yourself killed somewhere else!¡± I chastise the first man while poking my head just over the top of the barricade.


    In front of my barricade are two men, both younger dudes, probably in their mid twenties, wearing nice suits. One has blonde hair and the other a brown with light blue highlights.


    ¡°Hey now, no need to be an ass about it.¡± The blonde, who was the first voice from before, replies.


    ¡°I don''t know Billy, she¡¯s got a point. What with you screaming like a fucking idiot and all.¡± The other guy, who is also holding and waving a flashlight, says before I can respond.


    ¡°Yea, those things may have shit hearing but they can hear. So knock it off.¡± I chastise the idiot further.


    ¡°Clark.. oof¡± Billy goes to open his mouth again only to get lightly jabbed in the side by the other guy, Clark apparently, who speaks up himself instead.


    ¡°Sorry about him, he means well but before you ask, yes, I''ve met rocks that are smarter. So what about you little missy? I¡¯ve worked in this building for ten years but can¡¯t say I¡¯ve seen you before. Not that that¡¯s really a concern right now. But how¡¯d you end up here? Normally you need ID to get past the lobby but the powers out and generators down so none of those would work.¡± He says in a charismatic and calm tone.


    Now, do I tell them the truth? Or hide my powers? I¡¯m not worried about getting charged for damages, since basically anything short of pointless murder is legal during a crisis like this. But what I am worried about is them expecting me to save them or something. I do not want to carry other people''s lives on my shoulders like that. Though one could argue I already made that choice when I chose to become a healer. Either way I can fully see them dragging me back upstairs and make me their savor or something. Or worse, two dudes alone in a building with a young girl, no power, tracking, anything, with an apocalypse going on outside. The perfect time to have some fun and get rid of the evidence, not that they¡¯d succeed. While I¡¯m not getting those kinds of vibes from these guys, it is still a possibility from the rest of their group. Granted the more people there are the less likely someone is going to try something stupid.


    But as it stands, all cards are currently stacked against joining up with others. Not unless they have the ability to get rescued or something useful. But that doesn''t answer my first question, bullshit or not? I¡¯m gonna have to go with bullshiting my way out of this, because if I tell them the truth they might even go so far as to try to move their group down here thinking its safer with me.


    ¡°I found a door propped open when this shit kicked off and made my way up. The rest doesn''t concern you.¡± I say tersely.


    ¡°Hey now, I know we didn''t make a great first impression so let''s start over. I''m Clark and this is Billy. What''s your name?¡± Clark asks.


    I think about it for a moment before deciding they don''t need my real name either, so I just opt to give them the first letter of my name instead.


    ¡°You can call me L.¡±


    ¡°Uh, well OK L. We''re looking for supplies for our group on the twelfth floor. There''s nine of us in total. You could join us up there if you want.¡± Clark replies


    ¡°Thanks but no thanks. I''m good here.¡±


    ¡°What? Why not? It''s safer to group together.¡± Billy says.


    ¡°Because I don''t know you for one. Two, I''m not going to hang around a bunch of people more likely to get me killed than now.¡± I say, making a point to glare at the stupid one.


    ¡°But we aren''t¡­¡± Billy tries to speak up, only to be stopped by Clark.


    ¡°Billy, we can''t really argue against that after your introduction. Let''s go, we aren''t going to convince her." Clark says before turning back to me.


    ¡°If you change your mind we¡¯re up on the twelfth floor. We¡¯ll get out of your way now.¡± Clark says as he pulls Billy towards the stairwell door, clearly getting the hint I don¡¯t want them there.


    Shame, Clark seemed to have half a brain. But that Billy guy is going to get him and everyone else killed. Even now he seems confused, unable to pick up on the very obvious hints I was dropping as Clark drags him out.


    ¡°Dude, why are we just leaving her? She¡¯s gonna get killed.¡± Billy whispers to Clark as they reenter the stairwell.


    ¡°Maybe, but she¡¯s dangerous. Can you not feel the vibe she¡¯s putting off? You pissed her off with your dumbassery so blame yo OH SHIT!¡± Clark basically screams as I hear him and Billy rush back through the door and slam it shut.


    I don''t even get to ask them what the fuck they think they are doing before a wretched scream comes through the door to the stairwell, so loud it rattles the barricade. Then something big and heavy slams into the door so hard it visibly dents and bends inwards.


    ¡°God damn it you motherfuckers!¡±


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 Chapter 35: Evolved Trouble

    ¡°Fucking, you and your loud mouth Billy!¡± Clark screams at his friend as they both scramble to climb over the top of my barricade.


    ¡°Me! How is this my fault!?¡± Billy asks.


    ¡°Because you fucking screamed at the top of your lungs you dipshit!¡± I yell at him as I grab Clark and pull him over the top.


    So much for staying away from other people. I''m not heartless enough to leave them for dead, but if that thing is as strong as I think it is¡­¡­ the door buckles again, something gives way and a hulking mass tumbles through into the barricade. Billy yelps as the force of the impact sends him reeling, causing him to tumble off straight into Clark, sending both of them to the floor.


    I manage to barely avoid getting tangled up in the mess as I hear whatever the hell broke through the door let out a weird sounding groan. I hear its soft footsteps as it walks away a little, before it thunders forward and crashes into the barricade again. The ragged collection of cabinets, chairs, and whatever else I could find shudders for a tenth of a moment, before giving way and blasting everywhere as the thundering mass blows through it. Clark and Billy scream and I throw my hands up to cover my head as debris flies all around us, but the zombie somehow misses us. Instead it rushes past, the floor shaking with every stomp, and crashes through the wall, continuing through a few more before finally stopping somewhere across the floor. In the middle of all that a half a table flying through the air smashed into me, knocking me over and covering me in debris. Thankfully I¡¯m tough enough that it didn''t actually do any damage, just put me on my ass in surprise. But judging by the screaming, one of the other two wasn''t so lucky.


    I shove the remains of the table off me and look over at the other two. The sight that greets me isn''t pretty, Clark is holding his left leg and screaming, the silhouette of the leg being bent in an unnatural direction at the knee. Billy however isn''t moving, his head pinned under what I think is a mangled filing cabinet. I reach over and grab the LED flashlight, which Clark dropped when everything went flying. I shine the light over the other two and it''s worse than I feared. Billy has a lot of blood pooling around his head, and his eyes are wide open and glazed over. Clarks leg is definitely broken at the knee, and his screaming is definitely going to attract even more attention.


    Speaking of attention, I swing the light around and turn my attention to the hole in the wall where that thing crashed through when it overshot. Lots of dust and debris obscures my vision, but I can make out the faint form of something giant slowly trying to turn around back this way. Of course this thing couldn''t have impaled itself on a pipe and died or something. The behemoth finishes turning around and the dust gets blown away as it lets out a massive puff of air, giving me a perfect view of the monstrosity as I shine the light on it. It''s definitely a zombie, but a heavily mutated one at that. The jellyfish is double in size to its regular zombie counterparts, and has burrowed into the skull of the victim so deep it''s either replaced or fused with the brain. The extra tentacles that were originally for holding on now flail around freely and excitedly in the air, while the shattered skull has left the face competently broken and twisted. That or charging through doors and walls did that. The rest of the body isn''t much better off. The upper torso and upper arms have swollen so much that the skin is an angry red and even splitting in some places, while the lower torso looks so emaciated it''s a wonder it hasn''t snapped in half. The legs are just as bad as the upper torso, being swollen and bulging so much the skin is stretching to its limit and barely accommodating.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    The monstrosity sucks in a huge volume of air, then lets out a loud roaring scream before thundering straight back out the hole and at me. I jump to the side, barely getting out of the way as it rushes past, and straight at Clark. Originally it was going to miss him, but his continued screaming seems to have drawn its attention. So when it missed me, it altered its course slightly for the next best thing. Clark¡¯s screams didn''t change, they just stopped altogether as the sounds of flesh being pulverized, bones shattering, and metal being rent took over for a split second before a loud crash, then silence. I shine the flashlight over where the two originally laid, only to find a blood and gore pudding that has me almost losing my non-existent dinner again.


    And I thought the original mess on the street was bad. I force myself up, knowing damn well that if I hang around any longer I¡¯ll be next on the pudding list. I stumble my way towards the door, only for a giant figure next to the door frame to give me pause. Shit, I thought it crashed farther away! It was slowly turning to reorient itself for another pass at me. Emphasis on the slow, this thing is a menace in a straight line but apparently can''t turn for shit. If I can get to the stairwell I can probably lose it going up or down with little problems. I could also try to bait it into another hard wall then go for the jelly, but I don''t think that''s a good idea. For one I don''t know how tough the jelly is now, the main body seems to have significant reinforcement to not be falling apart after charging through so many solid objects and into walls. I also don''t want to find out if those mutated arms can hit worth a damn or with any speed.


    The mutant finished turning around, flared its nostrils, and thundered forward again. This time I was ready, and easily slipped to the side as it blazed past me and crashed through the walls where I was standing moments ago. I didn''t wait, I ran forward past the carnage and into the stairwell. Unfortunately, my options were limited, below I could hear the excessive clattering and screeching of more zombies trying to make their way up. I didn''t shine the flashlight down the stairwell for fear of pissing them off even more. Instead I opted to start bolting up the stairs as fast as I could, careless about the noise I was making, the zombies were making way more anyways. Quickly the floors passed by me as I sped over landing after landing, looking for I don''t know what, a safe place to hide in. Suddenly a number caught my eye, and I grabbed the railing to jerk myself to a halt on the landing in front of the door. Twelfth floor, where Clark said his group was hiding before he got killed.


    I ran up to the door and tried the latch, which thankfully wasn''t locked or jammed shut. Carefully I opened the door just enough to slip inside, the mana regen crystal somewhat loudly ¡®clinking¡¯ off the wall as it slipped in behind me. I quickly grabbed it and shoved it in my barely empty enough pocket before closing the door as carefully behind me as I could so the latch won''t even click. Not going to lie to myself, I kinda forgot the regen crystal crystal existed for a while. Good thing this thing follows me. I leaned against the door and tried to catch my breath, super human or not. The whole ordeal left my heart thundering so hard it sounded like a bass drum in my ear and my breathing so heavy I might as well have been an industrial fan. Still, I¡¯m alive. Unfortunately others are not, I couldn''t save them, and that has me feeling conflicted. It¡¯s one thing to watch someone die, it''s a whole different thing to have talked to them five seconds before. I can¡¯t help but wonder if it had gone differently if they would have lived. If I had agreed to join them would they have stayed inside a little longer and the zombie passed by, or tried to leave out moments before and had more time to get to cover before it came barreling through. One thing is for sure, the sight of what was left of Clark is definitely going to haunt me.


    I cut the thoughts off with a shake of my head and push myself upright. That''s when I finally notice the soft sound of footsteps moving across the carpet, which I missed until now because I was lost in thought. I stand up straight and turn to face the sound, only to come face to face with a double barrel shotgun with an extra mean looking shark bite on the end a mere foot away from my face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡±

 Chapter 36: Survivors

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    I immediately freeze in place, because I am well aware of what a shotgun blast to the head point blank will do to me, super human capabilities or not. The ambient light from my pointed away flashlight and a few other light sources in the room gave me just enough to get a decent look at the guys holding me at gunpoint. Turns out there were multiple, the guy in my face with the shotgun, and two more further back behind some stacked file cabinets with pistols spread apart enough to create a cross fire. One of which has a nice laser attachment oh so kindly indicating he is aiming for my chest. At least they are smart enough to aim for center mass, except that it''s the center of my mass! The guy with the shotgun right up in my face is a younger looking dude with medium blonde hair, and a fancy suit that screams I am the boss. Pistol dude on the left is a black guy, who is either bald or has super short black hair, I can''t tell in this light. The pistol guy on the right side of the room is a white guy with short brown hair, in what looks to be a suit with his shirt untucked and no jacket, with his tie around his forehead like some homemade guerilla fighter. Honestly I¡¯m in no position to judge, they somehow survived this shit this long, they can wear whatever they want, clearly it works for them.


    ¡°Alright, here is how this is going to work. I¡¯m going to ask some questions, you''re going to answer them. This is a Blacksky Arms Annihilator mark five full auto shotgun loaded with twenty rounds of double O buckshot and capable of firing two of those shells at once. If you try to run or make any sudden movements I will drop the entire mag into you. Am I clear?¡± The man with the shotgun says to me in a frigid and piercing tone. I simply swallow and nod my head in reply, trying to suppress my fear.


    ¡°Good, first, drop the knife.¡± He says. I let go of the streak knife I didn''t even realize I was holding until now, and it hits the carpet with a light thud. I don''t remember pulling the knife out but I guess I did subconsciously at some point. I''m lucky I didn''t stab myself with it in my panic.


    ¡°Next, what is your name?¡±


    ¡°L-Lucy.¡± I stammer out after a second of silence.


    ¡°What was that thing you shoved in your pocket?¡±


    ¡°My mana regeneration crystal.¡± I spit out quickly. The man¡¯s demeanor softens slightly, but he clearly still remains guarded and wary. And keeps the shotgun in my face.


    ¡°You¡¯re a defender?¡± He asks, skepticism clear in his voice.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I stammer out, my breathing slowly coming back down to normal and my chest starting to ache after the adrenaline spike starts to fade.


    ¡°Got any proof?¡± He asks, still skeptical.


    ¡°Yea, my DID is in my wallet in my pocket.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Hmm, alright, how did you find us then?¡± he asks, nudging the gun slightly closer. He gets any closer I might be able to swat it out of his hand. But maybe that''s what he''s going for, hoping I''ll do something stupid. The other two would blast me anyways if I dared to try it.


    ¡°Clark told me you guys were holding out up here.¡± I reply truthfully, the stress of the situation making lying not even cross my mind.


    ¡°Where is he then?.... And who did he have with him?¡±


    ¡°He had a guy named Billy with him. But¡­ they''re both dead, some super zombie got them after Billy screamed and drew attention.¡± That earned me an incredulous look from the man with the shotgun, like he wasn''t quite buying what I was saying.


    Shotgun guy looked like he was thinking for a moment, but was interrupted as the guy on the left spoke out.


    ¡°Bullshit, she¡¯s a fucking cultist. I bet she killed them and is leading those things up here. We should shoot her and throw her out the window!¡± He barked out in an angry tone. Two more people also poked their heads out of a door across the open area to observe the situation.


    ¡°Fire that gun at her without my permission and you will be the one going out the window. Now, what do you mean by super zombie?¡± The shotgun guy snaps at the other before asking me in a stern tone.


    ¡°I¡¯m not a cultist you ass! Why the fuck would I be a cultist?¡± I snap back, ignoring the question. The pain in my chest is becoming worse as I breathe in hard to yell back.


    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Hey! I''m asking the questions here. George, don''t instigate her. How do we know you''re not a cultist huh? You came from nowhere, telling us the two people who left earlier are dead after you happened to run into them. And now you¡¯re here with those things chasing after you. A little convenient for the cultists running around down there don''t you think?¡± Shotgun guy asks.


    ¡°What cultists?¡± I ask back in confusion.


    I guess he wasn''t expecting that, because he also looks confused for a second before deciding on something.


    ¡°Alright, let''s make this easy then. Follow me, right hallway, last door at the end. No funny business, keep your hands up.¡± He says, before backing up, turning around, and walking down the right hallway. I feel a bit of relief not having the shotgun straight in my face anymore, but quickly remember the other two pistols still pointed at me and start moving.


    It''s a quiet walk, as I get close to the Halway the two with pistols move around behind me and move to follow, at least until one tells the other to watch the door. No other words are exchanged, but I can see the people from before peeking out of a door on the left side of the hallway to stare at me. We get to the end of the hall and shotgun guy throws open the door. It''s a conference room on the corner of the building, with no small amount of firepower laid out on the big oval table in the middle of it. Another shotgun, two more pistols, and what looks to be some sort of marksman rifle sit neatly unloaded with their prepared magazines and extra ammo lined up along with.


    But that''s not what gets my attention. Out the windows directly across from the door is a view of the central bunker. It¡¯s not the greatest, some buildings are just tall enough to obstruct some of the view. But if you walk all the way up to the windows like we have, you can see the bunker itself and the majority of the surrounding parking lots. And that was where the problem began, because both the bunker and surrounding parking lots were bustling with activity. Even from so far away it was easy to see just how much was going on as large swaths of little dots hurriedly ran from different places to other different places. The parking lots looked stacked with various stacks of supplies stacked around them, with the exception of four giant open spaces, one in the center of each parking lot. Around the perimeter of the parking lots it looked as if a crude wall had been erected, but what it was made of I can''t tell from this distance. Outside that wall, a sea of moving darkness constantly ebbing to and fro but strangely not crashing against the walls. The bunker hasn''t been left untouched either, the once powerless and dark structure is now open and covered in makeshift lighting and torches. Above the massive center door a banner now hangs, one who¡¯s symbol I can see clearly without any visual aids, even from here.. I don¡¯t know what exactly the symbol stands for, but I know one thing for sure, it''s definitely demonic in nature.


    ¡°What the fuck? Oh¡­¡­ shit. That explains a few things.¡± I say aloud, still reeling from what I¡¯m seeing.


    ¡°Yea, they¡¯ve been setting up for a while now. I¡¯ve worked with people enough to know you¡¯re not bullshiting your surprise, so you''re not a cultist. But how the hell did you not see all that going on?¡± He asks me, finally putting away the air of hostility around him.


    ¡°I was on the fifth floor, at least I think it was the fifth. Either way the other buildings rose up enough to block my sight of¡­. That.¡± I say, gesturing to what is clearly a demon and or cultist base dug into the central bunker.


    ¡°You got unlucky then. Either way we¡¯ve been watching them for a while. Definitely cultists, don¡¯t know which demon they are worshiping but they are up to no good. As far as we can tell they got something inside the bunker that¡¯s preventing outside help from getting in.¡± Shotgun guy replies.


    ¡°How can you tell?¡± I ask.


    My question answers itself before he can, as a large flash illuminates the city for a second, before seemingly being repulsed by a dome around the city, which only becomes visible when the airborne explosion clashes with it. A visible ripple passes through the dome towards the top, and when it reaches the top it rapidly descends down towards the ground and into the bunker. Great, some kind of shield set up by cultists.


    ¡°Thats¡­. Bad.¡± I say, trying to find the right words to describe how fucked our situation is but failing miserably.


    ¡°Understatement of the year. Now I don¡¯t believe we properly introduced ourselves. I¡¯m Robert, VP of strategic property incorporated. Well, I was VP, probably not going to be a company after this. The guy with the tie on his forehead here is Toby.¡± Robert says while guestering to Toby, who simply nods at me in response.


    ¡°The other guy who was at the front is George. The others around here are Sara, Karen, Greg, and Seymore. They¡¯re in various rooms around the place. Speaking of, we should probably get Karen to look at you. She has some first aid training and you aren''t looking too good.¡± Robert says.


    The cut on my hand still stings a bit, my chest and stomach hurt like hell, and breathing causes slight pain every time I inhale. I don¡¯t think anything is broken, hopefully, but at a minimum I¡¯ve got a hell of a bruise. I go to take a step back and everything just¡­ comes down on me at once. All the terror, exertion, and pain slam into me like a tidal wave, leaving my head spinning and my senses reeling. I stumble back, trying to catch myself and failing miserably as pain flares up in every part of my body. Someone grabs me just before I hit the ground, and lays me down slowly.


    ¡°Shit, Toby go get Karen. Hey kid, just breathe, it''s gonna be fine.¡± Robert tries to comfort me as the day''s experiences just keep sinking in.

 Chapter 37: Group Meeting

    I didn''t lose consciousness, but it might have been better if I had. The world just kept spinning more and more while the pain in my chest got worse and worse. I don''t know how long passed, but eventually I got enough of my senses back to realize I needed to heal myself, like yesterday. I cast the spell, feeling the mana rush out and condense before I grasped down on the orb. I gasped as a flood of relief shot up my right and spread through my body, nullifying some of the pain. My head cleared up, the world stopped spinning, and while everything still hurt like hell, it was at least bearable. I try to sit up, only to realize that''s not a good idea when heavy pain flares up in my torso. Shit, that''s my mana at?


    Mana: 2403/17,632


    OK, I can afford another heal. So I do just that, condense another ball of mana and crush it in my hand. The second time is just as good as the first, the soothing relief floods me, lessening pain, and even removing it completely from my left hand. I can feel my breathing get easier as the spell settles in and takes effect, causing me to take a big breath and enjoy the moment. One more heal would probably get me back in working order, or close enough to it, but I do not have the spare mana for that unfortunately. I have only fourteen hundred left, so I need to be conservative. I¡¯m lucky my transformation did not give out, though that might have to do with the fact that I wasn''t fully unconscious. I shiver a little bit remembering how painful and out of it the whole experience was. How long has it been anyway?


    I wait a few minutes and just breathe, enjoying the feeling of being cognizant again. After a while I prop myself up, my stomach and chest protesting a little but not screaming bloody murder like before. Pulling off the crappy fire blanket covering me I discover that I''m almost completely naked, with everything but my panties being stripped away, and a few bandages sprinkled here and there¡­ wonderful. My left hand is wrapped, probably to cover the cut, but as I suspect, pulling off the bandages reveals no injuries. I can see the remnants of some nasty bruising on my chest and stomach and can definitely feel them as well. My poor tits look like one of Tommy''s drawings from that time he got ahold of a permanent marker. Definitely healing myself again once I get the chance. And making a personal note to throw that stupid fucking zombie off the building if I ever get the chance as well. First things first though, I should check my stats.


    Damn, Mana capacity shot through the roof. And where did that extra power level come from? I know I was close to tipping over eight hundred before, but I have no idea what tripped me over the nine hundred mark. Whatever, I¡¯ll take it. Now, what should I spend these points on? Rhetorical question, attunement, duh! Well, first I need to put one point into all the other stats. Can¡¯t forget about that, it¡¯d be bad if my abilities lowered because my other stats didn''t keep up. So, one into each, remaining fifteen ino attunement aaaaand done!


    Sweet, twenty thousand mana max. A far cry from the like three thousand I started with. So, how good is my mana regeneration now?


    Mana: 1403/20,416


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Mana: 1402/20,416


    Well, better than before, certainly not perfect. Still, I¡¯m close to breaking even, and once I do I won¡¯t have to worry about running out of mana. Actually, I wonder if I could get just enough regeneration back by transforming some parts. Tail is a no go, jacket is in pieces and I don''t trust just my torn to shit shirt and pants to hide it properly. Horns are also a bad idea unless I can find a hat, which I might be able to do, though it will be harder given the current ¡®situation¡¯. Eyes, definitely not going to risk that right now. It would only take one of the group members or a soldier/defender, if they ever show up, going better safe than sorry to put me up shit creek without a paddle. And I¡¯ve been up a shitty creek to many fucking times in the last twenty four hours! Fuck! Well, I¡¯m not gaining any mana sitting around here.


    I push myself up, my mana regeneration crystal reorienting to float around me properly as various parts of my body still groaning in protest but otherwise comply. The light is low, lightly streaming in through the cracked door, but even the light outside is dim. Must be morning, and just barely at that. A quick look around the room reveals a woman sleeping in the corner. She can''t be any older than thirty, and her long blonde hair is a tangled mess partially covering her face. She''s so tranquil that for a moment I fear she''s dead, and I''m in some kind of corpse room, until I notice her chest o so slightly moving up and down. I take a step towards her with the intention of checking on her, but stop. I should probably find something to wear first. Thankfully my cloths were in the other corner, sitting in a heap of their dried blood, demons guts, and holes¡­.. the prospect of putting these back on versus running around naked have a legitimate battle inside my head as I decide if I really want to actually put these back on. Ultimately I let out a defeated sigh as the pro clothing argument wins with the ¡®I''m already covered in blood and a walking horror¡¯ card.


    I reluctantly throw my clothing back on, save for my bra, which unfortunately became a pointy boob stabber due to the wires inside it getting snapped and mangled. I''m surprised I didn''t feel that on the way up, then again my whole chest was probably numb, adrenalin is a hell of a drug. Unfortunately, halfway through getting my pants on I realize all my looted knives, forks, and my wallet are gone. Great, I basically black out and they commit highway robbery on me, I better get that wallet back. Once I finish dressing I make my way over to the sleeping lady and gently try to shake her awake. It takes a few moments, but she starts to stir.


    ¡°Hey lady, you ok?¡± I ask her as she slowly rouses from her sleep. Her eyes flutter open, and go wide as she shoots up and presses herself against the wall, taking a big breath like she''s about to scream. Instead she freezes, takes a long stare at me, then goes from looking terrified to pissed off.


    ¡°What the hell! How are you awake! You had more bruises than actual skin and a probably fractured rib! You should be laying down!¡± She snaps at me. Well, good news is she¡¯s fine at least.


    ¡°I healed myself. Most of that is gone now. So where am I? And who are you?¡± I ask, hoping changing the subject will divert her anger away somewhat. It doesn''t.


    ¡°We¡¯re on the twelfth floor, I¡¯m Karen. Robert told me to watch you because you dropped and we thought you were too injured to do anything. Which is why you should be laying down!¡± She barks at me while trying to push me back down onto the makeshift bed of pillows and seat cushions I had been laying on. I reluctantly comply, because I still hurt a bit and I get the feeling that if I don''t she''ll get angry. After begrudgingly lay back down she proceeds to start poking, squeezing,  and jabbing me. You know, the kinds of stuff involved in a medical checkup. When she gets to my stomach she applies a decent amount of pressure, causing me to hiss in pain, making her stop.


    ¡°See, you¡¯re still injured. You should be laying down.¡± She says, sounding like she''s calmed down from angry to just annoyed.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, it''s just sore is all.¡±


    ¡°All you teenagers think you''re invulnerable. Hold still, this might hurt a bit.¡± She says as she applies a little pressure onto my left  ribs, before slowly increasing it and watching me for a reaction. It stings a bit by the end which makes me grunt and grit my teeth but is otherwise bearable.


    ¡°You definitely had at least two bruised, possibly cracked, ribs before. One of the reasons you were in so much pain, broken bones hurt, alot. Combined with the massive bruising on your torso it''s a wonder you got back up. You said you healed yourself?¡± She asks, sounding at least placated by my self treatment.


    ¡°Yea, I only had enough mana for two uses though. Which is why a lot of the bruising is still there, I guess it got the broken bones though.¡±


    ¡°Bruised, possibly a hairline fracture, but not fully broken. Very big difference, I''m no expert but if I recall correctly only high level magic can properly heal up majorly broken bones. You''re lucky, but unfortunately it didn''t solve all your problems. You still need to rest.¡± She says while giving me a pointed look and reaching for the blanket.


    ¡°But I''m fine now?¡± I ask. It''s pretty clear this lady has more medical training than me. Still I don''t want to just lay around while the world outside continues to go to shit. Especially since that fucking cultist base it probably still active, and the shield, I remember that part. We need to get out of here as soon as we can. But I have a dreadful feeling as to why, something tells me that shield blocks more than just explosions. And if no one can get in, I highly doubt we will be able to get out.


    ¡°No you''re not, I can''t imagine what you''ve been through but you need to see a medical professional once we get out of this, plain and simple.¡± She says.


    ¡°And you''re not?¡± I ask, slightly confused. Don''t tell me I''ve been worked on by some quack wannabe. Karren, just lets out a light chuckle before explaining.


    ¡°Sort of, I got my bachelor''s and nursing certification back in the day. I was planning to become a doctor until I realized my part time real-estate work made just as much money and didn''t leave me miserable. So I went into this full time instead. I''ll admit, it''s been a while but I still remember everything I learned and the basics. I can see the look on your face, so no, my medical care isn''t going to kill you. Now, I''m going to go tell Robert you''re awake and moving. He''s been worried you''ll die on us despite my reassurances.¡±  She says with a little smile as she stands back up and head towards the door


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    She steps out, and I¡¯m left alone with my thoughts again. Well, that and the remaining pain. A dull aching in my chest and stomach constantly reminding me that the table that smacked me did indeed do damage, and that I''m stupid for thinking it didn''t. I wonder how everyone else is doing, hopefully everyone made it to the southern bunker in time. But if cultists took over the central bunker here, I don''t have high hopes for the southern one honestly. This whole thing happened so fast, and is so fucked! I¡¯m also wondering why they haven''t smashed that shield. I know from history class, that our fifty midgets in a trench coat excuse for a country has the military budget to fight God and happily uses it on any demon stupid enough to set foot on our soil. Granted they can''t kill everything, sometimes wild demons roam the more wild parts of the country and shit. But any previous incursions were either trampled under an exorbitant amount of soldiers and defenders or buried under half the national budgets worth of high explosives.


    So as much as I dread the thought because I''m still in it, why hasn''t this city been reduced to a wasteland, even with the shield? I don''t like any of the answers. I let out a sigh and sit back up. I just can''t stay laying down right now, I''m too on edge. I feel like I''ve got to do¡­.. something, but I don''t know what. All I know how to do is sit and wait. It''s pretty clear that trying to get to the southern bunker won''t go well. So I''m probably going to have to hang here with these guys. We''ll at swats they''re not cultists, oh wait that''s right, those assholes are down stairs doing shit around the central bunker.


    I''m moving on to things about what other crap has possibly gone wrong when faint noises get my attention. I''m not quite sure what it is at first, but as I listen more closely the sounds of distant arguing and shouting can be heard filtering through the silence from deeper into the floor. I can''t tell what''s being said, only that it''s getting more heated and the words more charged. Well, I know the doctor said stay put, but I''m probably fine to at least walk a little bit. Beats sitting around here bored off my ass wondering what''s happening anyway.


    I get up and walk over to the door, I slowly turn the knob until it clicks open and I peak my head through. The door leads to a hallway that matches the rest of the office floor, light beige wood skirt and white drywall on the top. To my left are more doors, a few hanging open to reveal offices and a storage room, the rest closed. To my right are only two more doors before the hallway opens out to the main lobby of the floor. Still filled with file cabinets, desks, chairs, and more erected into makeshift barricades. I can''t see the whole lobby, but I can see enough to tell that something went down while I was out. My curiosity piques so I make my way down that way to investigate, despite the still ongoing argument coming from the other way and around the corner. I only get halfway there before the smell hits me, though it might be better to say I ran headfirst into it like it was a brick wall. It was the all too familiar smell of gore and decay I smelt on the street yesterday. I knew what was waiting for me at the end of the hall, but that didn''t neuter my surprise as much as I thought it would when I finally walked into the lobby turned makeshift checkpoint. Because instead of a large amount of zombie corpses strewn about like I was expecting, instead what was left of one very big and recognisable corpse laying halfway between the barricades and the now destroyed stairwell door. The top half of the super zombie was nothing but shreds of meat clinging to the lower torso, stale blood and other fluids long since frozen half flowed out of the body. It looks like someone shoved it halfway into a meat grinder before deciding to pull it back out. I think fuckboy met the business end of that dudes shotgun, and I¡¯m all the more happy it wasn''t used on me. Probably explains where the extra power level came from too. That thing almost turned me into paste last night, yet now it''s dead in a brutal manner right in front of me, a surreal experience that''s for sure.  I¡¯m broken out of my gaping stupor at the sight of the corpse by someone I''ve never seen before sitting in the middle of the barricades calling out to me. It''s a very old white guy in a janitor uniform, holding what looks to be the very shotgun Robert was using last night, and the one I suspect was used to delete the upper half of the zombie.


    ¡°Hey, you. You¡¯re finally awake. You were trying to cross the border right?¡± He says with a shit eating grin. Where have I heard that before? Wait¡­. The fucking old man just skyrim memed me! I actually don''t know how to feel about that. Skyrim memed on in the middle of a demon zombie apocalypse, what a time to be alive.


    ¡°Hehehe, sorry youngin, too good an opportunity to pass up. And when you¡¯re my age you gotta take what you can get. Since you¡¯re up and moving you should probably go see Robert and them. They seem to be in disagreement on whatever they are currently discussing.¡± He says, gesturing to the hallway I was originally led down last night with his left hand, his right still holding the grip on the shotgun.


    ¡°Uhhh, thanks. But um, what the hell happened to that thing?¡± I ask while pointing my thumb at the giant pile of half ground meat laying in the middle of the lobby.


    ¡°Oh that? It came stomping sometime after you did apparently. They said something about it probably fought a bunch of the other ones downstairs. Either way, it broke in the door alone so Robert put it down using this shotgun here. Been quiet since then.¡± He says while gesturing with the shotgun. And now I¡¯m double happy that the shotgun wasn¡¯t used on my face instead. That stupid thing almost ran me over and turned me into goop, but it gets up here and gets fucking anhililated. All the more reason for me to stick around until this shitshow comes to an end I guess. The old man stares at me for a second, before going back to watching the broken and bent door to the stairwell in a bored manner.


    ¡°Might want to hurry over and see the others soon, sounds like they are getting a bit heated.¡± He says. Sure enough in the few moments we¡¯ve been talking the noise filtering up the hall has gone from heated argument to full on shouting fest, so loud I¡¯d be able to make out the words if they weren¡¯t shouting over one another.


    ¡°Yea I¡¯ll get on that, thanks.¡± I say, turning to head over to and down the hallway towards the noise. It only gets louder as I get closer, and I can¡¯t tell if its because I¡¯m getting closer or because they are getting progressively louder. By the time I make it to the conference room door from last night, the shouting is so loud I can barely hear myself think. But at least now I can understand what they are saying, so I stop with my hand of the handle and listen in for a bit before I enter.


    ¡°... She killed them! Why would you leave her unsupervised! We need to get rid of her before she does the same to us!¡± I hear George screaming, at least it sounds like George.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know that! She¡¯s a defender, she¡¯s probably been fighting her way through the city until now!¡±


    ¡°Then why is she covered in so much blood?¡±


    ¡°Because those things infect people, George! We¡¯re not going to tie her up or get rid of her, end of discussion. We need everyone we can get here, especially now that Billy and Clark are gone!¡±


    ¡°Because she killed them! She¡¯s way too young to be a defender anyway! I bet it''s fucking cultist magic or something! She probably got it from her demon overlord!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already shown you her fucking card! She is a real defender, she told us that big one got them and nearly got her. You saw how big it was, it broke down the door by itself, barely fit through the frame, and it took the whole mag from my shotgun to put down!¡±


    ¡°A convenient cover to get her up here!¡±


    ¡°Not everyone is out to get us George, her injuries are consistent with large blunt force trauma. The kind that normal people can''t inflict. I highly doubt that she got them from Billy and Clark, that thing is a more likely cause. Why would she injure herself so badly getting in here that she couldn''t do anything anyways?¡± Karren cuts in, trying to be another voice of reason.


    ¡°Cultist bullshit! Who knows what she has¡­.¡±


    ¡°Enough Goerge! This conversation is over, my decision is final! Go help Seymore up at the front.¡±


    George lets out what sounds like a half curse and half grumble before stomping towards the door. I step to the side as he throws it open and stomps out, stopping just in front of me as he notices my presence. He''s a head taller than me, staring down at me with an anger filled piercing gaze. He opens his mouth to say something, before stopping, looking over his shoulder back into the room, then huffing and stomping off. I''m going to go out on a limb and say he doesn''t like me.


    ¡°I thought I told you to lay down and rest!¡± Karen barks at me, having apparently noticed me when George glared at me while walking out of the room.


    ¡°Yea well, I heard yelling and didn''t feel like dying alone.¡± I say sarcastically while stepping into the room. Which I immediately regret, because everyone is staring at me, and I look like shit. The conference room has been rearranged since last night. The guns have disappeared, probably backed into the bags sitting on the conference room table. The table itself has been pushed off to the side, creating a large space in the middle of the room that''s taken up by a rolling white board with all sorts of things written on it, ranging from a poorly drawn layout of the cultist base to a diagram of the zombies. Inside the room Robert, along with a dude and lady I don''t know but recognise from last night sit in chairs across the room from each other. Karen is standing near the door while Toby is leaning against the far windows of the room.


    ¡°So she¡¯s up, is that what you were coming to tell us about Karen?¡± Robert asks as he turns to the blonde.


    ¡°Yes, but she should be resting. She says she healed herself but frankly I wouldn''t be surprised if she still has minor fractures or worse.¡± Karen replies while giving me the why aren''t you following instructions glare.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m up, so what was all the arguing about? And why does that guy not like me? Fucker wanted to shoot me last night too.¡± I say, glancing at Karen but not darring to make eye contact.


    ¡°George is¡­.. He was friends with Clark, he¡¯s not taking his passing well. He¡¯s angry with everyone, but I think he blames you particularly.¡± Toby says as he sits down in a plush leather chair belonging to the conference room.


    ¡°But, that wasn''t my fault. Billy screamed and brought it to us.¡± I say, trying to defend myself.


    ¡°Yea, I¡¯d believe it because Billy was an idiot, dude couldn''t use a computer to save his life. But man was he good at sales. Why Clark wanted to go with him, to keep him out of trouble. Unfortunately it just didn''t work out for them.¡± Toby says.


    ¡°We''re getting off topic. It''s good to see you awake and better Lucy. Your things are on the table. Sorry but we had to check to make sure you are actually who you say you are. Before you came up in conversation we were trying to figure out a course of action to take. Unfortunately while you were out things got worse, come take a look.¡± Robert says while gesturing out the window. I hesitantly cross the room, Karen and the other lady watching me while everyone else looks out the window.


    My heart skips a beat and a pit opens in my stomach when I finally get across the room and look outside. The cultist base has undergone some changes while I was out. The layout is the same, but now three huge crystals float in the centers of the open areas within the walls of the compound. The mass of bodies outside the walls has only grown larger, save for a few areas along the wall it seems to thin out and even completely disperse. However, several noticeable streams of what I assume are zombies seem to be standing in lines between the outward and crystals.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± is all I a manage to mutter.


    ¡°Understatement, they pulled the crystals out of the bunker and set them up just before dawn started to break. Then they started herding the zombies through the walls and to the crystals. We don''t know exactly what they are up to, but from what we can tell the zombies touch the crystal and get absorbed or something. Take a look for yourself.¡± Robert says while holding out some binoculars to me.


    I take them and have a look for myself. Sure enough when I check the closest crystal I can just make out the individual bodies within the ocean, slowly marching their way forward towards the crystal. I watch as one more reaches its destination, not even bothering to reach out or anything it just walks into the crystal. The moment it makes contact it flashes, and nothing but a puff of dust remains. This repeats again, and again, and again, at all three crystals.


    ¡°So they are using them as sacrifices?¡± I ask while pulling the binoculars down.


    ¡°Yep, no idea why though.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°Unfortunately the shield is still up. Meaning nothing gets in or out. It''s taken some pretty big hits the last few hours but doesn''t look like it''s come close to failing at all. Which unfortunately means we are S.O.L in terms of getting rescued.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°So, what then? We hunker down and wait it out?¡± I ask.


    ¡°That was our first plan but I don''t think it''s a viable option anymore. They are moving too fast and help doesn''t look close. The problem is we aren''t exactly equipped for attacking what is effectively a cultist stronghold.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°Yea, we try to rush in there, we''re gonna get toasted and roasted. But at this rate waiting it out is just as bad." Toby says as a thought occurs to me. No way in hell is that shotgun is legal, and I distinctly remember seeing a rifle last night. Why the hell do these people have all those weapons? Whatever, now is not the time for that kind of question.


    ¡°So we''re between a rock and a hard place, but we might be able to wiggle ourselves out of it.¡± The man I don¡¯t recognise says.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t think it''s a good idea. What if you all get caught, you¡¯ll be killed.¡± Says the unknown woman in a pleading voice.


    ¡°And we are probably dead if we stick around here and wait.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°Wait, what''s not a good idea?¡± I ask, not caught on to whatever they seem to have been scheming during my downtime.


    ¡°Well, the cultists send out regular patrols to search the city. Sometimes they just walk around the streets, other times they search and loot buildings. They send out one group an hour, every hour, for the last six hours. The groups seem to stay out for between one and a half to two hours then head back to their base.¡± Toby says while pointing out the window down at the street below.


    ¡°The patrols look lightly armed. Only one or two might have a rifle of some kind and they don''t have any armor we can see, just their gimmicky cult robes. So we were thinking, we might be able to jump a patrol and steal their gear, and use it to infiltrate their little camp.¡± Robert continues.


    Wait, wait, wait, these crazy fuckers want to walk into a cultist camp? I thought I was the one supposed to be injured, but these guys have clearly hit their heads. That place is going to be a death trap and a half, not to mention the zombie horde loitering around nearby. I don¡¯t know what black magic fuckery they use to keep the zombies under control but I¡¯m not gonna hedge my bets that it will work for them as well.


    ¡°I know you just recovered, and judging from Karen''s continued glare it isn''t a full recovery. So, I¡¯m sorry to ask this but, Lucy, would you be willing to help us sneak into the cultist camp and put a stop to them?¡± Robert asks me. Oh god, they wanna drag me along to die with them.

 Chapter 38: Battle Plans

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    ¡°So let me get this straight, I just got back on my feet and you want to drag me back out there again to do something so stupid it easily qualifies as a suicide attempt.¡± I snap at him. I''ve survived enough shit by what I amount to luck that I don''t feel like testing how much I have left.


    ¡°Yea, because waiting here is probably just as suicidal. You¡¯ve been napping so you don''t realize how hard they¡¯ve been trying to crack that doom dome out there. They¡¯ve hit that thing at least four times an hour for the last five hours and it hasn''t even budged. They have hit it with just about everything short of a ¡­¡­¡± Toby says, only to be cut short by a blinding light cascading through the windows. It lasts only a moment, but it''s so powerful I have to cover my eyes and look away. There¡¯s no sound only light, until the entire building shudders for a moment and several people dive to the floor. But the sound of the explosion itself is strangely absent. When I finally blink enough starts out of my eyes to see again, I find most of the people in the room are hugging the floor covering their heads. Outside dust falls from the buildings as the shield crackles with violet lightning dancing across it for a few moments, before it stops and everything goes back to normal, as if it never happened.


    ¡°Everyone alright?¡± Robert asks while pushing himself up.


    ¡°That''s a new one, guess they got tired of their shit bouncing off.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°What the hell was that? Was that a nuclear blast?¡± Karen asks, sounding shaken up.


    ¡°No, not a nuke. There isn''t a mushroom cloud outside the shield. So that was probably a spell, a big one. But a nuke might be next on their list of things to drop.¡± The unknown lady points out. Now that I think about it that''s probably Sara, seeing how I¡¯ve already met Karen.


    As much as I hate to admit it she is right. They are going to be emboldened to pound it harder seeing how they actually did something. And if they drop something powerful enough to break it it could very well go full overkill and flatten the whole damn city as a side effect when the shield actually does give way. So options are find a really deep hole to hide in, find a way out of the city, or remove the shield and hope the US army doesn''t flatten the place trying to enact retribution.


    ¡°Yea, so my point that attacking the camp is a stupid idea stands double now. Assuming we do somehow get inside and take that shield down WITHOUT getting ourselves murder by cultists in the process. The good old US army is going to flatten that camp faster than any of us could possibly run away.¡± I say, hoping to convey some sense into these borderline lunatics.


    ¡°Or we can get flattened by whatever the demons are doing.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°Maybe she''s right. We might be better¡­.¡± the man I don''t recognize goes to say, only to be cut off by the power of a miniature sun blasting through the windows once again. Everyone who wasn''t on the floor already dove down, myself included.


    The light winks out of existence, and the whole city shudders from the force of the second impact. This one is slightly worse, and for a moment I fear that the building is going to give out. Thankfully it doesn''t, and we''re all left scattered about the room half blind. We all wait a moment, then a minute, expecting the next shot to come and rattle our cutoff piece of the world once again. After a minute though, George bursts into the room, interrupting the silence.


    ¡°Hey! What the fuck just happened? I thought the whole damn building was gonna collapse!¡± he yells.


    ¡°The good old US of A¡¯s army showed just how good at violence it is.¡± The unknown man replies to him.


    ¡°Shut Up Greg! Now isn''t the time for your pacifism bullshit!¡± George turns and snaps at the man who is trying to pick himself off the floor.


    So that''s Greg, which means the guy up at the front is probably Seymore. If I''m getting my names and people right.


    ¡°Shit, how much do you think that rattled the cultists?¡± Toby asks while grabbing a pair of binoculars that had fallen to the floor. Completely ignoring George and his jab at Greg.


    ¡°Probably too much, they are going to be¡­¡± Robert says, only to be interrupted by Toby.


    ¡°Beyond pissed? Yea¡­ hold on¡­. No way, no fuckin way. Oh they are rattled all right! Holy shit we might actually have a chance at this.¡± Toby says while handing the binoculars to Robert.


    I get up and walk over to the window, trying to look out it myself at the camp below. Even without binoculars it''s easy to see the well organized camp has turned into chaos. The streams of zombies have fragmented and scattered into the rest of the camp. Meanwhile the blobs of zombies on the outside of the wall have fragmented and are slowly bleeding out into the surrounding city.


    ¡°Did the zombies turn on them?¡± I ask, slightly confused as to how they could lose control so easily.


    ¡°Not quite, it''s more like they got spooked like cattle. Zombies aren''t attacking cultists but are running around and causing chaos. Looks like the cultists are trying to wrangle them back into line but there are a lot of zombies.¡± Robert replies to me.


    ¡°What? Lemme see.¡± George says, gesturing for the binoculars from Robert, who hands them over. ¡°Well hot damn, if we can slip through that chaos we might actually be able to do something.¡±


    ¡°Assuming we can slip through the zombies.¡± Toby says.


    I for one am still very against any plan that involves getting anywhere near that compound. It''s not that I don''t want to help, I''d love nothing more than to smash that shield so we can all get the hell out of here. I do however have a slight thing against dieing, and running into a cultist camp full of cultists, zombies, and demons seems like a quick way to get a ticket on the soul train express.


    ¡°Hey guys, random thought but, why the hell do we need to go into the camp? Haven''t you guys thought about doing stuff to slow the cultist down that doesn''t involve walking into their house?¡± I ask, desperately hoping to steer the conversation away from a suicidal sneak attack.


    ¡°Like what? We don''t exactly have the means to do anything without getting close and dirty.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°Um¡­.. uh, I saw a rifle last night. Maybe we can try shooting the crystals from far off?¡± I ask.


    ¡°And what the hell would that accomplish?¡± George asks in a demeaning tone.


    ¡°Maybe they''re fragile? We could also try to do something with the zombies, since now we know we can spook them.¡± I reply, ignoring his attitude.


    ¡°Lucy is right. We just assumed they would be tough to crack but what if that''s not the case. We were on an arbitrary time limit before, but now we have at least an hour or two to work with. We should back up and explore our options. A suicide run might not be needed if we can cause enough delay for someone on the outside to figure something out. We have other options now, we should explore them.¡± Robert says, taking the fire out of George¡¯s argument before it even starts.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Uh, well I mean, not running to our deaths is cool. But will we actually be able to do anything meaningful to slow them down without going all in?¡± Toby asks.


    ¡°Karen, Sara, could you two go work with Seymore to work on getting this place more defensible. I want us to be able to hold out here for a little while if we have to retreat. Me, Greg, Toby, George, and Lucy are going to discuss how to better deal with the cultist problem.¡± Robert says.


    Sara lets out a sigh and mumbles ¡°At least he isn''t running to his death anymore.¡± While Karen utters no words but gives annoyed side eye evenly split between me and a nearby chair, as if telling me to sit down. Yea, I probably should sit down, jumping to the floor certainly didn''t do my bruising any favors. But first I should get my wallet before I forget. I walk over to the conference table and swipe the faded blue and worn nylon wallet before shoving it into my pocket. Hopefully it doesn''t leave my person again, because it would be a pain in the ass to replace all my ids and credit card.


    When I turn back around to go sit down in one of the fancy conference chairs, I catch George staring at me out of the corner of my eye, tense like he''s ready to jump at me at a moment''s notice. Yea, this guy is gonna be a problem. Unfortunately I can''t afford to pick a fight with him right now, in group fighting would waste what little time we gained. I sit down as Robert finishes erasing the whiteboard, promoting George to also sit down, Greg to sit up straight, and Toby to walk around to the back of the room.


    ¡°Alright first order of business, let''s all think of things we can do to slow down cultists.¡± Robert says while writing the first three ideas on the board. The first two are what I suggested, shooting the crystals or spooking the zombies some more. The last one was their original plan of sneak in and destroy the shield generator, but it has a nice ¡®last resort¡¯ notation next to it.


    ¡°Could we maybe find a way to distract them? We could set a fire near their base, close enough that they would have to deal with it. Don¡¯t know if it would slow down their plan but it would definitely waste their resources.¡± Greg says after a moment of thought.


    ¡°Not a bad idea if we need to draw their attention while doing something else.¡± Robert says while writing the idea on the board.


    ¡°We could¡­.. Going back to sneaking in. We could do it and do less¡­ overt things against them so they don''t figure us out, at least not until we¡¯ve already left.¡± Toby says.


    ¡°Like what exactly?¡± George asks.


    ¡°Well, if the layout is anything like the southern bunker, there should be quite a few out of the way storage rooms. Someone might be able to slip in and nick some nice stuff we can use against them. Or even better, start a fire that they don''t notice until it¡¯s too late to easily put out.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°Could work if we actually need to go into the camp. We could easily make it look like an accident too. Any more ideas?¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°What about the local police station? Might be some good stuff their we can scavenge, assuming the cultists haven''t looted it yet.¡±


    ¡°Does anyone even know where the police station is?¡± I ask, only to receive a chorus of no¡¯s and head shakes.


    ¡°Well, let''s keep it on the list as a possibility. But doesn''t look likely. Anything else?¡± Robert asks.


    Someone spouts something else off, but I don''t hear what it is because I''m too busy thinking about something slightly more important. The police station got me thinking, what happened to the southern bunker? We can¡¯t see it from here because of the giant ass stadium between the city center and suburbs, so we have no way to tell if it''s been captured or not. No, it couldn''t have been, dad would have blown up my phone telling me to go save my idiot siblings and neglectful mother. So, if I assume the bunker wasn¡¯t compromised like central or captured, where the hell are all the damn soldiers.


    Bunkers are supposed to be staffed by a fair amount of professional soldiers, they also have large armories with reserves of weapons. Because worse case scenario, a man with a gun is a man who can fight back. So why haven''t we so much as heard a peep from down south? Unless¡­..


    ¡°Hey, have any groups of cultists gone towards the southern bunker?¡± I ask, interrupting whatever argument Toby and Greg were having about strapping grenades to zombies, I probably don''t want to know.


    ¡°Uh, shit, don''t know, I didn''t pay that good attention to them once they got near the stadium, I was too busy watching the ones around here. Why?¡± George responds in a condescending tone. They¡¯re all looking at me now, eyes locked on in anticipation of whatever new convoluted monkey plan I¡¯m dragging into the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m just wondering what happened to the southern bunker. I haven''t heard or noticed anything from that direction.¡±


    ¡°It probably got done in like the central one. Fuck, I hate thinking about it. All those people running to their deaths.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°I don''t think so. So my dad works at the weapons factory onto he edge of town. If he couldn''t contact my mom he would have probably texted me to go save her and my siblings. But he didn''t, which make me think they were already safe or getting to safety.¡± I reply.


    ¡°That''s a little flimsy, but I see where you''re coming from. The problem is we don''t know if they captured or destroyed southern after this shit kicked off. Unlike central which was clearly taken over from the start.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°I mean, she might be right though. How many groups have we seen go that way? A few right, I remember a particularly big one on my watch. What if they¡¯re trying to capture it, but can''t get in?¡± Greg asks.


    ¡°Nothing we could do about it. No way they won''t have a small army trying to get in, we just couldn''t do anything about that. That''s not including the time to walk over there through the city, which they are currently looting. I don''t think that''s a good idea.¡± Toby says, in what I suspect is an unusual moment of logical clarity for him.


    ¡°That''s a no go, but the information is good to have on the table. Anyone else got anything?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°Hmm, tangent to the spooking the zombies. What if we tried to disrupt their control over them completely?¡± George asks after a moment of thought from the entire room.


    ¡°What, like send the damn things feral again?¡± I ask, somewhat disturbed by the idea, and making no effort to keep it out of my voice.


    ¡°Yea, exactly. Those things go nuts, it will be a lot worse for the cultists than for us.¡± George replies, giving me an incredulous side glance.


    ¡°The biggest problem with that, I suspect, is the control method is probably in their base and well guarded, given how integral it is to their plan. At that point we might as well gun for the shield generator.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°What if we go for both at once?¡± Greg asks.


    ¡°Not a good idea, splitting like that would make us even more likely to fail.¡±


    ¡°Honestly let''s not think about going into the base. We have already established that that is a death sentence any way we take it. We can probably fuck with them enough from outside if we get creative enough. Think, we got lots of abandoned shit and buildings laying around. How can we use it to absolutely fuck the cultists day?¡± I ask, surprisingly promoting a new round of thinking from the group. Except for George, who instead turns to look at me with a distrusting gaze.


    ¡°You seem really intent on keeping us away from that base.¡± He says to me.


    ¡°George¡­¡± Robert goes to chastise him, only for me to answer instead.


    ¡°Yea, because it''s a fucking cultist base! I prefer staying alive.¡± I snarkily reply.


    ¡°Knock it off both of you. George, stop antagonizing her. We¡¯ve already established she is not a cultist. She is however the most powerful person in this room, teenager or not. And the last thing we need right now is you trying her patience.¡± Robert chastises George.


    ¡°Speaking of power, I know it''s normally private information, but knowing what spells and other magic you have available might be good to know. If you''re willing to share that is.¡± Robert says to me, pivoting the conversation away from a clearly fuming George.


    That¡­ is actually a good question. Do I want to share my magic and spells? From what I can tell, most defenders don¡¯t openly flaunt their magic, spells, etc, unless they want to draw attention. Big name guys are super secretive with what they have because they kind of are high value targets in a way. So they need to keep tricks up their sleeves just in case. But me, I¡¯m pretty sure I don''t want to draw undue attention to myself. Being able to make crystals that let non magic users cast spells will draw a lot of attention. But at the same time, we are going to need those kinds of advantages to get out of this mess alive. I¡¯m not going to reveal everything to them, but I¡¯ll start with the basics I guess, and if I need to use more later, then I¡¯ll tell them as I go. Obviously, I¡¯m going to keep the fact that George is kinda right and that I¡¯m actually a demon to myself. Getting that shotgun shoved in my face once is plenty enough.


    ¡°Hmm, alright. I can tell you about some of them I guess.¡±


    ¡°Anything helps.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°Alright, first, you''ve seen the crystal floating around me. This one helps with mana regeneration, but I can also make two more. One that does healing and one that does stamina.¡±


    ¡°So why don''t you have them yet? Limited to one at a time or what?¡± Greg asks.


    ¡°I haven''t gotten around to making them. I got this ability literally yesterday, or maybe it was actually Saturday. Either way I haven''t had enough time or mana.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Next, I have a minor healing spell, a ¡®haste¡¯ spell, my only damage spell, a screech attack that can disorient or damage, and flying magic that''s too expensive to use right now.¡±


    I finish listing off my magic, and they all stare expectantly like I¡¯m going to provide more. But they don''t need to know about manasurge, mimicry, the spell crystals, or my skills. Toby finally responds after a moment of silence.


    ¡°That''s it?¡±


    ¡°Yes that''s it! I got this shit like a week ago, and I¡¯m a healer! Don''t expect me to be running around blasting shit like a maniac.¡± I reply


    ¡°Well, the healing will probably come in handy, but hopefully not. As for flying, can you do any, like at all? Even a small amount like jumping onto a roof?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°Yea, I could probably jump up to a roof or something if I have enough mana. The problem is I need to recharge, and fairly soon actually.¡±


    ¡°Really? Alright yea, you did heal yourself. Just two more questions, the haste spell, I take it it makes you faster?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°Yea, or anybody I cast it on, though it''s not super powerful because I¡¯m so new.¡±


    ¡°Fair, and the screech attack, how effective is that?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I can do a fair bit of damage on full blast but that''s expensive. The second mode disorients whatever it hits which has been fairly effective so far, so I consider it way more mana efficient.¡±


    ¡°Good to know, now what do you need to regenerate your mana?¡±


    ¡°A room alone, and some food.¡± I reply, which gets me a raised eyebrow but nothing else.


    ¡°Toby, show her to one of the kitchenette, then one of the offices. As much as I want your input we¡¯re going to have to keep planning without you. We¡¯ll catch up once your done, how long do you think it will take?¡±


    ¡°Four to five hours for a max charge, but I stop part way if needed.¡± I reply as I get up and head towards the door to follow Toby.


    ¡°OK, good. Go for two hours then, I don''t think we can afford to wait any longer.¡± Robert replies as I walk out of the room, then the discussion within resumes.


    I got a lot on my mind as Toby leads me towards the kitchenette, which I assume is where their supplies are. But the biggest thought bouncing around my head is how over my head I am, and how totally screwed we are.


    <div>


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    <div>

 Chapter 39: Interlude - Outside the Bubble

    Colonel Hacket watched on with a mix of awe and concern as Major General Tetanus argued with one of the arguably most powerful man on the planet. The verbal clash had been going on for nearly an hour now, and has only lasted this long because no one has arrived to take command from General Tetanus. It was very apparent that neither man was going to back down, but both arguments had their merits. Unfortunately, the merits of one greatly out value the other in the eyes of the greater good.


    ¡°We''re not going to level the entire damn city! For the last time there are still people in the other bunker! We can''t just wipe them off the face of the planet!¡± Grey Spade yells at the general.


    ¡°I want to agree but we haven''t heard or seen anything from them. And the other bunker is already acting as a base for these cultist rats. I have to assume the worst and that the whole city is lost. And if this continues to escalate we could lose more than just ONE city.¡±


    ¡°So that justifies killing them? As long as it''s for the greater good we can just throw their lives away?¡±


    ¡°I do not like this any more than you do. But I have to think of the repercussions to the nation at large. The nation which I have sworn to defend with everything at my disposal. So long as I breathe we will not have another Moscow incident on American soil!¡±


    ¡°This isn''t going to be another Moscow! It took the demons weeks to set up the gate at Moscow, it hasn''t even been twenty four hours.¡±


    ¡°And our intelligence analysts have determined they have made so much progress in the last day that the gate could be up by tonight. We cannot afford to wait, my decision will not change unless circumstances permit. We will continue to escalate our attacks until noon today, if the shield is not broken by then we hit it with everything we have. If those still inside the city survive the blowout, assuming they aren''t already dead, we will rescue those who are left.¡±


    ¡°Rescue them?! You¡¯re going to glass the whole city! There won¡¯t be anyone left to rescue!¡±


    It had been going like this for the last two hours, a circular argument between Grey Spade and the general. Grey Spade couldnt technically act without authorization, which the general refused to give, citing keeping assets on ready standby. But in reality the man could do whatever he wanted, no one was going to stop him. And it looked like it was getting close to the point where he would act without permission. Still, that was outside Hacket''s purview, and by extension, not his problem.


    The argument continued on while Hacket moved back to his work. Positioning troops, coordinating the ungodly amount of guilds that showed up, reviewing the tactical and strategic situations. Yes strategic, because if they can¡¯t get through that shield they need to be ready with a long term plan, or risk another moscow incident. That''s something the world wouldn''t be able to handle. The Eurasia front is already bad enough, but another large front on U.S soil, that would be checkmate for the human race. If the largest supplier of basically everything at this point has to pull back to defend its home front, or worse, gets part of its own industrial base knocked out, game over. People fight wars, but logistics win them.


    One of the saving graces of the situation though is that the scale and exposure of this event has brought out everyone. Big guilds, small guilds, Air Force, Army, National Guard, hell even the Navy is moving ships farther inland via the channels around Norfolk to provide strike support. Granted anything they launch or fire will take like ten minutes to get here, but at least the extra firepower is semi accessible. Of course, with the extra hands comes resources and manpower, and more politics to go with. Everyone wants a piece of the pie, a slice of the ham, a cup of the enemy''s blood so they can boast about it later for clout and glory. And if their not careful about who is positioned where, guild rivals can turn violent at worst, not actually work together at best. The armed forces don''t get along very well either, but at least most of the commanding officers realize a fustercluck would probably get every one reprimanded, or worse, the demons could get out. Currently, General Tetanus is in charge because the army got here first and he is the highest ranking officer on site. But the moment someone else with an extra star walks in all hell might break loose.


    As if summoned by Hacket¡¯s thoughts, an older woman with blonde hair pushes her way through the flap of the command tent, a scowl very clearly drilled deep into her features. His thoughts turn to the worst for a moment, before realizing the figure isn''t wearing an actual armed forces uniform. No, if he remembers correctly that''s the uniform worn by the guild master of FlyBoys. A guild best described as paramilitary that focuses on aerial combat and support. Still, they are the backbone of the air cordon around the city. Unless something particularly powerful starts flying around, they will guarantee air superiority when it''s needed most.


    The old guild master walks straight up to the command table and stands next to Hacket, but a quick glance reveals she has no interest in the man. Instead her green eyes bore into the holographic display showing all the compiled information on the city, the positioning of troops around it, and other seemingly random bits of information. Said display was also being constantly updated by no less than three aids on the other side of the tent, constantly tapping away on terminals to input information, make corrections, and run calculations.


    ¡°I see those two are hell bent on dying of old age before coming to an agreement.¡± The guild master says, clearly addressing Hacket. Well, guess it''s time to play politics again.


    ¡°It would appear that way.¡± Hacket replies, trying to keep the conversation short so she can''t try to rope him into anything.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± The guild master says aloud, clearly trying to make her annoyance clear to the two people arguing in the tent.


    ¡°Guild master Hanah, I thought I ordered that the central command tent is to remain clear.¡± General Tetanus remarks.


    ¡°You also ordered everyone to be ready to push into the city two hours ago, and haven''t responded to any inquiries since then. My boys and girls are getting tired, along with everyone else from sitting at maximum vigilance. So I need to know if we can start rotating out resting groups, or if we should continue to sit around with our thumbs up our asses?¡± Guild master Hanah snaps at the general, her sour mood evident in her voice and the scowl still sitting on her face.


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    General Tetanus rubs his face as he walks back over to the operations table. He puts his hands on the table and lets out a sigh while looking down at it, the exhaustion on the man¡¯s face the only crack in facade seen within the last few hours.


    ¡°We will make one more strike on the shield. If that fails that I will give the order to move to lower readiness.¡±


    ¡°Like the last three times you ordered strikes on the shield?¡± Guild master Hana retorts.


    ¡°No, this time we have shield disruption specialists on hand for the attempt. They will be positioned at the base of the shield and attempt to destabilize it as we hit it with another round of strikes. Our last set had an effect, so with them here we will break it and push in.¡± The stone faced general says.


    ¡°You sound very confident.¡± Grey Spade replies.


    ¡°If you had seen them in action on the front lines you would be as well. Hammer Time¡¯s demolition experts excel at breaking enemy fortifications. This will be over soon, then you can have your break.¡± The general says, shooting a pointed look at the guild master.


    The politically powered bickering continues as Hacket continues his work. Someone has to make sure everything is set up according to plan after all. It was during his double checking of troop positioning that he noticed the message from the intelligence division. Whenever the spooks wanted to talk directly, you were either going to wish you could promise them a budget increase or curse their very necessary existence. He reluctantly swiped to the message on his personal pad, fully expecting the worst. What he instead found was a short but surprising message. ¡®Possible armed resistance cell within hot zone, see report 1532 for details.¡¯ Ah yes, because just telling me the important parts so I didn''t have to dig is overrated, Hacket thought to himself. Either way the message was clear, important information was in the report, so it was forwarded straight to him. A link to said report was sent in an immediate follow up message.


    Hacket would tear into them for violating IT security protocols later, the report itself took precedence right now. So he tapped the link and opened the document, only to find it was measly twenty pages long. That length was basically nothing compared to some of the reports on what the regular cultist patrols were doing, much less the camp itself. At least that meant it would be a quick read, at least that''s what he thought as he started skimming the document over. But as he continued reading he had to slow down in an attempt to wrap his head around whatever he was reading. It started late last night when a drone had picked up an odd heat signature bolting through the streets, being chased and slowly surrounded by a large mass of other signatures. No doubt a survivor trying to escape death. The chase had continued for a little while, before the individual was surrounded on all sides with no chance of escape. Said individual then managed to jump up onto a nearby street lamp in almost a single bound, but they ended up hanging and had to pull themselves up. This caused the local monsters to attempt to rip the pole down, which in turn caused the individual to repeat their impressive feat and jump up onto the roof of a nearby building. Hacket continued reading the report, how said individual eventually jumped to the building over, thus disappearing from view. The drone observed the area for a while longer but eventually departed after not seeing the individual reappear and several other heat signatures enter the building, including a large one. The drone was a basic model, so it didn''t have any advanced sensors or night vision, only a basic camera and IR.


    That concluded the first indicedent, but several hours later another incident occurred. This time a recon drone, one with actual detection and spotting equipment, picked up a new set of signatures in the same building from before. Said signatures seemed to hang out in the windows and use optical magnification devices to observe the city below in the direction of the cultist camp, which was starting to unfurl from the central bunker by this point. Eventually most of the signatures disappeared, leaving only one to continue observing the camp. A while later several more signatures reentered the corner room they were observing the city from, several of them carrying weapons, before one of them collapsed and was carried off by the others. That was the end of the second incident. While was all interesting information, but it didn''t do Hacket any good, aside from maybe adding it to the list of places to check for survivors if they ever get in. A few armed civilians were not going to be able to do shit, even if they figured out a way to communicate with them and IF they were willing to help.


    It remained the same after that, with one of the signatures watching the city below and base while the others were nowhere to be seen, until just after day break. Just after dawn the signatures all regrouped in the corner room to discuss things, seeing how they cleared the tables off to the side and wheeled in a white board. The drone that was observing them now was one of the newer models, which had all the good stuff for long range observation and enough surveillance equipment to put a nosy old lady neighbor to shame. It managed to capture a few good frames of their armory despite being god knows how far away circling above the shield. The weapons were listed in the report, but Hacket immediately realized they were not well equipped at all. Just a couple of old model pistols, a newer shotgun, and an old DRM. Decent for self defense in this situation, but not much else. The DRM might be useful in the hands of a trained professional, but that was a bit of a stretch. By this point the cameras had somehow managed to capture clear shots of the people inside, so clear on some frames in fact that they were able to get facial shots or partial shots to feed to a facial recognition program for identification. Almost all civilians, as Hacket expected, the only one with any experience was the older man who was a ten year veteran of the war. But he had received a medical discharge, so Hacket highly doubted he would be able to do anything.


    Their discussion seemed to continue on until one of the group members became irate, with the rest of the group seemingly against him on the subject at hand. Eventually he turned and stormed out of the room, running into a not yet seen young woman on his way out, who he seemed to be aggressive towards before leaving. When the new individual was finally able to enter the room, the drone got a clear shot, and Hacket was able to understand why the spooks had directed his attention to this report. The girl was identified as Lucy Bretmont, newly awakened defender who got her powers after the near disastrous breach event just over week ago. Yet despite that she has two confirmed kills and one assist accredited to her. It seems someone was doing their part to help with cleanup.


    Still, she wasn''t exactly the shining solution to the big problem like he had been hoping for. One other big and glaring issue stared back at him from the girls file, aside from the lack of training, experience, and power. Age, nothing screams evil quite like a child soldier. While she isn''t really a child, being almost legal, in the eyes of the law she is. That means anyone touching her is fiddling with fire at a minimum. If they have absolutely no other choice to prevent disaster they could maybe, just maybe get her help and spin it in a way where they don''t get dishonorably discharged on the spot. But if anyone so much as reaches out to her while alternatives are available¡­.. that will result in a dead career at minimum, probably taking everyone above and below you in station down with you to boot.


    Ironic, she''s probably more dangerous than any singular, normal human soldier. And the only one inside they know of who might actually be able to do anything. And she''s off limits because of her age, which Hacket would completely agree with if demons were not threatening to open a second super portal on American soil¡­¡­. Unless.


    Hacket swapped away from the report, instead opening the web browser on his tablet and going to the internet. Soldiers were taught a lot of things in basic, most of it completely useless after taking the corresponding tests. But one of most hated things was the mind melting memorization of almost all the various acts, laws, and bills passed by every who ha and politician regarding service and the war. Drill instructor Michel might have been the most hated person on base because he had to teach that, and he did so with zeal. Now for once Hacket is thankful for that zeal, instead of cursing it. The world really is going crazy. But thanks to that zeal Hacket remembered most of the key points of the documents, even if he doesn''t remember which document. And if he is remembering correctly, one of them should provide just what he needs. The Bunker Defense Act of 2029? No, maybe the Expanded Conscription Act of 2035? Shit, not that one either. Then Hacket remembers the passage he¡¯s looking for is in a really odd place, not where you would expect it. He swaps gears and starts combing through the more innocuous acts. It takes a few minutes, but he finally finds what he¡¯s looking for in the Child Education and Defence Act of 2036. Section ten, article five point thirteen, ¡®any persons not of age may be pressed into involuntary service in the events of invasions of foreign entities which may threaten their safety, and all other avenues of ensuring said safety have been pursued.¡¯ There is a bunch of restrictions and political gibberish immediately after, but that was the most important part. It''s supposed to be for situations where everyone is going to die anyway, so might as well give the children guns for a fighting chance.


    Using it to tell a young girl in the middle of cultist infestation to go effectively put her neck out is not the intended use, but he can probably spin it enough that it''s technically allowed. So only his career will get torpedoed, instead of getting thrown in prison for the rest of his life. Better than getting fucked by demons though. This was going to be a long day¡­.

 Chapter 40: Snacks and Recharging

    Toby shows me to the kitchenette break room so I can get some food. When we arrive it''s clear their ¡®stockpile¡¯ is actually just the remains of a party. A half consumed cake sits neatly cut into pieces within its clear plastic cover. Several bottles of different drink types sit on a counter, along with some bottles that were clearly emptied and repurposed as spare water storage next to a sink. Various other party foods sit covered on a table on the side, including chips and salsa, two closed boxes of pizza, and a half eaten large bowl of m&ms. Over on the counter top I see a half empty case of water bottles, a loaf of bread, and some assorted snack baggies. A piling of plastic silverware and paper plates at the end of the serving completes the party setup.


    I think I¡¯m starting to put together the timeline, given that this office is absolutely plastered with their company logo when you know where to look. Like the mugs on the desks of the offices around here. They were holding an out of hours office party, and when the alarm triggered they had enough of a vantage to see that trying to go to the bunker was a bad idea and stayed put. But that doesn''t answer the question of where they hell they got all the guns? Whatever, I¡¯ll try to figure it out later. Right now, having all this food in front of me has reminded me of just how hungry I am having not eaten in like over twelve hours.


    ¡°So, I can just eat what I want?¡± I ask Toby.


    ¡°Yep, take what you want. If we need to ration it odds are we''re fucked anyways.¡±


    I don''t need any more prompting, walking over to the side table and grabbing a plate while moving to flip open the lid of the closest pizza box. Anchovies Aloof is a weird name for a pizza shop, but that''s what I read on the lid as I grab it and flip it up. To my utter horror though it''s not regular old cheese or even anchovies that awaits me. Sitting in front of me is a half a pineapple pizza, complete with no other toppings aside from what is clearly extra pineapple, just dried. I stand corrected, no way in hell one of these guys isn''t a cultist. And it''s whoever ordered that pizza.


    Putting my lament of others poor dietary choices aside, I close the box and open the other one. Much to my relief I find two slices of pepperoni waiting for me, and I eagerly snatch them up onto my plate. Next I pop the plastic top off the cake, only to realize I don''t have a fork or knife. I quickly reach over and acquire a plastic fork, then use it as an impromptu saw to carve out myself a nice large slice of cake. The cake is a basic grocery store kind that seems to be half plain and half chocolate, but I wouldn''t care either way. I pile the overly large slice onto my plate, but it''s so big it ends up smearing some icing on my pizza slices. Oh well, it''s all going to the same place anyway. I grab a fork for my cake and take my plate over to the center table. Toby is just standing at the door, staring at me with an amused look as I loot their food and sit myself down. He goes to say something but stops as I shovel literally half a slice of pizza into my mouth, making it fairly clear conversation is out of the question.


    To both of our surprise though, I demolish the pizza bite in mere seconds, before quickly jamming the rest into my mouth to avoid conversation. The second slice follows just as quickly, and suddenly I''m shoveling fork loads of cake into my mouth as fast as I can.


    ¡°Damn slow down, you''re gonna choke if you eat that fast.¡± Toby says from off to side.


    I ignore him in favor of finishing off the cake. Within a minute the cake slice is gone, and I shovel the crumbs onto my fork before gobbling them up as well. When I realize I''ve completely cleaned my plate I get up and acquire myself another slice, grabbing some chips and a water bottle on my way back to the table.


    ¡°Damn, were you starved or something before all this?¡± Toby asks.


    ¡°No, guess I burned a lot of energy doing shit yesterday.¡± I reply between mouthfuls.


    Near the end of my second helping I manage to slow down my pace, taking a few minutes to finish of the cake and chips instead of like, two. At the end I''m still a bit pecking, so I snag a bag of trail mix and another bottle of water before making my way back towards Toby, who is looking at me with a mix of awe and amusement.


    ¡°Done clearing our kitchen?¡± He asks.


    ¡°Hey, I only ate some.¡± I reply curtly.


    ¡°Yea, more like you ate half the cake.¡± He says while pointing at the remains of the cake, which I failed to recover in my haste to eat. The two slices I took must have been bigger than I thought, because sure enough the cake is only half as big as it was before.


    ¡°Oh¡­.¡± Is all I can muster in reply.


    ¡°Whatever, it needed to be eaten anyway. Now you need a private place to regenerate your mana right?¡± Toby asks, moving along before my embarrassment can burn a hole through me.


    ¡°Yea, preferably somewhere with no windows either.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Hmm, we got an office like that in the middle here. We were clearing it out cuss the last guy to use it got fired so it''s pretty empty.¡±


    ¡°How''d he manage that?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Dude was accepting kickbacks and uh, favors under the table and whatnot. Once the CEO found out the dude got sacked faster than a quarter back without a defensive line.¡±


    ¡°That''s an odd, but descriptive way of putting it.¡±


    ¡°Yea well, they spent like three days tearing that office apart after they walked him out. I don''t know the full details but there was always someone in that office looking through papers and shit. I think they were trying to figure out just how far back it went.¡±


    ¡°Damn, did they report it to the police?¡±


    ¡°Oh yea, I don''t know when he got picked up exactly but they did eventually grab him. What an idiot, we aren''t millionaires but getting two to three percent commission on almost million dollar commercial properties still rakes in the dough. And until last week those properties were getting tossed around like hot cakes.¡±


    ¡°What the hell, that''d like twenty to thirty thousand right? And that was per building? No wonder my dad bitched about price gouging agents every time my mom wanted a bigger house.¡± I say, getting a small chuckle out of Toby.


    ¡°I mean that''s fair. Houses don''t go for that much, though we usually charge four to five percent on residential stuff. Still a good chunk of change, anyway here is the office.¡± Toby says while pushing a door to an office open.


    The door swings away from the frame to reveal an interesting room. It looks half pristine, like it¡¯s brand new, and half like a tornado came crashing through the place. Some shelves were empty of everything, including any dust or wear marks. Other shelves however were loaded with piles upon piles of papers, books, folders, binders, anything business related, its strewn about somewhere on the shelves. The desk has been moved from the center to the back of the room recently, judging from the marks on the carpet. Said desk is also covered in papers, binders, and more in addition to the monitor, mouse, and keyboard pushed off to the side. Strangely there is no computer attached, or around anywhere, maybe it got taken as evidence or something.


    ¡°It''s got a lock on the door so no one can disturb you. Though it''s gonna be pitch black if you shut the door. Are you sure you want an office with no windows?¡± Toby asks


    ¡°Yea, it''s perfect. Now I''m gonna get to work, the sooner I start the more mana I end up with.¡± I say as I grab the door and slowly start closing it. Toby thankfully gets the message and says his goodbyes as I close and lock the door, pressing my thumb in on the button on the knob.


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    Fucking finally, the only thing worse than dealing with people is dealing with people is being a demon dealing with people in a demon zombie apocalypse with limited mana. Ok, maybe not the only thing worse, but pretty high up there. I practically teleport my shirt off, almost pulling the poor thing apart in the process. Once that''s gone and on the floor I reach down and shimmy my pants down just a nudge, leaving just enough room for my tail to spring free as I let my transformation drop.


    My tail twitches around, curling and stretching around as if it has a mind of its own and is looking for trouble. My wings separate from my back, and flap slightly as I stretch them out, creating a small gust of wind that knocks some papers around. Crap, I¡¯ll clean those up later. One of the joints even pops, sending a nice tingle along them for a moment. My horns grow out, restoring a sense I''m surprisingly happy to have back. While my eyes start to give off the usual orange glow, providing just enough light to see in the darkness. But not enough for a human to see by I think, maybe I have enhanced vision or something.


    First thing I do now that my mana restrictions are lifted is heal myself again. I gather the green ball into my hand, creating enough light to bath the room in a strong green tint, before crushing it and feeling the warmth surge through me. The rest of my aches and pains washes away, and even my wings feel better than before. I wonder how long I can hold a spell for? If it''s a long time, a weak one might make a good impromptu light source.


    Mana: 397/20,416


    Ah well that figures. Good news is it''s already going back up, at a fairly decent pace too.


    Mana: 398/20,416


    .


    Mana: 399/20,416


    .


    Mana: 400/20,416


    One point a second isn''t that bad, at that rate I''ll have¡­ hour and forty left ish, so one hundred minutes, time sixty for second¡­ About six thousand mana. Fuck thats actually not a super huge amount to work with. Well, I have to evaluate my options here then. I wanted to save mana surge for an emergency, and because it might do permanent damage with too much use. But shit, if this situation does not qualify as an emergency then what does? So I can save it for later if I need it, or use it now preemptively to give myself more options. Honestly, giving myself more options seems like the better option right now. If I use mana surge I can then build up a healing crystal, which would be a huge boon, then I can use the remaining time to top off my mana. Then I''ll have full mana to keep my disguise up while screaming at cultists, zombies, and whatever other shit currently infests this city.


    New and improved plan in place I activate the spell, and immediately regret my life decisions. A hard pain shoots through me, bringing me to my knees as I cough up blood, my vision goes blurry, and the world around me dulls. Thankfully it lasts only a second, and my senses slowly start to return to normal as the sharp pain is replaced by deep aches in every part of my body. Ok, do NOT use manasurge more than twice in a row. I don''t want to find out if it''s just worse because I was injured recently, or if it stacks with rapid repeated use. I should probably heal myself too.


    Mana: 20,416/20,416


    I should probably heal myself too¡­.. actually, now might be a perfect time to test out the healing crystal. With that in mind I don''t slack about, starting up the process of making a new crystal. Mana flows up my arm  and out my hand, coalescing in a similar, but slightly different fashion than when I made the mana crystal, weaving itself before my eyes. Before I know it, five minutes is up and a crystal identical to the mana one, except being red, connects to me as it drifts off my hand to join its blue colored sibling in rotating around me.


    They orbit in a twelve-six format, seemingly wanting to constantly be on opposite sides of me. A quick test reveals this to be the case as I hold the red one in place for a moment before letting go, causing it to zoom back to its position. The same thing happens when I hold the blue one as well. I guess it''s to minimize the risk or collisions, or something.


    Either way questioning the eccentricities of magic itself is beyond my pay grade. So I instead look around the room for something else to entertain myself with. Guess I''ll start by picking up the papers I sent flying.


    I scrunch my wings close to my back to keep from creating any more wind as I reach down and start trying to pick up and make sense of the papers. I quickly discover that I can read most of them if I hold them close to my eyes for better illumination. Unfortunately being able to read them doesn''t mean I understand them, and I end up having no idea what should go where despite the actually fairly descriptive labeling around the room.


    I end up just stacking them all in their own pile on a corner of the desk, before creeping back across the room to investigate some funny looking folders and binders labeled ¡®evidence¡¯ on one of the packed shelves.


    By this point I''m feeling better, almost one hundred percent actually. At least what I think is one hundred percent, so I check my mana to figure out how long it''s been.


    Mana: 16,427/20,416


    Let''s see, it was five thousand for three crystal, that put me at fifteen thousand, so one thousand difference. Thousand seconds divided by sixty is sixteen minutes and some change. So I''ll round up and say it''s been eighteen minutes-ish picking all this up. Not bad on the new crystal.


    I grab a binder off a shelf and crack it open, fully intent on being a nosy bitch because I''m bored as fuck. Only to quickly discover that I have poor knowledge of business documents. I can make sense of most of them if I look long enough, but few documents purpose and meaning alude me. Like this one talking about the water table for somewhere, filled with diagrams and charts, all of which make no sense to me. The only reason I know it''s talking about a water table is it''s named water table chart.


    Not the most indulging read I''ve ever had but the documents get the time to pass. Eventually I swap to another binder, just to discover similar documents except for a different property. A quick check reveals that most, if not all the binders are like that. Curious, I decide to check what''s in the manila folders, since the binders seem to be all property oriented. What I find are lots and lots of business documents. Some of the folders are dated with years, others are just blank but filled with seemingly random documents. Some are invoices, sales closings, refunds, and even the odd agreement.


    I can''t quite figure out what it''s all about until I realize that all the documents are signed by a Timothy P. They did say they were still investigating the guy who last worked here, guess that''s his name. So these are probably all the compiled records of everything he ever touched. I''m about to call it quits, because even I can only be so much of a nosy bitch, when I notice a particular binder that gets my attention, because it''s labeled with an extra notation. 5632 Dreamfield North Plaza (Central Bunker property).


    Interested, I grab the binder and crack it open. I''m not surprised these guys worked on the property the central bunker sits on, it was built only a year-ish ago. But still, what are the odds? The binder contains all the usual documents about property value, dimensions, connected utilities, etc. But it also contains a bunch of extra stuff because it was a future bunker site. Specifically a lot of documentation regarding soil, rocks, water table, charts of nearby underground pipes and cables. No info on the bunker itself, just the property it sits on.


    Given how this shit show half originated from the central bunker I decide it''s a good idea to read up all these documents, carefully. Most of it is boring or useless, the soil quality around the bunker properly won''t help us at all. But one thing in particular catches my eye, one of the surveys speculates that there is a fairly large cave system deep underground near there. Almost directly under where the bunker itself is actually placed if my guesstimates are correct.


    I don''t know if the caves were untouched by construction or not, but if they weren''t they might be infested with cultists and demons. Which means there might be even more of those assholes running around, fuck!


    Unfortunately, the documents don''t contain anything else, the rest is just Financials and other garbage. My eyes almost bug out of my head when I read the final sales price, more than I''ll ever see in my lifetime that''s for sure. I slap the binder closed and throw it back on the shelf, double checking to make sure I''ve left everything back where I found it. It would be rude to leave their office a mess after all, even if this place will probably be wiped off the map after this.


    Suddenly a massive blast shakes the entire building so hard I fall over. Binders, folders, and documents fly off shelves, the stacks on the desk flop over onto the floor, getting everywhere in the process as I flail towards the floor. For a moment I fear the building is going to collapse, until the chaos stops as suddenly as it started. I open my eyes to papers settling to the floor around me, the once semi organized office now a calamitous mess of business records thrown about the room. I push myself up, thankful that the building didn''t actually collapse until I notice the new big ass crack running through the roof of the room. OK maybe not as uncollapsed as I thought.


    I immediately put my wings and tail away, annoyed that my peace and quiet was interrupted early, but honestly not surprised at this point. How much mana did I get back at least?


    Mana: 18,023/20,416


    Eh, better than nothing. Sure enough moments later I hear someone charging up the hallway, and they throw open the door just as I finish shifting my eyes and horns and throwing on my shirt.


    ¡°Lucy, are you OK?!¡± Karen basically screams as she practically jumps into the room.


    ¡°Not dead, so what¡¯s trying to kill us now?¡± I ask in response while giving her a shrug.


    She seems a bit peeved and lets out a huff, but ultimately seems satisfied enough with my answer. ¡°They made another attempt on the shield, but were only partially successful.¡±


    Her answer gives me both hope and goosebumps at the same time, what does she mean by partially successful.


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I ask, moving forward to head out into the hall with the intention of rejoining the rest of the group. They will probably want to move out soon, if not right now. Not that I can really blame them this time, I have a sneaking suspicion this building isn''t exactly structurally sound after getting rattled around so much.


    ¡°I¡­ I think they broke through the first shield, but a second one immediately came up. The thing is¡­ I think Robert could explain it better.¡± She says, following me into the hallway and back towards the conference room.  Oh boy, more complications, because this shit wasn''t already bad enough. Feels like the Rubik''s cube of survival bullshit and rows just keep getting piled on. My suspicions are proven correct by the cracks in the wall and ceiling, as well as the clearly deformed door frame across the hall. We¡¯re lucky this whole damn building did not drop with us in it.


    We get a few feet down the hall before Karen speaks up again. ¡°I see you¡¯re moving a lot better now. How are you feeling?¡± she asks.


    ¡°Almost as good as new! Aside from the whole trapped in a shit hole demon zombie apocalypse thing!¡± I retort back cheerily.


    ¡°Well that''s good. I suppose it has something to do with that new red gem of yours?¡±


    ¡°Yep! It should help with any bruises or paper cuts.¡±


    ¡°Well that''s good, we need all the help we can get.¡±


    Before the conversation can continue, we get close enough to hear shouting coming from the conference room. Sounds like George and Robert are having an argument, more like George is trying to argue with Robert, who is putting his foot down.


    ¡°This is a horrible idea! We shouldn''t give her one! I¡¯m against it!¡±


    ¡°Noted, but I don¡¯t care. You, and everyone else will have one as well, even Greg. So if anything happens you¡¯ll have one too.¡±


    ¡°I won''t use a weapon Robert, we¡¯ve been over this. I know, that''s why you¡¯re carrying the gun bags, since the rest of us will need our hands free in case something happens.¡±


    ¡°OK, but I don''t see how that means I''ll be armed.¡±


    The conversation is interrupted as I walk into the room, followed by Karen. Robert looks over from what seems to be weapon preparation with a borderline confident expression, barely failing to disguise the concern and worry peaking around his features. George looks over with his usual scowl, followed by a sneer. ¡°I am not giving her a gun.¡± he says, not even trying to hide his disdain. As he continues to stuff magazines into his pockets.


    ¡°Good, didn''t want you to.¡± Robert says, walking over and holding out the one of the guns he just finished loading.


    ¡°This is a forty five caliber Westscott Defender. Ten rounds in the magazine, safety is on and its not chambered. You know how to use a gun right?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh, I¡¯ve played a super realistic shooter VR game before.¡±

 Chapter 41: Down to Dust

    ¡°So let me get this straight, you ain''t never shot a gun before and you''re comparing video game experience to it¡± George says in a disbelieving tone.


    ¡°What? I still know the important rules. Like red means dead, and point it away from people. Besides, did you have any experience before this?¡± I clap back while taking the gun out of Robert''s hand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget, always assume it''s loaded, even when it''s not. This isn''t like a video game, VR or not. You don''t get a crosshair or laser sight, you either have to eyeball it or aim down the sights. But don''t try eyeballing it, you will miss. The gun has weight and it will kick when you shoot it. Until you get used to it, don''t try to shoot quickly, all you will end up doing is wasting ammo and risk hitting something, or someone, you''re not aiming for.¡± Robert says in a serious tone.


    ¡°Got it. So Karen said they smashed the shield, but we got double troubled?¡± I reply, carefully examining the gun and making sure not to accidentally point it at anyone. Safety is already on, it¡¯s loaded, but I don¡¯t think it''s chambered yet. I find the magazine release and press it, dropping the full mag into my waiting hand and confirming it does in fact have bullets. Twenty, if the dots on the side are to be believed, before reloading the mag back into the grip with a satisfying click.


    ¡°That''s one way of putting it. Building is unstable, the blast that knocked the first shield down also knocked over half the city. We''re lucky we didn''t go down as well.¡± Robert says, pointing out the window.


    And a quick glance reveals just how much destruction occurred from the last blast. Something is obstructing the sun, throwing the city into darkness. But three massive pillars of white light originating from the cultist camp throw plenty enough illumination to see parts of the city. What was once recognizable as a city is now dark, dust obscured, devastated wasteland befitting the catastrophe that has occurred here. Most of the skyscrapers are gone, fallen in on themselves or fallen over, further spreading the dust and destruction where they fell. Some of the slightly newer buildings look to have survived, but not without damage, as large swaths of windows and parts of the building faces can be seen broken even from a distance. Hell, one tower is visibly leaning, seemingly threatening to further increase the devastation if the breeze were too much as blow wrong.


    The one saving grace, through the dust clouds I can vaguely make out the shape of a shattered building that crashed through part of the cultist camp. Unfortunately, said camp seems to be in working enough order to keep fucking our day, judging by the three blazing pillars of milky white light shooting up into the sky. A quick look to said sky reveals that the old see-through shield has been replaced by a milky white dome projected by the three pillars meeting at its peak. Its surface seems to be constantly mixing in on itself before bubbling out again in a weird manner, the whole thing giving off an eerie vibe.


    ¡°Holy shit, did they drop a fucking nuke on us? And what''s up with that spoiled milk looking shit, is that the second shield?¡± I ask, caught off by the sheer scale of the destruction outside.


    ¡°It might have been, the explosion was¡­ very bright, almost blinded us. And yes that spoiled milk looking barrier popped up shortly after the shield shattered. The good news is we''re pretty sure those pillars supporting it are coming from those three crystals they were feeding before.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°How is that good news?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Because those are a hell of a lot more reachable than whatever was buried in the bunker. Plus with all the chaos we might be able to slip in even without disguises.¡± Greg replies.


    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m still of the opinion we should stay away from the cultist camp. Especially now, who knows how angry they are now?¡±


    ¡°Angry or not, they¡¯re definitely more vulnerable than before. Still, Lucy is right. They''ve gotten through the first shield so odds are they will find a way through this one. Because one of the key points of an emergency backup is that it is always smaller than the primary.¡± Robert says confidently.


    ¡°So now our objective is to stay safe and wait it out. Which means getting out of this building and somewhere we won''t get crushed, shot, or turned into one of those things.¡± He continues.


    ¡°Uhh, not to rain on our ray of hope but I don''t think there are any places like that left in the city, Robert.¡± George replies.


    ¡°Toby should be finishing up packing our food, Karen please go help him with the bags, then meet at the stairwell. Lucy, think you can carry the other gun bag since you''re the strongest here?¡± Robert asks me, ignoring George''s comment and gesturing to the bag on the table near George.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Yea, I guess.¡± I reply, walking over to pick up the bag as Karen heads out to help Toby. George shoots me a glare but doesn''t say or do anything else as I zip the duffel bag closed and throw it over my shoulder.


    With that we head out towards the front. Waiting for us are Sara and Seymore, who seem to be in some sort of debate with Sara now holding the shotgun. They quickly break it off as Seymore addresses Robert.


    ¡°Son, you and the rest go on ahead. I''m not quick as I used to be between my bummed leg and hip replacement. I¡¯ll just slow you down too much.¡± He says, sounding like he¡¯s already accepted his fate.


    ¡°We are not leaving you here Seymore, even if we have to go a little slower. Worst case, one of us carries you. Me, Toby, George, or Lucy should be able to handle it.¡± Robert replies.


    Moments later Toby and Karen come out of the hallway that leads to the Kitchenette in a rush, each with a bulging backpack on their backs and several bags in each hand.


    ¡°Hey, we need to go, like now! There was a crack visibly spreading across the ceiling while we were packing.¡± Toby says, the urgency clear in his voice as he emphasizes the word visibly.


    ¡°Alright let''s go then. Sara trade with me, I''ll take point. Lucy behind me, Sara, Karen, Seymour, and Greg in the middle. Toby, George you two being up the rear.¡± Robert commands, taking the shotgun from Sara while giving his pistol to Seymore. Throwing open the door to the stairwell, we all rush to follow him in order.


    The stairwell isn''t much better than the floor we were on. It''s almost pitch black due to being closed off from the rest of the building aside from a few rays peeking through damaged doors further down. At Least until Robert flipped on the flashlight on the shotgun. The new blast of light revealed the battered stairwell. Cracks ran along the walls and across the floors. In a few places rebar was visibly bent and forcibly protruding from the concrete. The second landing on our way down was crooked, and I''m honestly a little concerned as we reach it. Robert orders us to cross the landing one at a time to minimize the risk, and thankfully nothing happened. Well, nothing relating to the landing. We''re only about a third of the way down before Seymore has a problem. Of course it''s not him who speaks up, he seems to be too determined, instead suffering down the stairs with labored breathing.


    ¡°Hold on, I think Seymore needs a break.¡± Karen says, trying to reach back and help support the man who is struggling down along the hand rail.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, just my arthritis acting up¡­. I can keep going, been through worse.¡± He replies between labored steps, but not rejecting her assistance.


    ¡°We can''t stop here, the building could drop on us at any moment. Once we are outside and away we can work something out.¡± Robert says as we pass a fairly prominent crack in the concrete running up the wall.


    Seymore gets one more step before his legs give in and he stumbles forward, almost going tumbling down the stairwell. Thankfully he¡¯s able to hold onto the handrail and Karen catches him, just barely keeping standing.


    ¡°Robert, he can''t go any further like this!¡± Karen protests.


    Without missing a beat Robert looks over his shoulder to me. ¡°Lucy, do you think you can do anything to keep him moving? Even temporarily?¡± He asks me.


    ¡°Uh, no idea. I might be able to heal him?¡± I say, somewhat questioning myself if I¡¯m able to do it. Healing is so new to me I haven''t exactly been able to test it, or even really read up on it much. Obviously things like cuts, bruises, etc would get healed. But age related shit or arthritis, I have no idea if those are within regular healing spells purview, or even heal able at all. The description for minor heal doesn''t mention anything but bruises, and minor cuts and scrapes. Would it even recognize arthritis as damage that needs to be healed? Fuck it, worth a shot I guess.


    Despite me wanting to save mana I spin up a minor healing spell, better to try keep the group moving then bitch about the cost. The green light slowly growing in size enough to illuminate the stairwell. Once it''s complete I step just in range of the old man leaning on the railing, releasing the small green orb and willing it to target him. The spell listens, whisping over the just under five foot gap between us and softly colliding with the old man. Upon contact it seems to seep in, before disbursing in a wave across his body as the glow fades. Instantly I see the silhouette of the old man standing slightly firmer in the dark, but seemingly still leaning on the railing for support.


    ¡°Better?¡± I ask.


    ¡°Slightly, I think I can keep going for a bit.¡± Seymore replies.


    ¡°Can you heal him again?¡± Karen asks, concern for the old man evident in her voice.


    ¡°No, I need to save the mana just in case. If he slows down again then I¡¯ll use another one¡­.. But in the meantime let''s try this.¡± I say, remembering the healing crystal still currently floating around me. My wounds should be long healed, at least the ones it can heal. So might as well try to put it to better use than idling around me.


    I reach out to the crystal, connecting to it as naturally as moving my own fingers. With a quick thought and a glance I reassigned it to Seymore, the old man starting to push off the railing and regain his footing. Instantly I feel its effects on me vanish, but the connection remains. It lazily drifts over to the old man, before taking up a rotation around him similar to the mana crystal¡¯s one around me.


    ¡°Oh, that feels¡­¡­ better.¡± He comments, starting to move once again on his own.


    ¡°Good, let''s keep going.¡± Robert says, turning to continue leading us down the stairs.


    I can help but catch glimpses of the others as I turn back around. Reactions are mostly a mix of awe and respect. Except for George, who is now somehow scowling harder than before¡­. Because of course that asshole is. I just really hope they don''t try going to pin hopes and dreams on me or something. I just got this shit and have no idea what I¡¯m doing.


    We continue our descent towards the bottom floor, nothing but the rhythmic stomping of our own feet echoing around the stairwell and the seemingly eternal darkness only broken by the various flashlights people have pulled out. Unfortunately the darkness isn''t the only thing we have to worry about. The closer we get to the ground, the thicker the dust gets, and soon enough we reach the bottom. The stairwell door is visibly bent along with the frame, with the window in the center smashed out, allowing a torrent of dust to visibly pour through and diffuse into the stairwell.


    ¡°Everyone, find something to cover your mouths with.¡± Robert says as he grabs the door handle and braces a foot against the wall. He gives a hard tug, and then another, but the door is firmly wedged in place. Before he can ask, because I know he will, I slip around him and grab the handle and yank as hard as I can. The door gives way with a resounding screech of protesting metal, followed by a snapping sound as the handle breaks off. But the door is open just enough for me to get my fingers around it and wrench it open the rest of the way, causing even more ear splitting noise as it scrapes along the floor and a torrent of dust floods in.

 Chapter 42: More Dust and Blood

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    The dust rolled in like a fog bank, enveloping everything and everyone within the stairwell as it surged in and up. I get my shirt up just in time to save myself from a mouthful, but that isn''t enough to completely stop the grit from finding its way into my mouth on the first inhale. Several people behind me cough, making it clear that most of us are not well enough equipped for this level of air pollution.


    ¡°What ¡®Cough'' ¡®cough¡¯ the hell?¡± Toby asks.


    ¡°Dust from the fallen buildings. Way thicker than it looked from up there. Can we even get through this?¡± Greg asks.


    ¡°We¡¯re going to have to, the building is slowly coming apart.¡± Robert replies, before stepping into the dust bank.


    The rest of us follow, several coughing fits ensue. One of them was mine. The dust is so bad I can''t see more than ten feet in front of me, and that¡¯s with Robert¡¯s flashlight illuminating the area in front of us. Thankfully Robert seems to have this place memoried, as we weave through a couple of hallways no problem before getting to a large open room we cant see the other side of due to the dust. We follow along the wall of that room until we hit a desk, which we go around then continue on our path. Eventually we reach the doors of the building, or what left of them anyways. It was clearly one of those fancy mostly glass fronts at one point, but now most of the panels have been reduced to chunks on the floor, save for one left standing with more cracks in it than intact glass.


    With the crunch of the glass shards underfoot the only sound disturbing the eerie silence of the city, we make our way out of the building. The street isn''t any better, everything outside of ten feet obscured by the choking dust, with only the faintest bit of illumination from the three pillars seeping through. Not enough to see by, just enough to increase the ambient light level by a noticeable amount.


    We make a right as we exit the building, following the street in silence aside from the occasional coughing fit or crunch of trash under foot. We only stop once we reach the intersection, the street signs on the stop light pole just barely readable when we shine a flashlight on them.


    ¡°So, has anyone thought of anywhere we could go?¡± Robert asks as we stop at the intersection for a quick rest.


    Seymore leans against a gray four door sedan that''s partially up on the sidewalk, while Karen checks on his condition. He seems to be moving better, but I get the feeling the old dude will act tough until his knees literally stop working if we''re not careful watching him.


    ¡°Anything, a nearby store, an apartment?¡±


    ¡°Why don''t we just pick a place and break in, I don''t think anyone will give a shit at this point.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Somewhere familiar would be preferable. And if we break into a place we might not be able to properly resecure it.¡± Robert replies.


    It''s quite for a moment as everyone seems to think it over. Finally George speaks up, finally contributing something positive to the groups efforts.


    ¡°There used to be an old mom and pop shop a little north north of here. If it''s still there I might know how to get in.¡±


    ¡°Might?¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°I haven''t visited in a few years. But I used to work summers there during high school. Old folks that ran it never moved where they hid the spare key.¡±


    ¡°Anyone else have any better ideas?¡± Robert asks. Only to be met with silence from the group.


    ¡°Isn''t there the old Walmart on Berkley? Bit run down but was still open last I checked. It should have plenty of supplies there.¡± Sara responds.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    That''s actually a good idea, I didn''t even know there was a Wal-Mart around here. And apparently I''m not the only one.


    ¡°Wait, there''s a Walmart on Berkley Street? I''ve been going across town to the Food Mart the whole time I''ve been living here!¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°How do you miss a whole ass building?¡± I ask him? I''ve never been in a Walmart, my mom always dragged us to the Food Mart near our house. I wonder if it''s the same one Toby goes to, probably.


    ¡°To be fair it''s tucked away in the corner at the dead end of the street. They don''t exactly advertise like they used to.¡± Karen replies.


    ¡°I remember when we had three Walmarts in town. Those were three days.¡± Seymore says from the side in a reminiscent tone. Please tell me he isn''t going full crazy old man on us, that''s the last thing we need right now.


    ¡°So, is everyone in agreement for the Walmart then?¡± Robert asks, getting a chorus of affirmatives in response.


    While everyone starts arguing about the fastest way to the Walmart from here, I turn keep my eye on Seymore and Karen. And thank god I am, because right as I look back I see something scuttle under the other side of the sedan. Oh¡­. Hell¡­. No! I take off, trying to rush the five feet in between us before it''s too late.


    ¡°Get away from the car!¡± I scream while bolting towards them.


    Karen just snaps her head up in a confused daze but thankfully Seymore is on the ball. He grabs Karen and tackles her away from the car, sending both of them tumbling to the ground just as the head fucking little shit pops out from underneath. Normally being on the ground against these shits would be a bad idea, but it works in their favor as the jellyfish launches off the ground and subsequently misses because they were falling. Well, almost misses. It manages to hook a tentacle into the screaming Karen¡¯s hair, flailing wildly through the air as she and Seymore hit the ground. It slams to the ground between me and them a moment later. It tries to extend another tentacle towards Karen, but it''s already too late for it. I finish closing the distance, and promptly introduce the brain fucking little parasite to the front end of my shoe.


    My poor right shoe finally gives out and practically desintigrates as the jellyfish gets turned into a splatter of blue blood being launched across Seymore, Karen, and the sidewalk. Karen of course continues screaming, not that I can blame her with all the guts now covering her. Seymore, in a surprising show of agility for an old man, throws Karen off him and springs back up, ready for a fight.


    "Jesus fuck!?¡± Toby yells.


    ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! It''s in my hair! Get it out, get it out! ¡± Karen screams while trying to bat the remainder of the tentacle out of her hair.


    ¡°Karen, stop screaming, it''s dead. Lucy, what the hell was that thing?¡± Robert asks over the crazed screaming of Karen.


    ¡°That was one of those stupid jellyfish that turns you into a zombie.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Crap, OK. We¡¯re taking Sara¡¯s route to Walmart since it''s more open. Toby, George, Greg, help me keep a lookout. Lucy, Sara, check them and get everyone up and moving again, as much as I want to give them a moment I¡¯m afraid we don''t have the time.


    And he was right about that last point, because the moment he finished his sentence a loud screech shattered the relative calm around us. The sound echoed from up the street, causing all of us to turn our attention that way just in time to see four figures come lumbering out of the dust. After over a day infected, the zombies clearly weren¡¯t doing as well. They all had visibly gaunt figures, and each step was seemingly forced as the bodies twitched and jerked with every motion. The jellyfish on the backs of their heads meanwhile, have swelled up to double in size, becoming as large as the victims heads and seemingly melted into the skin. This seems to have freed up the tentles, which are now moving freely through the air around their victim.


    ¡°Oh fuck those are even uglier up close!¡± George says. Greg just responds by gagging, trying not to lose his dinner while Toby just stares on in horror.


    ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, shoot them!¡± Robert says, leveling his shotgun at the closest zombie.


    It lurches forward with another scream, but unlike at the beginning of this mess it seems out of energy. Its lurch turns into a sad stumble as it flails its way towards us, desperately trying to keep its balance every step as the host body clearly can''t keep up with whatever demands the jelly is placing on it. A loud bang deafens me for a second as Robert fires his shotgun. The zombie never stood a chance, instantly being turned into a mix of red mist and tenderized torso as its front explodes from the hail of buckshot slamming into it. It its knocked backwards by the force of the hit despite originally going forwards, slapping into the ground with a wet thud as the whole thing, jelly included, twitches for a second more then stops altogether.


    A second bang, quickly followed by a third rings out from George as he shoots another one of the shambling puppets. His first shot misses but his second nails it in its right side, causing it to flinch and stagger, but still continue to stumble forward at a moderate pace. I turn and leave Karen and Seymore to Sara as she comes running over to help them. Robert shifts his aim and turns another one of the zombies half into paste while George shoots again and misses. At the same time Toby finally snapped out of his stupor, raising his gun and letting off a shot at the same target as George. His shot actually hit something important, as the zombie staggered one more step then crumpled to the ground.


    The last one was almost to Robert, who had moved the farthest forward, when he shifted the shotgun to its head and pulled the trigger. The now headless corpse hit the ground, and silence fell over the street once again¡­.. for all of three seconds until even more fucking screeching came from up the street.


    ¡°Oh for fucks sake!¡± I scream aloud.


    ¡°That¡¯s not good.¡± Toby says.


    ¡°Could this get any worse?¡± Greg asks, sarcastically.


    Well apparently he pissed off the universe with that question, because moments later we hear the distinct sound of glass shattering, followed by a weird popping, and what sound like mini explosions coming from the direction of the skyscraper we just evacuated. The sound rapidly intensifies as the ground starts to shake, getting worse and worse until I can''t stand anymore and end up on my ass. Moments later a new wave of dust washes over us.


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 Chapter 43

    As if the day couldn''t get any worse, the damn building fell over next to us. Well ok, we could have been in it when it fell but this is a close second. Visibly has gone from ass to total dog shit as I can barely see my own hand in front of my face. I climb to my feet, trying to listen for any more zombies through the ringing in my ears. I can barely hear them screeching, but I can''t tell if it''s the distance or my blown out hearing causing it.


    Unfortunately, the dust is now so bad it''s causing my eyes to sting. This brings with it a whole new set of problems, like the fact I can''t see anyone. I go to press the safety off on my gun, it taking me a moment to find the button to make sure it''s on the red setting. Probably should have been ready to shoot earlier but I didn''t want to shoot Seymore and Karen, and the follow up zombies were dispatched quickly enough.


    ¡°¡®cough¡¯ ¡®cough¡¯ Roll ¡®cough¡¯ call! Make noise if you''re not dead! Sara!¡± Robert screams out through the dust somewhere to my right. He runs through the list of names getting either an affirmative or hacking death coughs in reply. Toby and George are to my left, Sara, Seymore, and Karen are behind me, and Greg is somewhere between them and Robert. I''m called last, and simply reply calmly with ¡°On your left.¡±


    Unfortunately, the screeching the damned is getting closer, probably spurred on by all the noise Robert is making. The odd thing is, the screeching sounds almost pained. Maybe it''s the dust, either way, they are closing in slow enough they definitely aren''t charging us. The bad news is the lack of sight means we can''t see them, so we can''t shoot them, at least not from a distance, which is a huge danger for everyone else. Regular people will lose in a close up fight with these things every time.


    But I may have a solution to that problem, and the lack of sight plays into my favor here. I unshift my horns, feeling the new sense snap into existence a good twenty feet out. Feels a lot like opening a second set of eyes. To my right I sense who I assume is Robert, moving around a bit, slowly moving towards me. Behind me the three are huddled together. I can''t tell who is who but two are standing and one is on the ground, not a good sign. Toby and George look to be up and moving, albeit also slowly, while Greg is moving towards Robert. At Least he is until he falls to the ground, and I hear cursing from his general direction.


    I don''t sense the zombies yet, so I watch for them while everyone else gets their footing back. Eventually whoever was on the ground gets up, while Greg makes it to Robert and they start to move towards Toby And George. After a few moments of yelling back and forth, they make it to one another. So I start slowly walking my way back to the group. Emphasis on slowly, as every fucking rock in the road and on the sidewalk seems to be between me and then, and trying to gouge a hole in my foot. Super human strength and durability or not, stepping on a rock without a shoe hurts like a bitch.


    Then Karen, Sara, and Seymore start moving towards Robert and the other three, leaving me as the only one out. My ears have finally stopped ringing, allowing me to hear the unsettling sounds of the rubble settling and shifting down the street behind us. Right as I start to think that stepping out and unshifting may have been a waste of mana, the first of what is probably many zombies to come shambles into my detection range.


    I double check my gun, trying to keep my eyes open through the stinging of the dust. Safety off, round chambered.


    ¡°Lucy! Where are you?¡± Robert calls out, causing the zombie to pick up speed and change from producing a low gurgling noise to wretched and heavy breathing.


    ¡°Shit!¡± I hear someone curse behind me.


    I don''t respond, instead taking aim with both hands at where I feel the zombie. With a bang my first ever shot is fired with strained eyes through the blinding dust at a target I can''t even physically see. I fucking missed of course, judging by the metallic tang in the distance. And the recoil causes the gun to buck in my hand. I manage to keep hold on it thanks to my strength, but need to readjust my grip due to how much it moved. Note to self if I survive this, go to a shooting range and get practice, even if my parents are against it.


    The zombie of course takes major offense at the loud noise, and promptly changes its direction to straight at me. By the time I get my grip re situated, it''s only teen feet away, but moving at a jogging pace. I aim again and fire, this time ready for the recoil. It staggers for a moment, leading me to believe I''ve landed a hit, before it lets out an angry screech confirming it. Behind me, two of the survivor group break off and start rushing towards me.


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    I aim again and fire another shot, this one also causing it to stagger, while the pitch of its heavy breathing changes drastically. A second shot in rapid succession causes it to fall down, before the soul and parasitic attachment both unravel and fade away. Guess I hit something important. I call them zombies but mind controlled puppets is honestly a better description, the body will still stop working if it takes fatal damage. Probably a mercy honestly, I don''t want to even imagine what it would be like if they were still aware, just not in control.


    I turn towards the two survivors running toward me, hoping to stop them before they get close enough to see me, which would have to be very close, but still better safe than sorry.


    ¡°I''m fine, just more dead men walking. Stop running! I''m not healing you if you trip and sprain an ankle!¡± I chasize the two, causing them to slow down.


    ¡°Are there any more?¡± Robert calls out.


    I open my mouth to respond no, but because nothing can ever be easy another zombie walks into my sensing range before I can get the words out, followed a moment later by a second one.


    ¡°Yea, at least two more.¡± I respond, which causes the two to turn their paths directly towards me.


    ¡°Hold on, we''ll come help.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°No!¡± I call out, stopping him. ¡°Wait there, I don''t want to accidentally shoot you instead. I can handle it, just wait there.¡± I say as I take aim at the closer of the two approaching zombies.


    Robert says something back, but I can''t hear it over the sound of the bang of my pistol firing. My first shot is a hit, same with the follow up. Somehow I miss the third shot, the sound of the bullet ricocheting off something metallic further down echoing up the street. Fourth times the charm, as a wet squelch causes the zombie to stumble to the ground, the soul dispersing not long after. The second zombie is closing fast, picking up speed and letting out what sounds like eager moans as it zeros in on me.


    I think to myself about how the image of that sound coming from a zombie will be haunting my dreams as I fire the first of my last three rounds at it, the resulting hit causing a wet squelch and interrupting its moans. A second shot follows up with another hit. It staggers for a moment, but keeps going, now with a decrepit gurgling in place of the moaning. I hold my last shot, letting it get closer until it''s right in front of me. I begin to make out its silhouette through the dust, and pop my last bullet straight into its head. It snaps back, instantly falling silent as it seems to teeter for a second before falling over backwards.


    I walk forward until I can see the corpse before me, giving it a good kick to make sure its dead. It''s a young woman, can''t be any older than twenty five, and completely naked. I can only wonder why, the warning siren definitely gives enough time to get dressed. Of course I don''t get to wonder long, as three more zombies walk into my range from further down the street again. This is going to suck, because I¡¯m pretty sure we need to go that way. And I¡¯m out of ammo, well shit. Well I can still physically overpower them probably, especially since most of them seem to be decrepit, for lack of a better word. I guess having a brain sucking demon attached to the back of your skull will do that. I could blast them with a screech spell then beat the crap outta them. On second thought, not a good idea. I¡¯m already missing one shoe, and I don''t wanna risk damaging the gun by beating their skulls in with it. Granted I could just try to bash only the Jellyfish. I could also try to scrounge a new magazine out of the gun bag I''ve got, but I don''t know how they packed this thing. I might end up scrounging around forever and find nothing.


    I decide to play safer rather than sorry, with three of them and low visibility something could easily go wrong. I turn around and walk back to Robert and who I assume is either George or Toby, shifting my horns away before they can see me.


    ¡°So slight problem.¡± I say before I near where I last sensed them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s more of them.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°At Least three. Probably even more further out but I can''t hear them. Oh, and I need more ammo¡± I reply.


    ¡°Shit.¡± Robert says, only for Toby to pipe up before he can get another word in.


    ¡°Wait, don''t you have the gun bag? How are you out of ammo?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know how y''all packed this thing and I ain''t going to go digging through it while zombie wannabes with the munchies are walkin up on me.¡± I reply


    ¡°How far out are they?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°I don''t know, like thirty to forty feet maybe?¡± I reply, giving my best guess on the distances.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re heading back to the others. Toby, help her get a new magazine and some spares. We should have given her more to start.¡± Robert says, causing Toby to step up and grab one of the zippers on the bag on my back.


    ¡°Mags for your gun are stored in this pocket¡± He says while fishing out two new ones and handing them to me as we walk after Robert. ¡°There¡¯s also a few boxes of loose rounds in there if you ever need them.¡± He adds in.


    I thank him as I shove the spare in my pocket and swap out the empty one in my gun. I have to fight with the bag a bit to get my empty back inside but get it handled by the time we get back to the others, zipping the bag up as I almost walk into Robert''s back.


    ¡°Up the street is a no go, so we''ll have to go the Gates street route. The streets aren''t going to get any safer so we have to hurry. Everyone link hands and keep quiet, we might be able to use the poor visibility to our advantage. Robert says, addressing everyone else. Who I can''t see even while standing directly behind him. Something tells me this is gona be the shitiest shopping trip ever.

 Chapter 44: Long Way Around

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    It took a bit but we finally worked out a sort of buddy system and headed out. Everyone was responsible for keeping track of one other person, who was in turn responsible for someone else, creating a ¡®ring¡¯ of responsibility to keep us from getting separated. I''m responsible for Toby, and Robert is responsible for me. While Karen is responsible for George, who watches Greg, who watches Sara, then Seymore, and back to Robert. No idea why we did it like this, something about two people getting lost at the same time. I wasn''t really paying attention, just making sure the zombies didn''t get the drop on us. Eventually they got close enough to be dangerous, but by that point they were making so much noise Robert just turned them into red confetti without needing to see them. Makes me evermore happy that the shotgun wasn''t used on me.


    The walk to this nearby Walmart has been eerie as shit. The visibility has improved only slightly, being able to see two feet in front of us instead of one. But we''ve been majorly slowed down because we need to find and read the street signage at every intersection to make sure we''re going the right way. Of course, the low moaning, gurgling, and  occasional shrieking of the zombies echoing through the quiet streets isn''t helping.


    That made it all the more anxiety-inducing when I had to ¡®volunteer¡¯ to climb up some of the bigger poles at intersections to read the street names. Something about me being the strongest and most flexible because of my stats. I''d say it''s because they actually wanted to look at my ass, but visibility is still shit. Either way I get to play monkey.


    ¡°Madison and Carter streets.¡± I say as I come down off the pole.


    ¡°We''re on Carter Right now, if we head down Madison and take the second right we should end up Berkley.¡± Karen says.


    ¡°Let''s go then¡± Robert replies before stoically leading the group forward into the dust.


    And then we are back to silently moving through the dust addled hellscape that was once our little city. The dust is actually starting to settle so much it''s forming a layer on the ground. Every step I take my foot lands in what feels like a weird mix of sand and pillow fluff. The occasional crunch of someone stepping on something doesn''t exactly help my fears of slicing my own foot open. Slowly but surely we make progress though, passing one intersection, then making a right at the next.


    A random thought occurs to me, one I should probably ignore in favor of keeping my attention on our surroundings. But I give in anyway, wanting to ignore the absolute madness of the world for even just a moment. What the hell am I gonna do once we get out of this? Ignoring the first problem of if we get out of here. My thoughts are immediately thrown back to my conversation with Marcy the recruiter. College isn''t off the table, but I certainly have a lot more options. I could probably join a guild after this, Renders seemed nice. Assuming any guild would accept a ptsd ridden seventeen year old teenager. Wait, can I get ptsd? Do demons even get ptsd? More shit I''ll have to look into later. I''m sure Charles will be more than willing to help, assuming he isn''t dead. He lives in the northern part of town so the bunker he would have run to if he was at home would have been the central¡­.. shit. I really, really, really hope he was running the southern part of town for some stupid reason or another. Anna and my family would have ended up in the southern bunker, assuming they made it in time.


    Fuck, I¡¯m getting side tracked with depressive shit again. Where was I? Oh yea, shit I can do after this¡­. Should probably finish highschool first, if that''s even an option. I''ll probably have to transfer and do summer school or something. I highly doubt school will be back in session after this. College is probably on the table, my grades are good and I applied to a bunch, both local and far off. Funny, I think acceptance letters were supposed to start coming in this week. I wanted to go for somewhere that does magic research, but I also applied to a bunch of tech and even a medical college. Huh, I wonder if I can get into Unitypoint because I survived this. Universities like picking up students like that for the clout or something right? Actually, just being a defender would probably get me into their magic program, or at least help a lot. What better person to study magic than someone who can use it?


    As for non college opportunities, I definitely got the whole healer thing ahead of me. I could easily make this a full time thing and make lots of money once I get powerful enough. Flying solo is definitely a no go there unfortunately because Healers Inc exist and are assholes. So I definitely need to find a guild. Renders was kinda nice, as was¡­ what was that other one that sent me that email and weren''t spamming assholes? I''ll have to look them up again when I get home, assuming the house still exists. I really should explore my options, maybe I might¡­¡­ oooof.


    My runaway freight train of thought ground to a screeching halt as I smacked I to the back of Robert, almost knocking him over.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± I say, finally zoning back in on reality and realizing what made him stop. ¡°Well shit, we ain''t going this way.¡± Toby says. He couldn''t keep going forward because there isn''t really a road to follow anymore. Instead the road appears to be blocked by the massive remains of some building, and as far as I can tell, it''s pretty solid and high. probably no safe way to go over it, at least not for the others.


    ¡°We should check if the other side of the street is blocked.¡± Sara says. Only for Toby to shoot her plan down immediately. ¡°No point, if that''s the building I think it is, it''s gonna cover at least the next five blocks up. We might¡­.¡± Only he was interrupted by a loud rumbling in the distance. We couldn''t see it, but we could hear it happen somewhere across the city. Another building started coming down, bringing with it a thunderus roar that drowned out everything even at this distance while only slightly stirring the air around us.


    ¡°Great, more fucking dust.¡± Greg comments after the noise finally dies down. ¡°You know, I heard dust baths were a popular beauty treatment in China for a while.¡± Sara replies light heartedly, clearly trying to lighten the mood. It doesn''t work, because I hate dust so much at this point I''d rather be set on fire. I might be a little biased though because I''m missing a shoe and have walked through this shit for the last¡­. Damn how long have we been out here?


    ¡°I think our best bet would be to back track and cut back to Bretton Way. That should be far enough that we can go around the collapse.¡± Robert says. ¡°Or we could keep going on Madison and pass the building on the other side.¡± George replies.


    ¡°Except that would take us like another


    hour at our current pace.¡± Toby says.


    ¡°Better an hour then swinging closer to the cultist camp. That would put us like what, two blocks from their outer wall?¡± Greg chimes in.


    ¡°Alright, Greg has a good point. I take it no one else is comfortable getting close to the cultist base?¡± Robert asks, just to be met by a chorus of negatives.


    ¡°Lucy, could you possibly fly us over?¡± Karen suddenly asks me. I don''t even need to think before giving a reply. ¡°Nope, I''ll go mana broke before getting anyone across.¡± Because that shit is too damn expensive. I might be able to get over myself and have some left. But because that shit goes up in cost with more weight I just can''t carry another person that long.


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    ¡°Alright, let''s keep moving then.¡± Robert says, cutting back through the group and back the way we came.


    I follow suit, making a bit of a game to try and step back through my own footprints for shits and giggles. When we hit the previous intersection we turned left instead of right, continuing up the street somewhat parallel to the fallen building. Quietly shuffling through the devastated streets while the occasional screeching or weird sound flowed through the ruins of the city around us.


    I think it''s finally starting to set in, the fact that Shimerview is gone. Even if a significant number of people are alive in the southern bunker no one is going to want to live here again. The city is half wasted, the rest of the buildings are probably not fit for habitation anymore. And that''s not accounting for the fact that this place is the site of a tragedy not seen since the breach of 2034 in New York. I''m wondering if the factory will remain open, even though it''s outside the breach zone altogether. Fuck me, I need to think about something less depressing. What''s my mana at?


    Mana: 16,437/22,418


    Wait, my max mana went up a bit, but I didn''t put any points into attunement. Which means¡­..


    Oh fuck yea! Guess blasting those zombies was worth the effort. Well I know where those points are going. Aaaaaand done!


    Now for the real focus of leveling up¡­ Shopping time! Now what do I get?


    Looks like I have some new options. So I''m going to pick everything I want then buy it all at once, that way I don''t accidently miss something good. A shield crystal spell¡­. Constantly generates a shield on whoever I stick it on. Well that could be very useful in an area where we have a higher likelihood than not of being actively murdered. Still, eight points is very pricey, that''s more than the mana regen skill. Still that''s only one point more than the actual damage shield spell, and it stays up as long as the crystal doesn''t get destroyed. However, that also means it''s limited to one person. Still, a fair trade for some level of permanence I guess.


    The other three new additions are also interesting. A cleansing spell, pretty self explanatory, though it says it''s weak. Which isn''t a surprise given my level. A magical flare, because I totally need a hey I''m over here please come kill me spell. It might be useful later if we need to be rescued though. And finally, an aoe power boost that I can toggle on and off. It says it affects allies, so I''m assuming it ignores enemies. Might be useful depending on its range and boost amount.


    Now the question is what I want to choose. Definitely getting enchanted mana regeneration, and I''m also thinking of the shield crystal. While expensive, I think keeping people from getting munched is gonna be a hell of alot better than putting them back together afterward. Of course, those two together cost a whopping fourteen points, leaving me with only six left. I honestly can''t decide between cleanse, or maybe something like the empowering aura.


    Eh, I can always bank the points and buy whatever I need later. It''s not like I''m penalized for holding onto shop points. So for now, just the two.


    Yes, and Yes!


    Now, what is my mana drain at?


    Mana: 16,472/24,418


    .


    .


    .


    .


    Mana: 16,473/24,418


    I stare in disbelief for a few more seconds, then watch as the counter ticks UP again.


    Mana: 16,474/24,418


    Fucking finally. I let out a little chuckle. So long having to fucking dance around my mana pool so I don''t reveal myself! With the drain gone on full transformation, I now have a lot more freedom. Among other things, I can freely cast spells without worrying about how much closer each one puts me to zero. A massive boon in this shithole of what remains of the city.


    ¡°Great, she''s finally going insane on us.¡± George says from somewhere near the back.


    ¡°Shutup George, keep bitching and I''ll slap some insanity into you instead.¡± Karen turns around and snaps at him, catching all of us off guard. Well, almost all of us. Seymore interjects before George can come to his senses and escalate back.


    ¡°Now, now. This isn''t the place to be fighting each other, everyone. You wouldn''t happen to be willing to tell us what¡¯s so funny would you?¡± He asks in a calming but firm voice only an old man could have. I of course Stutter for a moment like an idiot, not having been expected to be thrown on the spot like that. Before finally regaining my composure and replying.


    ¡°It''s uh, a more personal thing. I managed to fix my pain in the ass mana issues. Well part of them anyway.¡±


    ¡°So wait, does that mean you can cast more spells?¡± Greg asks, catching on to the main point instantly.


    ¡°Yep, though I''ll still have to recharge if I use a lot of mana. And a new spell to help out.¡± I reply.


    ¡°That''s good, so what is the spell?¡± Robert asks, finally joining the conversation.


    ¡°A new floating rock. Works like the one on Seymore but instead of healing it generates a shield.¡±


    ¡°Cool, so where is it?¡± Toby asks, completely serious judging by his facial expression. At Least he''s not trying to be a smart ass.


    ¡°Well I haven''t made it yet.¡± I say with a humph.


    ¡°Can you make it now?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°Yea, but I¡¯ll need five minutes and won''t be able to walk while i''m doing it.. And it might be bright.¡±


    ¡°Do it, we¡¯ll take a short break here. Toby, George, help me keep watch.¡±


    We make our way to the edge of the sidewalk, the majority of the group,myself included, sitting down on the edge of a brick decorative planter running along the front of a building. Even covered in a thick layer of dust, the pink flower bushes seem to be trying their best to brighten up the box they reside in.


    As we sit down, I find myself sandwiched in the middle of the group, and promptly stared at. Well, only by Sara and Karen, as Seymore has the decency to only occasionally glance at me as he continually scans the area, despite the fact he isn''t on lookout duty. Sara and Karen however make no attempts to hide the fact they are waiting for the magic to start. And even Toby is occasionally looking over his shoulder to glance at me.


    ¡°It''s not anything fancy guys. Just a rock trying to do a bad LED impression.¡± I joke, as I start the process.


    The light picks up as my mana starts to flow, colessing above my hand and starting to weave into a visible form. But this time the pattern is different, but just as intricate as the health and mana crystals. I keep my focus on the process, continually feeding the mana draw while observing the forming crystal. Though it''s not like I could correct it if anything were to go wrong, it makes me feel better knowing I have some control over it. Eventually the light fades, and I''m left with a crystal the same size and shape as the health and mana ones, but a completely different color. This one has a gray body, with a seemingly constant wave pattern of a light blue embedded across the surface. It shines with a very dim light, and I feel it connect to me as it leaves my hand to float opposite the mana crystal around me. Similar to how the healing one did before I sent it to Seymore.


    A moment later I see, and feel, the shield come into being. A barely noticeable film shimmers into existence on me. A quick check reveals it covers my entire body from head to toe, even running along the bottoms of my foot and shoe, projected over clothing and exposed skin alike. I have no trouble breathing despite the full covering, and a quick stand up and stretch reveals no hampering of my movement. Already looking like a good investment, now I just need to figure out how strong this thing can get and how long it takes to reach max strength. Preferably before I need to depend on it in a fight.


    ¡°Shhhhhh!¡± Robert hushes in a harsh whisper before anyone can say anything while they¡¯re still gawking at my new fancy rock. ¡°We have company.¡±


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 Chapter 45: Street War

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    We all crouch low and listen. It takes me only a moment to pick up on the rumbling slowly increasing in volume. I might have noticed it earlier if I wasn''t concentrating on the crystal. Thankfully Robert noticed it with plenty of time to spare. I realize as everyone ducks behind various cars and the planter for cover that the rumble is mechanical in nature. A rhythmic humming with a deep undertone to it, interspersed with the occasional sputtering hiccup. Whatever vehicle it is clearly hasn''t had good maintenance. Bit by bit it gets closer and closer, then I start to make out the faint shine of light trying to cut through the dust. Slowly that gets brighter as sound continues to increase in volume and proximity.


    Two silhouettes slowly take shape, highlighted through the dust by the headlights of what I think is a truck at their backs. It''s hard to make out what they¡¯re wearing at first, but it becomes clearer the closer they get. Flowing robes reaching down their legs, with long sleeves covering most of their arms and baggy hoods over their heads. Cultists¡­. They advance slowly, pace on par with the truck as they seem to scan the area ahead of them. Man, these guys might as well hold up a fucking neon sign saying traitor to humanity. At least it makes them easy to identify, though that''s probably the point seeing as they basically own the city now. They continue moving up, slowly encroaching on where we are hiding as I look over to Robert to see if he has any plan.


    He doesn''t by the looks of it, as he also continues to hide while occasionally peaking at the approaching group.


    ¡°Hey, what''s the plan?¡± Toby whispers to Robert from a car over.


    ¡°Keep quiet and let them pass.¡± Robert says so quietly I''m probably the only person other than Toby that hears him. He motions for every one else to stay down as we all wait tensely for the cultists to pass.


    I don''t see anymore appearing out of the dust as they continue to close in, but that doesn''t mean they aren''t further behind¡­. Or in the truck. Speaking of, the truck is now close enough that I can tell it''s a box truck, probably for carrying loot. But that doesn''t necessarily mean that it isn''t carrying more cultists currently. About ten feet out one of the cultists says something, her voice breaking through the background hum of the truck.


    ¡°I''m telling you this isn''t the right street, we should have made a left at that last intersection.¡± Only for her partner, who sounds like an older man, to reply back.


    ¡°No, because that would have run us into a blocked street yet again. By lord Baylor you have the geographic acuity of an imp!¡±


    ¡°No I don''t! It¡¯s not my fault your ¡®shortcut¡¯ ended up taking us longer than the original route!¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t report the fallen building. I can¡¯t plan around what I don''t know about!¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should have stuck to the original route then. Maybe they sent us that way for a reason. If we followed that route we wouldn''t need to walk in front of the truck to screen for debris.¡±


    ¡°This way won''t take us much longer. Once we clear the fallen building we''ll be two streets away from the outpost and almost on time.¡±


    The cultists continue to bicker about their routing. But make no mention about where exactly they are going or what they are moving with the truck. All I can gleam is that they are moving something. Still, they don''t seem to be in a hurry. Which is detrimental to us because we need them to leave so we can stop hiding. After what feels like an eternity, but was probably only another minute, the truck and cultists pass us and walk off into the dust¡­ almost.


    The truck is about to fade from view when it suddenly stops, the tail lights just barely visible on the edge of my vision. Then the older cultist screams in a loud and annoyed tone.


    ¡°Oh more shit on the road! Can''t people learn to park properly!?¡±


    ¡°Really? That''s what you''re going to bitch about? Oh come on, is that really necessary?¡± The woman asks loudly in the distance, followed by grunting and the sound of¡­ is that metal creaking?


    ¡°Yes it is. I''m tired of these damn cars in the ¡®Hurrra!¡¯ road!¡± The older cultist replies, followed by the whistling sound of something flying through the air. And judging by the change in pitch and increase in volume that something is flying right at us!


    I barely have time to see a fucking smart car come flying out of dust and jump away before it slams down on and bounces off the car Toby is hiding behind. Somehow the car misses Toby, and promptly skids into the planter I was hiding behind a moment before. And where Sara and Karen are still hiding. Due to the first impact it doesn''t hit very hard, but it''s enough to smash half the planter, sending potting mulch, bricks, and plants all over Sara and Karen. Who both let out skreiks of terror as they were knocked fully to the ground and partially covered in dirt and brick debris. And becouse that wasnt enough panimonium, the fucking car that got yeeted started blaring it''s alarm on full blast. Its remaining lights flashing wildly while it did its best to deffen us.


    Seymore somehow managed to avoid all of that, diving in the other direction just in time to not be behind the planter. Karren starts to get up, visibly freaked out, but Sara isn''t moving. A million things start to run through my head at once. Holy fuck that was close. Did they know we were here? Was that throw just a coincidence? What if they heard us? What if Sara is dead? Are they coming to finish the job?


    I can¡¯t hear what the cultists up the road are screaming, only that they are screaming something back and forth. Toby sits up in a daze, probably still processing how he almost just died. Robert however surprises me with his next move. I expected him to try and take control and give out orders, but I stead he rushes over to Sara while calling out her name.


    I jump back in close, pocket my pistol, and start checking Sara while Robert''s running over. She''s breathing, but it seems a bit shallow. I brush my hand along her neck in a self admittedly poor attempt to check for a pulse when I hit something wet. Pulling my hand back reveals a fair bit of blood, and a quick check of the back of her head reveals a lot more rapidly soaking her brown hair. I look to Seymore and see he is moving fine, in fact he is going towards Greg who is currently hiding behind another car. Since he seems to be fine I recall my healing crystal from him, yelling his way to give him a heads up, I''m taking it back. He shouts something along the lines of do it as I reassign it to Karen, who is slowly crawling away from the wrecked remains of the planter. Then I turn my attention back to Sara and cast a heal on her. The power flows from me and jumps into her, causing her to glow faintly in the dim lighting for a moment.


    I feel around behind her head again to see if the bleeding has stopped but I can''t tell accurately due to all the blood already soaking her hair. Robert gets to us a moment later, frantically as all hell.


    ¡°Sara! Sara! Oh my god what''s wrong with her!?¡± He practically screams.


    ¡°I don''t know! She had a cut on the back of her head but I think I healed it.¡±


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Why isn''t she waking up?¡±


    ¡°I literally just healed her! Give her a minute.¡± I say, but I''m interrupted by George screaming above everything else.


    ¡°Oh shit! Another Car! Duck!¡± He screams, as I turn just in time to see another car go sailing way over our heads to smash down somewhere behind us. That doesn''t mean we all don''t duck until we hear the crash though.


    Through the frantic chaos of the car''s alarm and our own screaming I can make out the mocking laughter of one, if not both of the cultists. They definitely know we are here, and that second car was intentional.


    ¡°Toby! Come fucking help me!¡± George screams at the dazed man still on his ass, knocking him out of his stupor.


    ¡°Robert, go help them.¡± I tell the man who is still crouched over an unconscious Sara like he might be able to do something.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°No buts! They are going to need that shotgun! I''ll heal Sara. That asshole throwing cars needs to go before he hits us, or her again.¡± I snap at him, emphasizing Sara is in danger to get him moving.


    He sits for a moment, seemingly fighting with himself over the decision before getting up.


    ¡°Alright, just keep her safe please.¡±


    ¡°I''ll try. And here, take the shield crystal with you.¡± I say while re assigning the crystal to Robert just as the first shots ring out.


    This causes the nearly imperceptible film around me to shatter into hundreds of strands of light that melt away out of existence as fast as they appeared. The film then reappears on Robert as he runs off to help the others, crystal flying in behind him to catch up.


    I turn my attention back to Sara, who still isn''t moving but seems to be breathing better. I think she is at least, but I hit her with another heal just to be safe. Nothing visually changes, so I can only hope it fixes some internal issue. Damn it, I''ve got no medical training, where the fuck is Karen?


    I don''t have to look far to find Karen, as she''s curled up into a sobbing, shuddering wreck a mere foot from the remains of the planter.


    I want to check on her, but Sara still isn''t showing any signs of waking despite two heals. Deciding that I''m not going to be able to do anything else for Sara without more knowledge of what''s wrong, I get up to go check Karren. But the moment I get off my knees, I hear the tell tale whistling of another car flying through the air. A second later another one of the damn ugly boxes on wheels slams into the crumpled remains of the first one. Both cars go silent and skid along a few feet, coming dangerously close to me and Sara but thankfully stopping short.


    With the car alarm no longer blazing in my ear I can clearly hear the pandemonium and gunfire blaring through the street around us. There are definitely more cultists than just the two, as I hear lots of screaming coming from their direction.


    ¡°Hey, that was our damn cover!¡± A man in the distance yells.


    ¡°Too bad, I''m using it now!¡± The old man cultist replies.


    A moment later a shot rings out, followed by the sound of a car flying through the air shortly before smashing into another.


    ¡°Kindra, these assholes have guns. Fucking barbecue them already.¡± The old man bitches.


    ¡°Toby, watch the left side! Don''t let them get behind us.¡± I hear Robert order, followed by a single shot from the shotgun. And judging by the cultist¡¯s cries, it was a good shot.


    ¡°Fuck, they got sam!¡±


    ¡°God damn it! Shoot these assholes!¡±


    And that was apparently the push the cultists needed to start shooting. Almost half a dozen loud bangs ring out simultaneously as sparks fly all over the street from poorly aimed shots. And the bangs just rapidly repeat, over, and over, and over as sparks keep spraying across the street. These fuckers have automatic weapons! This is exactly why I didn''t want to fight and fucking cultists! Asshats have automatic guns and are throwing fucking cars around!


    The gunfire dies after a few seconds, giving enough reprieve for me to pick my head up and see an excessively bright ball of light come flying from where I assume the cultists are holding and slam into the ground in front of the cars Toby and George are hiding behind. The resulting explosion knocks the cars back, and sends a wave of heat I can feel even from back here.


    ¡°Ahahaha, I think I got one!¡± The cultist woman, presumably Kindra, cackles like some demented witch.


    It''s quickly becoming clear we are outmatched hard, especially if they have more of those¡­. I think that was a damned fireball spell. I can''t help Karen right now, she and Sara are either going to be fine or not. But if we don''t deal with these cultists somehow, none of us are gonna be fine. I get up into a half crouch and start quickly making my way towards the closest person, which happens to be Toby. It only takes me a second to step past the remains of the planter and get up next to him. His eyebrows are singed, his hands red, and parts of his sleeves have brown patches, but otherwise he looks fine. I highly suspect he is gonna have burns on his hands, but adrenalin is probably masking the pain for now.


    Behind the car to our right is George, who is much worse off. He doesn''t have any burn indications, but he''s holding a bloody left shoulder, with blood still actively running down his hand and onto the ground. Shit, I didn''t hear him get hit, hopefully I can fix it. Further to our right I barely see Greg and Seymore fighting with a weapon, pulling parts out of the gun bag and hastily trying to assemble it. There''s only one person I don''t see.


    ¡°Fuck, where¡¯s Robert?¡± I ask Toby while giving him a poke with a healing spell.


    ¡°Don''t know, he told us to hold here then ran off down the left side.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°Hey, I need some fucking healing over here!¡± George snaps at me.


    ¡°I¡¯m working on¡­..¡± I go to snap back, only to be interrupted by the return of automatic gunfire and bullets sparking down the street around us. Fucking cultists cant see us, and we cant see them, but they seem more than happy to blind fire away at us.


    ¡°Stop spraying you idiots! Fucking waste of ammo and air you lot are! Go up there and finish off the survivors!¡± Someone screams from the cultist¡¯s side.


    Well shit, sounds like we¡¯re going to have company, the bad kind. I poke my head back up just enough to see over the car. What I find concerns me even more, a bright light forming in the distance. Like hell I¡¯m letting that bitch throw another fireball for free. I gather as much mana into a screech as possible then send it hurdling into the dust set to disorient. I¡¯m not going to hurt shit at this range, and who knows how much armor or other bullshit those cultists have, but I might be able to make the fireball thrower rethink turning herself into a beacon. Really hope Robert doesnt get caught by it.


    My ¡®attack¡¯ works better than expected, as the pulse of sonic mana bullshit cuts through the dust, leaving a sort of wake of its path as it flies into the distance. I know immediately when it hits the cultists, as the bright light of the preparing fireball wavers and swings around for a moment, before seemingly being flung in a random direction to the side. Apparently the fireball was still active, as when it presumably slams into the upper part of a building it explodes, letting off a loud boom and accompanying shockwave. Lots of curses can be heard from the cultist¡¯s side, followed a moment later by the crunch and scrapping of something big and metallic hitting the ground. One of the cultists immediately starts screaming bloody murder.


    ¡°Ahhhhh, My leg! My fucking leg!¡±


    ¡°Shut up! My heads fucking spinning and if you keep bitching yours will be literally!¡± The old man crankally complains.


    But the guy doesn''t shut up, he keeps letting out blood curdling after blood curdling scream about his leg. Didn''t expect to cause some friendly fire on their side but I''ll take it. Unfortunately, the cultists seem to have taken offense to me in particular now.


    ¡°Get your asses up and find that fucking caster! They will make a fine gift for lord Sbrugreth!¡±


    ¡°Shut up you old crow! My fucking head is still spinning!¡± Fireball throwing cunt replies.


    Since the cultists seem preoccupied bitching at each other and not shooting at us, I cross the small gap between the cars and get up next to George, who is still holding a bloody and bleeding left shoulder. I tap him with a healing spell and watch him carefully to measure its effects. That''s when I notice he has blood running down the back of his shirt too. I curse to myself as I turn him sideways to get a look at his back. What greets me is another bullet hole in the shirt with a heavy trail of red staining down the back and starting to seep into the pants. I really hope this is an exit wound and that this dumbass didn''t get shot twice. Unfortunately, because of blood and the shirt itself, I can''t get a proper look.


    ¡°Take off your shirt, I need to inspect the wound.¡± I tell him.


    To my surprise he doesn''t complain, but he does wince hard when he tries to move his arm to take the shirt off. We don''t have time to finagle around getting his shirt off, so i decide to ask for forgiveness later and just grab the holes and rip away the whole area. Now with an unobstructed view I can see the wound clearly, which is slowly closing. I don''t think the bullet is lodged inside, at least I can''t see it if it is. And I''m not comfortable just digging at a random wound, so the best is to hope it''s not and close the wound.


    The healing seems to be working, albeit slowly, as the edges of both holes start slowly closing together and the bleeding slows. Unfortunately, the healing slows about two thirds of the way there, before falling off completely, leading me to have to use another spell.


    ¡°Ah, fuckin my hands!¡± Toby silently curses next to us. I look over to see his hands aren''t nearly as red as before, but he is struggling to hold his pistol. I guess the adrenalin is starting to wear off so the burn pain is coming back with a vengeance.


    I go to slip back across when a loud repetitive thundering makes us all duck in behind our cover again. It takes me a moment to recognise the sound as the shotgun Robert uses, and no bullets or fireballs are screaming by us. No, instead the cultists start screaming bloody murder about being murdered. It ranges from begging for mercy to just chaotic screaming.


    It ends when the bright light of another fireball rapidly flashes into existence before flying a very short distance then exploding. This explosion wasn''t nearly as big as the ones before, but it leaves silence ruling over the street save for the agonized moans of a lone surviving cultist.


    ¡°Aaaaah fuck! Kindra you fucking bitch! You¡­..!¡±


    The cranky old man cultist is apparently still alive too, but his tirade is cut short by a final shotgun blast in the distance.


    ¡°I don''t know how you survived the last hit but you won''t this¡­.¡± Kindra starts screaming as another fireball flashes into existence down the road. But a loud, sharp bang off to our right silences her, leaving the fireball to fall to the ground in a small explosion, hopefully taking the bitch with it.


    Looking to my right I find Seymore holding the marksman rifle, propped up on a car and scoped in looking down the street.


    ¡°Infrared scopes are god''s gift to snipers.¡± Is all he says. Then silence rules the street once more, aside from the death moans of the last cultist and Karen¡¯s quiet sobbing.


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 Chapter 46: Looting

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    It''s quiet for a moment, before I get over to Toby and hit him with another heal. Hopefully that will be enough to get rid of any remaining burns. I look over to see George is fine now too, the wound on his shoulder barely visible.


    ¡°George, Toby, Seymore, go check on Robert and make sure those assholes stay dead. Greg, come help me with Sara and Karen.¡± I take charge and give out orders. George looks like he wants to argue but is stopped by a simple ¡°Sure thing¡± from Seymore.


    Me and Greg make our way back over to Karen and Sara, who are still near the wrecked planter. I bend down to check Sara while pointing Greg to Karen. Sara''s breathing is fine at least, but she still isn''t awake yet. Which is very concerning, because I don''t think my healing can do any more. Karen finally starts moving after Greg whispers something to her. She''s still shaking, but at least isn''t sobbing anymore.


    In the distance I hear some shouting by the others, followed by a quick bang. I turn and tense up, ready for whatever may come next. I start to relax after the shouting continues but no more shots ring out. I turn back to find Karen sitting up, with Greg rummaging through the food bag on her back. Karen isn''t crying anymore, but is still red eyed and shaking.


    ¡°How long has she been out?¡± she asks, presumably talking about Sara.


    ¡°Since the first car. She had a cut on the back of her head but I healed it.¡± I reply.


    Karen just sniffles for a moment, before taking a deep breath to recompose herself.


    ¡°She probably has brain damage. We''ll need specialized care to help her.¡± Karen says.


    ¡°Shit!¡± Is all I can muster in response.


    ¡°Yea, we are not finding anything like that around here.¡± Greg states.


    ¡°Karen, are you good? I might need the healing crystal for the others.¡± I state.


    Karen looks up at me, jumping a little as the healing crystal slowly spins around into her vision.


    ¡°Uh, yes. I think I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll check Sara in a minute after I catch my breath. Go make sure the others are OK.¡± she replies.


    I give Greg a look to ask him to keep an eye on Karen. Thankfully he gets what I¡¯m asking immediately and nods affirmatively in return as Karen sits back down next to Sara. I recall the healing crystal and start making my way up the street. From the sound of it the shouting has devolved into bickering, with everyone seeming to have differing opinions over something.


    ¡°We might have gotten something out of the cock sucker. We should have interrogated them!¡± George argues.


    ¡°Cultist or not, leaving someone in that condition like that is too brutal.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°Toby is half right George. We weren¡¯t going to get anything out of them like that. And having Lucy heal them would have just been a massive waste of resources.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°We shouldn''t care about them at all. They already gave away their humanity. But that one wasn''t going to be giving us anything useful either. The grunts normally just follow the orders of the higher ups.¡± Seymore comments.


    It''s easy to hear them down the street now that everything is quiet. And I''m so focused on the conversation I almost stumble into the hole left by the fireball that exploded in front of our caricade. Just looking at it makes me happy we somehow avoided a direct hit from those. The road is gouged out a good four inches down and half a foot in diameter, with what was clearly molten slag pooled up at the bottom but now cooled. At least cooled enough not to be glowing hot, as I can still feel a faint heat coming from it when I''m on the edge.


    I slip around the hole, making extra sure I don''t step anywhere near the edge to be better safe than sorry. I continue over to the others as quick as I can while they continue their bickering. Now they''ve moved on to discussing about what to do with the cultists truck.


    ¡°It would be nice if we could use it, think they left the keys in it?¡± Toby asks.


    ¡°No dice, it could have anything ranging from a simple tracker to a remote bomb. One of the things they drilled into us was never vehicles you find laying around or reappropriated from the enemy. Magic makes it all too easy to set explosives damn near untraceable by normal means that have nasty trigger conditions. The most we should do is carefully loot it for small supplies.¡± Seymore replies.


    ¡°I ain''t using no tainted shit!¡± George snaps.


    ¡°We''re not picking up anything tainted George. We steal anything that looks useful and probably isn''t contaminated.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°So we are looting it?¡± Toby asks.


    ¡°As long as we don''t take anything big we should be fine.¡± Seymore replies.


    I¡¯m almost to them when the smell hits me. Though it might be better to say I hit the smell, because it was like a brick wall. Something akin to burnt bacon or maybe a burnt steak, but so much more intense and vile. I wrinkle my nose an gag for a second, before managing to recompose myself and keep going. I never wanted to know what a burnt person smelt like, and unfortunately now I do.


    As I get closer to the bickering group the smell only gets worse. I seriously wonder how these guys can stand around and argue in the middle of this. Soon I can even make out gouges and splatters in the dust where stray bullets had been sprayed down the road. Soon I stumble across the first set of bodies. Three of them bunched and jumbled together behind A fairly large work truck. Well, what was left of them anyway. Most of the cultists midsections have had huge chunks just removed, blood, guts, and other viscera slathered about both the bodies and surrounding environment. Their automatic rifles jumbled and tangled with their limbs and robes in what was probably a panicked attempt to bring them up.


    I move on, repressing the nasty memories of the corpses strewn about the streets shortly after the attack. Speaking of, I haven''t seen any corpses in the streets recently. I wonder if all the zombies ate them all. A few steps later I find the remains of the rest of the cultist group. A lot of these one have chunks missing like the last three, but with the added damage of being massively burned. Some of the other corpses aren''t part chunky man salsa, but are none the less still mostly overcooked people pork. A lot of them are burned only on the back, laying face down, like they were trying to run away but the fire caught them anyway.


    Looks like fireball bitch cooked her own team mates trying to kill Robert. And the fact that he¡¯s arguing right now makes me wonder how he didn''t join them. The shield isn''t that powerful is it? It can''t be, all my shit is supposed to be low level.


    I step past one cultist who has a bullet hole right between his eyes and continue towards the sounds of the bickering, only to find the four of my survival group mates standing over a final charred body with a box truck parked behind them.


    ¡°How the hell are you all standing around with this smell?¡± I ask them.


    ¡°My nose doesn''t work.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°I''ve smelt worse during my service.¡± Seymore says.


    ¡°Dumbasses at my college frat house.¡± Is all George says, like that explains everything. Just the opposite, leaves me with more questions.


    ¡°I''m trying to ignore it.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°Cool, does anyone need any more healing?¡± I ask, hoping to get it out of the way as soon as possible.


    ¡°I''m fine.¡± Robert replies, which makes me raise an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°Still feelin young, so no complaints here.¡± Seymore says.


    ¡°My hands still sting a little but¡­¡± Toby starts, only for George to start yabbering.


    ¡°Yea, my shoulder still fuckin hurts. You said you healed it but it doesn''t feel fucking healed!¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°George, don''t be an ass.¡± Robert chastises him.


    ¡°Look George, I¡¯ve already healed you twice. Not only do I have NO medical training yet, I got this shit only like TWO days ago! Go ask Karen to check you over and if she says you need another heal I will give you one. But if the first two didn''t do it there is a good chance it''s beyond my abilities. I don''t have mana to be wasting right now¡± I snap at him.


    Mana: 7,957/25,008


    Fucking hell I knew the shield crystal took a big chunk but I didn''t think I was that low. At least I regenerate mana now instead of slowly losing it.


    ¡°So, Toby, you said your hands still hurt?¡± I turn and ask him. Pointedly ignoring the fuming George who starts stomping off to get the required second opinion.


    ¡°Yea, just a little left over stinging. I think you fixed most of the burns already.¡±


    I set the healing crystal on Toby and turn my attention to Robert as he and Seymore turn towards the cultist box truck.


    ¡°And Robert, you''re sure you''re fine? Didn''t you like, take a fireball to the face or something?¡± I ask him, my skepticism leaking into my tone as I follow them.


    ¡°Almost, but she missed when I ducked behind the other side of their cover instead of jumping into the middle of them.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°OK, still, how didn''t you get shot?¡± I follow up, only to receive a shrug and a quick. ¡°I think the shield blocked or deflected them.¡± Which is completely bonkers and probably bullshit given my level but at this point I''m not gonna bother caring as long as he doesn''t need healing.


    It isn''t until we are on top of the box truck that I realize its back door is open, already thrown up and retracted into the ceiling. What we find waiting for us is a bunch of boxes all piled throughout the back. About half of them are cardboard, stacked ontop of one another and slapped with various labels and symbols that might mean something to the cultists. A few are clearly homemade wooden crates, crudely slapped together from what I suspect are planks originating from old pallets. The remaining small handful, three to be exact, are secure metal containers. Army grade, secure metal containers. How do I know this despite having never seen one? Might be the fact that the closest one is right in my face and painted with ¡®PROPERTY OF UNITED STATES ARMY¡¯ all over it.


    ¡°Score!¡± Toby yells.


    ¡°Not quite, we need to be careful about what we take.¡± Seymore replies, before leaning his rifle against the edge of the truck''s deck and lifting himself up with the side handle.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re feeling alot better Seymore. Think you can keep the rifle out? I know it will be tough without a sling.¡± Robert addresses him as he and Toby pull themselves up into the truck.


    ¡°Little missy¡¯s magic got my arthritis under control. I should be able to make it work. Now this¡­¡± Seymore says as he slaps the top of one of the military crates. ¡°Is a more pressing issue.¡±


    ¡°They probably stole them from the bunker they took over.¡± I surmise aloud.


    ¡°No, bunkers don''t have the kind of hardware these would contain. At Least they shouldn''t. They might be repurposed but, I don''t see any of the usual marks for Jimmy open job.¡± Seymore replies.


    ¡°Jimmy open job?¡± I ask.


    ¡°These models are probably older than you youngin. And they are absolute pieces of shit.¡± He says, then points to the side of the box.


    I hop up into the back of the truck, not even having to step up as I manage it in one ¡®small¡¯ jump. Increased stats for the win, though I''ve only put like one point into everything else. The rest is still just he bullshit bonuses from getting turned.


    The ¡®box¡¯ is a rectangular metal crate with reinforcement bands running all along the sides and top, about two feet long and a foot wide. Outlined with many groves, handles, and even a few latching points so it can be hooked on any side or the top. It looks sturdy, but Seymore says otherwise.


    ¡°These were the United States Army''s first attempt at a modern, smart, and tough storage solution for both logistics and on the battlefield. But these wastes of metal were more a hindrance than anything. They were supposed to have some sort of advanced system that would make it pop open automatically if an authorized user tried to access it. Saving you the precious seconds of fiddling with the locking code. But it never worked, damn things would randomly pop open if an officer walked by or half the time not open at all. You could tape your dog tags to your ass and twerk in front of it like a party girl who''s had too much to drink and it would just sit there beeping angrily at you. Don''t ask, we were bored as shit sometimes between assignments.¡±


    The image of buff military dudes twirling in front of a box was one I didn''t need in my head. And judging Robert and Toby''s reactions they didn''t either.


    ¡°Then the ducking codes never even worked. Half the time the damn boxes would forget their own codes. And with no physical keys your options were to rub yourself all over the box like a striper or go get some random dude to walk by it and hope it opened.¡± Seymore continues. And honestly, having this story told to me by a guy who looks in his eighties is kinda surreal.


    ¡°That is until someone named Jimmy figured out how to reliably get the damn things open. Not regulation obviously, but by that point even the officers didn''t care. Thus the Jimmy job was born. One Of you youngins finds me something somewhat thin and I''ll have these open in a jiffy.¡±


    ¡°How thin are we talking?¡± Toby asks as he dives further into the back of the truck to start ruffling through the cardboard boxes.


    ¡°No bigger than a fifth an inch I''d say.¡±


    ¡°We''ll see what we can find. In the meantime let''s sort through the boxes we can access. We probably don''t have long before they send someone or something to check on all that noise.¡± Robert replies.


    And he has a point, we can probably scavenge some of the cultist''s guns off them. Anything else we can yoink from this truck would be extra helpful. Seymore breaks off his ogling of the metal crates in favor of helping the other two guys loot the cardboard boxes. I have a different idea however, and beeline straight for the home made wood ones. The others may have ignored them since they probably can''t open them, but that isn''t a problem for me.


    I get to the first one, this ugly five by one foot thing coming up my waist is made of a mismatch of different wood types. I check the edges of the lid and lo and behold, I can get my fingers under it well enough to get some grip. With a good upward yank I cause the nails holding it on to bend and give slightly while the rest of the bxo creaks a little. A second yank and the lid comes clean off and I throw it to the side, revealing the contents inside.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± I blab aloud, completely caught off guard by the contents.


    It''s just random bits of metal, some long, some fat, some thicker than my arm. Tubes, plates, random twisted and sorted bits. Just a shity box filled with scrap metal. I was expecting food, ammo, weapons, medical, basically anything but random scrap.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Robert asks, not being able to see inside the crate from where he is.


    ¡°It''s metal, just crap tons of shity metal.¡± I reply.


    ¡°They might be using it to build or something? Oh sweet, jackpot!¡± Toby shouts. I look over to see him pulling some reflective looking bags out of one of the cardboard boxes. Something is written on them but I can''t quite make out what.


    ¡°We are not eating those Toby.¡± Robert states plainly.


    ¡°Why not, we''re not going to survive on just gummy worms.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°First off, we have more than gummy worms, You know this since you helped pack the bags. Second, we don''t know what the cultists have done with those. They could be tainted for all we know.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°Don''t necessarily need to be tainted. Those are the old UGR-E rations. Some of those were nasty when they were new. But I think those were phased out a while ago. Check the expiration date on them.¡± Seymore says as he walks over and starts digging through the box I just opened.


    ¡°Uggg, September of twenty thirty three! Shit, cultists can keep these!¡± Toby spits as he slaps all the MREs back into the box.


    ¡°Yea, I¡¯ll take my chances with the gummy bears.¡± I reply as I reach down to rip the lid off another wood crate. This one takes three tugs, but I get it to pop free and peruse its contents.


    This one is somehow weirder than the last one. Waiting for me is a crate filled to the brim and completely stuffed full of boxes of tampons. I mean, there are women among their ranks, but sending this many seems excessive. I vaguely recall those two in front of the truck arguing about getting to an outpost. So why send an ungodly amount of tampons to an outpost¡­ it just doesn''t make sense. I pull a few boxes out, they don''t feel unusually heavy, so I set them aside and open one. It contains¡­. tampons. OK, weird. Maybe something deeper in the crate?


    I keep digging, creating a small pile next to me of tossed away boxes. It only takes another layer of boxes till I notice the neat stacking of the contents seems to fall off as boxes sit crooked and not as well packed. Almost as if they are stuffed around something deeper in. A few more Haphazardly discarded boxes later, and something long, round, black, and metallic sits partially still buried. I stare for a moment, unsure of what I''m looking at before I just reach in and yank the thing out.


    This reveals more like it stacked below and next to it, before boxes tumble into the new space and partially obscure those too. The first thing I notice is that this thing is heavy. Not so bad that a regular person couldn''t lift it but they definitely wouldn''t want to carry it around all day. The tube is about six inches in diameter, and maybe a foot long. It has some strange caps on the ends, one of which is flat, the other sticking out more and slightly rounded. I roll it over in my hands, looking for any kind of identifying markings to figure out what I''m dealing with.


    ¡®FGM-305 Tube Unit¡¯


    OK. What the hell is a FGM-305 then? It looks kinda like military hardware, at least I''m getting that vibe from it. I hold up the writing side to Seymore, who is currently trying to shimmy a piece of metal into the seal on the metal crate.


    ¡°Hey Seymore, do you know what a FGM-305 is?¡± I ask him, which causes him to snap his head around so fast I''m afraid for a moment he snapped his own neck.


    ¡°Oh. Oh no. That is the missile tube for a FGM-305 Manpad Launcher. The fact the cultists have that is concerning.¡± The old man replies. Before going back to attacking his box with renewed vigor.


    ¡°Great, now we gotta worry about cultists with rocket launches and demons.¡± Toby days as he rips open another cardboard box.


    Before anyone can say anything else a loud pop comes from the box Seymore is working on. He shoves his impromptu shiv deeper into the box then slashes down the crease between the lid and the rest of the box. The lid pops up and fully swings open with a light groan.


    ¡°No son, the cultists have to worry about us with rocket launches now. Be a dear and bring me that missile Lucy.¡± The old man says as a shit eating grin overcomes his face.


    While I don¡¯t appreciate being called dear by an old man with a creeply happy grin, I do as asked because I like where this is going. Seymore reaches down and with a grunt and no small amount of effort pulls a damned shoulder mounted rocket launcher out of the box.


    ¡°Ooooh shit, who''s gonna get to use it?¡± Toby asks with a hint of glee and want leaking into his voice.


    ¡°Not you, noodle arms, this thing kicks like a damn elephant. And I''ve seen you barely handling that shotgun there Robert''s got.¡± Seymore says.


    ¡°Hey! My arms aren''t noodles!¡± Toby replies, but Seymore ignores him and continues.


    ¡°I''m too old to use this myself, I try and I¡¯ll blow out my shoulder. But I can teach you all how to. It''s easy, they managed to make them so even idiots could fire it with simple instructions. So even that crank ball George can fire it if necessary.¡±


    That gets a snort out of me, because George is an ass and I will enjoy shit talking him behind his back like a teenager any day of the week. Oh wait, I am a teenager, even better.


    ¡°So who do you recommend holds it? Because we are not fitting that thing in a bag.¡± Robert says matter of factly.


    And he''s right. Now that Seymore has fully pulled the launcher out it''s easy to see just how damn big it is. The thing is at least two feet long, and that''s without the ammo tube attached. It''s bulky, with padding where I assume the shoulder would go when aiming, near the back of it. An optics piece juts out about where a person''s eyes would be, but is clearly more digital that traditional given that it looks like a pair of night vision goggles. A keyboard of sorts sits in front of the optics covered in all sorts of buttons and even a dial and a selector switch.


    ¡°Little missy here is our best choice. She''s got the strength to carry and fire this effortlessly.¡± Seymore says, much to my surprise.


    ¡°Me?¡± I ask, caught off guard. Because who gives a seventeen year old a missile launcher?


    ¡°Yes you. As I said anyone with a pulse can fire this. It''s heavy, meant to be dragged around by dedicated teams of two, one for the launcher, one of the ammo. So the problem isn¡¯t skill, it''s weight. Even now I¡¯m getting tired holding it. Here, take it and you¡¯ll see what I mean.¡± He says as he offers me the damned missile launcher.


    I timidly take it, even as Toby objects, voicing what I¡¯m pretty sure is on everyone''s minds. ¡°Not to sound like a sore loser, or say Lucy¡¯s bad or anything. But is uhhhh¡­¡­ how old is she? Is it really a good idea to give her the launcher?¡±


    I take the launcher before anyone else can reply, and I immediately feel what he means when he says it''s heavy. The launcher itself has to be at least thirty pounds. At Least I think it''s thirty pounds, since my sense of weight is a bit warped versus a regular person due to my strength. But that just makes me realize Seymore is right, I can carry this all day if I need to. It won''t be pleasant, but probably doable. A regular person without fitness training like Robert, Toby, Greg, or even George. They might be able to heft this around for a few hours at most, and would probably struggle to aim and fire it properly. Especially if they were already fatigued from toting it all day. I throw it up onto my shoulder to get a feel and find it''s actually fairly comfortable thanks to the padding on the shoulder rest.


    ¡°Seymore¡¯s the expert here. If he says it¡¯s the best course we follow along. Worst case scenario she just holds it until someone else needs to fire it. Besides, Lucy has proven herself fairly responsible.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°Fair. We should finish up here. If that''s what they were transporting no way in hell they aren''t going to check all the noise and come looking for this truck.¡± Toby replies.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give Lucy here some training on it while you two finish up. Since we know they are transporting military grade hardware, look for any gear or ammo.¡± Seymore states as the other two get back to work. I barely have time to register the statement before Seymore is all up on me about my posture and grip.

 Chapter 47: Weapon Safety

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    ¡°Finally, this white button here near the trigger is the one that sets it to free fire mode. When in free fire mode it acts more like a rocket than a missile, and the optics will give you a line approximating where it will fly. The other button, the red one behind it, is the safety. It wont fire regardless of mode with the safety on. Depressed is safety off, out is safety on. Notice how the two buttons have different textures on them. Safety has grit on it and the free fire mode is smooth. Try not to mix them up.¡± Seymore says, finally finishing up his five minute sermon on the basics of firing a missile launcher. I also learned the difference between missiles and rockets, missiles are guided after firing, while rockets are not.


    ¡°Final important lesson. Always check your back before firing. Most of the gasses go out the back so anyone caught behind you will catch those gasses.¡± He states, I nod in confirmation before he continues. ¡°Those gasses are not only hot enough to cook a man, they are compressed and traveling fast enough to hit like a bullet. Ever been hit by a car or truck?¡± He asks.


    ¡°Uh, I got hit by the big ugly super zombie before.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Now imagine that but you¡¯re also being actively microwaved.¡± Seymour says in a deadpan tone.


    Oh, yea that doesn''t sound pleasant. Wait, how does he know that? Never mind, I probably don¡¯t want to know.


    ¡°So check my ass before I fire. Got it.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Good.¡± is all Seymore gets out before he is interrupted by Toby and Robert coming back out of the depths of the truck. Carrying a commandeered light brown duffel bag under each arm for four bags worth of looted stuff.


    ¡°Alright, we got some more ammo and even some medical supplies.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°No food?¡± I ask him. I understand we have some on us but more wouldn''t hurt, and who knows how looted the Walmart will be.


    ¡°No, only food was those expired MREs. The rest of this stuff was assorted ammo, mags, building materials and other random crap.¡± Toby replies, hoping past us and down out of the truck.


    ¡°Any more of those ammo duffels? We should take as many spare missiles as Lucy can carry.¡± Seymore says.


    ¡°No, these were the only ones we found¡­¡­ here one second.¡± Robert says, before setting down the duffels and his shotgun. He unzips one, before unceremoniously flipping it upside down and dumping all the contents onto the floor. Loose bullets, boxes of five five six ammo, and few magazines for the assault rifles the cultists were carrying all come tumbling out onto the floor.


    Robert then throws the bag to Seymore. ¡°Here, pack as many as you can carry. I¡¯d rather have a loaded missile launcher than some extra rifle ammo. Me and Toby are going to scavenge what''s left of the weapons off the cultists, then meet up with Karen, Greg, George, and Sarah. Meet us there when you are done.¡± He says, jumping down and jogging off into the dust.


    Seymore wastes no time, going over to the wooden crate and shoveling the tampon boxes onto the floor to get better access to the ammo hidden within. I go over and help, striking up conversation about said boxes, because I don''t really get why they are here.


    ¡°So, any idea why they used a bunch of tampon boxes for this?¡±


    ¡°I''d guess they just smuggled it in whatever they could. And didn''t bother to, or couldn''t unload the actual cargo once it got to its destination. Bunkers need a lot of supplies, including sanitary products.¡± He replies, and catch on to what he''s saying.


    ¡°You think it they smuggled it in after the first breach event?¡±


    ¡°Most likely, a lot of things need to be replenished after people use a bunker for any meaningful length of time. I don''t know the details but I heard this one was a shit show because corruption skimmed a lot off the top. A Lot of city officials were removed from their positions pending corruption charges. In all the chaos it was probably easy to add an extra box or two with other goods into the piles.¡±


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°So they were planning this?¡±


    ¡°Doubtful, we can''t predict breach events. No idea if the cultists can. But if they could, they would use it in a city much more important than Shimerview. I''d say they were just preparing for when they could strike. But this whole breach event has been off kilter from the moment it started, and not in a good way.¡± He says as he spreads the bag open on the floor. I take the queue and lift a missile tube out of the box, moving it over and trying to put it in the duffel.


    ¡°I mean, I was never in a breach event before the first one. But both that one and this one have been way different from how we were drilled on them in school.¡± I reply, carefully trying to shimmy the missile into the bag, which is only just barely large enough to hold it. Unfortunately the opening is just a little bit smaller than the length of the bag. So I have to sit there fiddling with it to get it in.


    ¡°Different is an understatement. For a level one breach it kicked off way too quickly. I''ve been in plenty of breaches before, comes with the territory. Even a few as they''ve started, and let me tell you, the sky isn''t supposed to rain demons the moment five minutes is up.¡± Seymore says, reaching over and taking the missile tube from me and taking over trying to get it in while I hold the bag.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Those times they give aren''t necessarily When demons will start spawning, it''s when they could start. The one other time I was in a level one breach at its start, we didn''t see any demons for close to twenty minutes after the shatter. They just give those lower times so people won''t lollygag and possibly become demon chow.¡± He says, finally Getting the missile crammed into the bag. It fits, barely, and getting it back out is going to be a pain in the ass. Hopefully we don''t need to do it during a fight.


    ¡°What the fuck! Why did it start raining demons here then?¡±


    ¡°My guess, something to do with the cultists.¡± He says, before pausing And carefully looking to see if anyone was outside the truck. When he was satisfied he leaned in close to me.


    ¡°This is technically supposed to be classified, but most defenders end up knowing about it sooner or later, just don''t go blabbing about it to random people. Cultists can cause minor breach events, or exacerbate natural ones.¡± He says quietly, as if trying to keep a nonexistent person from overhearing.


    ¡°Wait, fuckin really? Why is that classified? Wouldn''t it be better for people to know?¡±


    ¡°In short, because it''s better not to tell people. You grew up during the war, so it''s normal for you, but most people didn''t used to be so on edge about demons and magic and portals and shit. Hell, when I was your age demons were just a fantasy creature from the games we played. Imagen our shock when the first breach event wiped a city in South Africa, and the fact that they were real was dropped on us full force. Now, people are paranoid as is. You go telling them that their neighbor, boss, coworker, lover, child, parent, some random person on the street could bring a damned city ending phenomena down on them with little to no warning. It won''t be pretty. So the powers that be have decided to keep that knowledge withheld, and keep the image that cultists can only summon small groups of or lone demons.¡± Seymore says with a somber tone and a look of reminiscing on his face. I hand him another missile to start stuffing into the bag.


    ¡°Oooook. So wait, how do you know all this if it''s supposed to be classified?¡±


    ¡°Friends in high places from damn near twenty years of service.¡± Is all he replies with, and its clear from the silence for a few seconds after that he isn''t going to elaborate.


    ¡°So, as I was saying.¡± He continues. ¡°They can''t predict them but they can cause them. So I''m wondering if the first was a random one that just happened, and they capitalized on the chaos before launching their actual attempt on this one.¡±


    ¡°So why didn''t they get caught with all the military and shit running around after the first time?¡± I ask, confused. It''s not like you can miss an entire cult in a city just attacked by demons, right?


    ¡°Oh but they did. Remember that mess at town hall and how it exploded? I''d bet my meds that they were caught, and blew the whole damn block to cover their tracks. That''s why they took hostages. It wasn''t the demons making that call, it was the cultists working with them.¡± He says, gesturing for another missile


    ¡°Still, wouldn''t something like that set them back? Like, at least enough to prevent this?¡± I ask, pulling out and handing him a third. Which will probably be the last one we manage to stuff into the bag.


    ¡°Not if they are well coordinated with a proper command structure. Which they are if they are moving military hardware, old or not. Their plan was rushed, but somewhat adapted as the situation changed. Honestly I think they were planning this for a long time. But the first breach got too much scrutiny put on our little city so they jumped the gun.¡± He says, finally managing to jam the last missile into the duffel bag.


    ¡°OK, so why tell me? I don''t exactly have a permit for classified stuff. And I know well enough that people don''t trust teenagers with shit.¡± I reply while grabbing the duffel bag by the strap and trying to hoist it under my shoulder. Only to balk at the weight, because this fucker is heavy, like almost fifty pounds heavy. Between this and the launcher I''ll only be able to carry them for a little while.


    ¡°Two reasons. First, because I need someone to pass this along in the event I can''t. I¡¯m old, girly. The only reason I''m moving around right now is because of your magic. But even now I feel the arthritis pain slowly creeping back in, a few more hours I''ll be out again. You''re the closest thing I''ve got to a qualified individual on hand.¡± He says, pausing to think for a moment.


    ¡°They probably already know, but better safe than sorry. Two, I may need your assistance if an opportunity arises. I can''t do anything like I used to, too old and slow. But you¡¯re young and quicker than I ever was. With this launcher, we might be able to at least put a dent in their plans.¡± He says, slowly easing himself down off the truck.


    ¡°Seymore, I¡¯d love to fuck over the cultists as much as the next gal, but I¡¯m not running head first to my death into a cultist camp.¡± I reply, sitting down and sliding off the back of the truck, landing with a heavy thunk and a puff of dust.


    ¡°Who said anything about going into the camp? That launcher has a two mile effective range unguided. Get up on top of one of those buildings and you could probably hit the whole city. You fire from a far off one, use your magic to get yourself down, and disappear into the city before they can get over to you.¡± He says, confidence in his voice.


    ¡°That''s¡­.. Not a horrible plan. But did you forget the fact that demons are a fuck ton faster and more powerful than regular humans? If they have anything in there that flies I¡¯ll be jumped on by the time I hit the ground.¡± I say voicing my main concerns about going up somewhere so visible and dangerous. What if they just say fuck it and blast the whole building to pieces in retaliation before I can jump?


    ¡°I¡¯m not saying it''s a risk free endeavor. But hell, it ain''t Robert''s original plan. You¡¯ve got a good head on your shoulders, faster than anything they would expect, and have magic. Just, give it some thought, every little thing we can do in here will save them big steps out there, even if we don''t make it out.¡±


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± I reply, mulling over his words.

 Chapter 48: Change of Plans

    I mull over Seymour¡¯s request as we make our way past the charred corpses and holes in the road to reach the others. The stench slapped me in the face again when I stepped down from the truck. Nothing like a smell of demented bacon to remind you you''re in an apocalyptic zone with the potential for death literally any second. Me and Seymore weave our way past the charred bodies and slag holes in the road, finding everyone else huddled near a still unconscious Sara, Karen sitting on the ground next to her.


    ¡°We pick up too much stuff. With George being out we can''t carry all of it and Sara.¡± Toby says as we close in.


    ¡°I can carry something, just nothing heavy. My right shoulder is fine.¡± George replies, sounding contrary as ever with his tone.


    ¡°We''re over half way to the Walmart. Maybe Seymore can carry something if Lucy keeps him healed.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°Even with Lucy''s help Seymore is what, sixty years old? He ain''t gonna be able to carry one of these heavy ass bags.¡± Greg says.


    ¡°We thought the same thing about the riffle which is why we kept it put away. But clearly we underestimated the utility of Lucy''s healing.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°Tell that to my fuckin shoulder.¡± George grumbles right as we reach the group.


    ¡°What''s wrong with your damn shoulders now?¡± I ask captain sour face. Because his face currently looks like he''s sucking on five super sour bomb candies at once. Also his wound is gone and his shoulder looks fine.


    ¡°His shoulder is broken, he probably has bone fragments from¡­..¡± Karen says, only to get interrupted by George being George again. He, Karen, and Greg go full bug eyed when they notice what I¡¯m carrying.


    ¡°Oh hell no! Why does she have a fucking rocket launcher. Robert what the fuck man!¡± He immediately starts whining like a jealous little bitch.


    ¡°Shut up boy. I''m the one who told her to carry it. Because neither you, nor any of us could for hours on end without getting tired. Gimme that guy bag son, it''s light enough without the rifle I can put up with it for a few hours.¡± Seymore says to Greg after snapping at George. Shit, I guess everyone is getting tired of his crap.


    ¡°No way in hell Greg is gonna be able to carry her, at least not fast enough to reach Walmart before we die of old age. We need to find somewhere closer.¡± Toby says.


    ¡°Can I carry the rocket launcher while Lucy carries Sara then?¡± Greg asks while handing Seymore the gun bag.


    ¡°No, that launcher with the ammo we looted is just as heavy as her. And your arms will get tired way faster trying to lug that launcher. Now listen closely boy, I¡¯ll walk you through how to pick her up so you can carry her.¡± Seymore says pointing at Sara.


    ¡°We need somewhere closer. With Sara unable to move we just need to pick a building and find shelter. It''s too dangerous to be carrying her around out here.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°Can we just leave the rocket launcher and have Lucy carry her?¡± Toby asks.


    ¡°No, we need that launcher to throw a stone in the cultists'' plans. Alright, put her arms above her head like this, and make sure her legs are together.¡± Seymore says.


    ¡°I¡¯m all for fucking with the cultists but is now really the time to be worrying about that? We need to find a place to rest or we won''t be able to do shit.¡± George of all people asks, which certainly catches me off guard.


    ¡°Yes, the sooner we wreck their toys, the sooner we can get help. Unless you got a whole emergency room in your back pocket we don''t know about, we can''t do anything about a brain injury or broken bones. OK, now foot on her feet and throw her arms over your shoulder like this and lift. Keep your legs under you! Good, this is the best way to carry someone in a pinch. Even noodles like you lot can get a few good minutes of carrying in before needing to stop.¡± Seymore says as Greg manages to successfully haul Sara onto his shoulders.


    ¡°Yea, I¡¯m only gonna be able to hold this for a few minutes.¡± Greg says, the strain evident in his voice.


    ¡°Alright let''s go then, we don''t want to wait for any cultists to come looking for their stuff. We keep going up the street, away from the base and any potential reinforcements. Everyone start thinking of anywhere that might be closer. Doesn''t matter what it is, as long as its sturdy and easy to hide in. We can break in if we need to.¡± Robert says.


    Toby helps pull Karen to her feet and we all start to move out. Everyone keeps near Greg in case he needs help getting over the remains of the decimated planter and debris from the building that took a fireball. Robert in particular stays close to him, with them being more in the middle of our group. Me and Seymore are at the front, while Toby, Karen, and George are at the back. Which I find extremely weird since I don¡¯t know where I¡¯m going. Until I take into account that we really aren''t going towards the Walmart anymore, and Seymore seems to know what he¡¯s doing. Which adds another question to the list of many I''ve been holding since it wasn''t really the time. But what better time to ask than as we slowly trudge our way away from where we almost died fighting cultists. But quickly before we do, I turn over my shoulder and reassign the healing crystal from Toby to Sara. There''s nothing more I can do for George with my minor heal, and honestly Sara needs it more. I highly doubt it will help if she has actual brain damage. But maybe it might be enough to push her state to where somebody else can help. With that done, I turn back to Seymore.


    ¡°So, do you think those cultist defenders were a one off fluke, or should we expect more?¡± I ask him, breaking the oppressive silence hanging over the group.


    ¡°Those weren''t defenders. Some sort of casters certainly, but not defenders.¡± Seymore replies, which doesn''t make any sense. Apparently he senses my confusion and continues.


    ¡°Those two were using demonic artifacts to cast spells. I take it you noticed how both were one trick ponies? An actual defender with access to magic would have thrown around different spells, and Robert would have never even made it to their flank, much less charged through it.¡± He says, which reminds me Robert still has the shield crystal. Not that I plan on taking it back yet.


    ¡°So, how does that work? Can we expect more of them?¡± I ask. I''m not going to bother asking why we didn''t steal the artifacts, they are probably called demonic for a reason.


    ¡°Yes, we will probably run into more of them. They can be dealt with easily enough if you fight carefully. Of course that''s if you''re a trained unit. We''re lucky these are our only injuries.¡± He says, glancing back at the others before continuing.


    ¡°As for how it works. I''m not a subject matter expert but a friend of mine once described demonic artifacts as magitech but with demonic sigils and symbols and all levels of wrong. It''s said that the artifacts slowly curse and corrupt their user until they transform into a demon.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°Oh, I guess that''s why they taught us not to touch things with strange symbols in school.¡±


    ¡°A good part of it, yes. That and regular magitech can be dangerous too. Best not to let non experts pick it up and flail it about.¡±


    ¡°Still, why would anyone want to use something like that if demonization is the end result?¡± I ask. Only to imminently realize how stupid that question is. Though Seymore¡¯s reply isn''t the take I was expecting.


    ¡°Hmm, tell me girly. If you had the opportunity to become the very god you worship, wouldn''t you take it?¡±


    And that, that catches me off guard. Because damn that is deep and probably too god damn true for comfort. Cultists worship demons, or at least work with them to fuck everyone else over. In either scenario someone grabbing at what they perceive as greatness is more likely than not. Humans are idiots after all, and will blindly grab for power, possessions, and prestige without a care for what could happen. Just look at how our predecessors were the ones wrecking the planet before the demons came along. Heh, good thing I''m not¡­¡­. No, stop that thought right fucking there. I am still HUMAN, and I will damn well not fucking forget that or act otherwise.


    I shake my head to clear away what ever the fuck that was. Shit, fuck, damn, now is not the time to be loosing my sanity. Thankfully Karen speaks up before I can thrown myself into a spiral.


    ¡°I¡­ I think there''s a place we can stay around here. Maybe a street over. An old family bakery and confection shop. The front is open but I think the back only has two ways in. And the building is made of bricks.¡± She says, her voice trembling a little. She really isn''t doing well, judging from how small She''s making herself as we walk.


    ¡°It will have to do if no one else can think of anything better. Left or right ahead?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°Right, we need to be on the parallel street. It''s on a corner but I can''t remember which intersection exactly.¡± Karen replies.


    Before anyone else can say anything we walk next to a gap between the buildings. And alleyway conveniently leading to the next street over we want to get to, assuming it isn''t a dead end. It''s impossible to tell because of the thick dust still hanging in the air. It''s also dark as fuck due to the limited light, and that light further being obscured by the buildings throwing thier shadows.


    All in all it looks creepy, dark, and probably a bad idea. I''m perfectly content to walk past and stick to the at least partially illuminated street, and everyone else seems the same. So we walked past it without a word.


    As we reached the first intersection, a loud howling echoed out in the distance ahead of us. It was very far ahead, but that didn''t make it any less spooky for the five seconds it lasted. Everyone else pointed their guns down the street, I just kept my eye on it. After a moment of nothing happening we started moving again, this time a bit faster.


    We barely finished rounding the corner when another howl ripped through the silence behind us, a lot closer than the first. Again everyone freaked but after a moment we kept going, but much more jittery than before. This is why we rushed, the noose is closing, and we need to make sure our necks are not in it when it finishes collapsing.


    The cross streets here are short, blocks are longer than they are wide. Still by the time we reach the next intersection another howl blows through the silence, deeper and longer than ones before it, carrying on the wind a sense of dread and hopelessness. Definitely magic infused or something. If the rest of the group weren''t jumpy before, they definitely are now.


    We continue up the street. ¡°Karen, where is this place you were talking about? What''s it called?¡± Robert asks her, anxiety seeping into his words.


    ¡°I don''t remember. Pastry something, I don''t know! I only visited it once a year ago!¡± She replies almost in hysterics.


    ¡°And you didn''t think to mention that before?!¡± George very loudly snaps at her.


    ¡°George shut up! Now isn''t the time and your yelling is going to attract attention!¡± Toby hisses at him.


    ¡°Knock it off!¡± Robert snaps, but that only seems to enrage George further.


    ¡°No, fuck you! We''re stuck in the goddamn shit hole! Billy and Clark are dead because of this bitch but we just keep parading around with her! We were completely fine until she showed up and now we''re in the shit!¡± He bellows, making no attempts to keep his volume down. I open my mouth to refute him, but Seymore beats me to it.


    With the click of the safety he spins around and levels his rifle at George. Greg panics and nearly stumbles trying to redirect his steps to get away. Karen freezes and crouches into a ball and starts crying. Toby and Robert jump back while bringing their weapons to a low ready against me and Seymore. Well mainly Seymore.


    ¡°Seymore put it away! We''re not doing this.¡± Robert says, but Seymore ignores him.


    ¡°I''ve given you a lot of leeway because this is a very stressful situation. But you know what you''re doing boy? You''re singing along to their song, lettin them play with your fiddle by makin this your hill to die on. You know how we dealt with people letting the demons play with their heads when I served? We shot them, because they became a liability just as dangerous as the demons.¡± Seymore says so calmly you''d think he was listing off a street address. George just stares frozen at the barrel of the rifle barely two inches from his face.


    ¡°While I don''t quite appreciate your attitude towards Lucy, you can dislike her for your own stupid reasons all you like. What you can not do is run around using her as an excuse to shout to the high heavens and draw trouble. So here are your options boy, you can keep quiet and not let out so much as a peep until we find somewhere safe. Or I can make a lot of noise for one second and then we don''t have to worry about it any more. What''s it going to be?¡± Seymore asks as Robert and Toby slowly lower their guns.


    George stares at the barrel of the rifle for a bit longer before he seems to finally process the words and nods silently. Seymore turns back around and starts walking again so I quickly follow.


    ¡°Was that really the best idea?¡± I ask him as we slowly make a little distance on the others until they start to follow us.


    ¡°Unfortunately yes. They needed the shock to knock them out of the funk from the ambush and injuries. And I think that idiot is listening to voices in his head that aren''t his own. And he¡¯s to stupid realize it.¡± Seymore whispers to me.


    ¡°What?¡± I ask, caught off guard before I realize I should keep my own voice down.


    ¡°What do you mean hearing voices? No one¡¯s mentioned hearing voices.¡± I whisper back, trying to get clarification. Because I sure as hell haven''t been hearing voices.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen it before, sometimes in large scale battles the demons would employ mental attacks. It starts as an erroneous thought here or there, and slowly snowballs into borderline insanity. The nasty part is they blend right in with your own thoughts and the more you give into them the worse they get. So unless you know about it or are keeping a close eye on your own mental state you wont notice it.¡± Seymore whispers back.


    ¡°But this isn''t a large-scale battle.¡±


    ¡°Yet.¡± is all Seymore says in reply. Fuck, he thinks they¡¯re too dug in, and its going to get nasty when we drop the shield. That or he really thinks the plan of sending me out to rocket it is really a long shot.


    ¡°So why don¡¯t we tell the others about it?¡±


    ¡°Because Miss Karen is borderline catatonic and George is just looking for an excuse at this point.¡±


    ¡°And you think that might send them over the edge?¡±


    ¡°Karen, maybe. Poor girl has suffered a lot during this. She wasn''t really one for prolonged stress. George definitely. The others will be hit or miss if they believe it or not.¡±


    ¡°Why wasn''t this mentioned earlier then? We might have been able to prepare for it.¡±


    ¡°Because I didn''t realize it was happening earlier. You have to understand girly, there are a thousand ways the demons can kill you and thousands more they can make you do it yourself for them. I¡¯m trained in recognizing and dealing with a lot of them from my time in the service. But even if I started listing off only the ones I know and am trained for from the very beginning I¡¯d still be talking. I did give a small lecture at the start, which you were here for since you joined our group later.¡±


    ¡°And I guess voices in your head isn''t a common one?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it was used sometimes in larger battles. And by sometimes I mean rarely. It just takes too long to gain traction, days or even sometimes weeks depending on the person. And it''s counter-able with proper training, troop rotation, and magic.¡±


    ¡°Well, we don''t have training and we''re not getting out of here. So it works perfectly on us.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately.¡±


    ¡°So how long do you think they have before going coo coo for Cocopuffs?¡±


    ¡°George, a few hours unless you disappear for a while. The others, a few days probably. Their issues won''t be focused on you.¡±


    Fuckin great, another reason to shove me out the door and say go blow up the demons. Though that''s arguably better than waiting for George to snap and randomly shoot me into the back of the head. Though I guess I have to give him some leeway if his dickheadedness is being exacerbated by demonic bullshit. My thoughts are interrupted by the crunching of broken glass, accompanied by a sharp pain in my right foot. Strong enough to make me cry out and jump back. Thankfully Seymore grabs me and keeps me from falling over. I pull my foot up to find a fucking shard of glass the size of my damn thumb sticking out of it.


    ¡°Fucking damn it!¡± I curse aloud, doing my best not to fall over.


    ¡°Shit, what happened?¡± Toby asks.


    ¡°I got fucking glass in my foot!¡±


    ¡°Shit, we can''t afford even more of a slow down right now. Can you pull it out and heal yourself?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°Probably.¡± I reply, looking up and trying to see where the glass even came from. It takes me a moment with the dust, but I realize I wasn''t paying attention and we wandered right past the front of a looted building. The whole front was probably one of those glass front setup that lets you see in the entire front at one point. Now it''s just smashed out, with the shards spilling into the sidewall and covered by the dust. I look up a little more and can actually read the name of the business. Denero Union Bank. No wonder this place got looted, cultists were probably all over it within the first few hours of being allowed to wander the city. I know banks are built kinda like forts, wonder how much trouble that actually had getting in with no one to stop them. I know banks are built kinda like forts, hard to call it a safe place to store your money if it can be broken into easily. Actually, that gives me an idea so stupid it might work.


    ¡°Hey, let''s check this place out.¡± I say, turning attention from my foot to the looted building.


    ¡°If you haven''t noticed, dumb ass, it''s already looted. What the fuck we gonna find in a ¡­¡­.¡± George starts to talk shit, before a harsh look and a gesture of the riffle from Seymore shuts him up.


    ¡°I don''t think a looted building is a good place to stay. But we might not have any other options.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°It''s a looted bank. The cultists probably broke open all the doors but otherwise this place should be built tougher.¡± I say.


    ¡°Maybe, maybe not. Better than nothing. Between your foot and Sara we need to stop now anyways.¡± Seymore says, positioning himself to carry the weight of my bad foot.


    With his help I can keep my bad foot off the ground long enough to at least walk over the shattered glass, which crackles under us as our entire group steps over it. Now we just gotta figure out if this place is serviceable, or if we just put ourselves in an open corner.

 Chapter 49: Bank Lobby Brawling

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    As we hobble inside the clicking of flashlights illuminates the space around us. Dust still hangs in the air, but not nearly as bad as outside. We can actually see the whole room, which isn''t as big as one would expect. Straight across from the now open air entrance is the bank tellers line, except the metal shudder they use for security has been dropped. Which is good, we might be able to hide back there if the long counter it''s sitting on is made of decent material.


    Off to the left are three open air cubicles, with a closed door at the end of the line farther in the lobby. On the right is a big conference room, the fancy glass panels once separating it from the lobby shattered and strewn about. It looks like there are some public bathrooms next to the conference room. Past that further into the lobby is an open door that presumably leads deeper into the building. A few of those stand up writing desks for customers to fill out paperwork on sit in the middle of the lobby. If we can get deeper into the building, all the better. Seymore walks me over to one of the standing desks, which creaks as I set the missile launcher down on it.


    ¡°No offense girly, but you''re heavy when you got that launcher.¡± Seymore says, letting out a huff. I outta slap him for calling me heavy regardless of the rocket launcher. It''s just rude to call a girl heavy in any situation.


    ¡°Karen, come take a look at Lucy. We need to get this glass out asap.¡± Seymore says, having bent down to look at my foot. I could totally make a foot fetish joke right now but I''m a wee bit distracted by the mix of throbbing and tingling sharp pain coursing through my foot.


    ¡°No need.¡± I say as I put the missile launcher down, pull my foot up, and lean back against the desk. I figured out on the hobble over here that the shard isn''t super deep in. Seymore shines a light on my foot as I look over the shard more carefully. Blood is pooling around it and slowly running off my foot and now down my leg. Definitely left some drops on the way over here, hopefully the demons can''t smell that or anything. I carefully make note of how it''s shoved in, which is thankfully only like a half an inch at most. Taking a breath I reach down and grasp it with two fingers, a small pulse of pain shoots out as the shard shifts from the contact. Slowly I started applying more and more force to extricate it as close to the exact way it went in as possible. After a moment and a light tug the shard slides out, and with it the sharp tingling disappears. Unfortunately the shard was holding back a lot of the blood it seems, and now that it''s gone it''s coming out almost twice as fast as drops run down my leg off one side of my foot and onto the floor off the other. What''s my mana at?


    Mana:  8,037/24,456


    Not great, not terrible. Still I think a foot injury warrants the use of a heal, even with limited mana. A small flash of green later and my foot starts to close itself up, the flesh unnaturally closing in on itself as it knits back together. Still freaky to look at, and even freakier to feel. I toss the shard across the room into the pile with the rest of the stuff that once separated the lobby and conference room, then put some weight on my foot to test it. It''s still tender, and a hint of pain runs through it when I attempt to walk, but I can work with this. I take the healing crystal off Sara and put it on myself, a few minutes and I should be perfectly fine.


    The others have taken the liberty of checking the rest of the lobby, with Toby exploring the three cubicles while George and Robert check the closed door that looks to be some sort of side office. Greg has placed Sara down on the one sitting chair in the lobby, and is now leaning against the wall catching his breath while Karen tends Sara. They shoot me a glance when I pull the healing crystal off but go back to their own business when they see me hobbling still.


    I let out a sigh and throw the ammo bag down by the table. Pulling out my pistol I check to make sure it''s still in order. That done I turn back to Seymore.


    ¡°Are we going to help the others clear the back rooms or wait here?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°Best to wait here, this rifle won''t be good in close quarters and you''re still limping and little. Robert''s got that shield and shotgun so they should be fine.¡± He replies. Then an uneasy silence descends on the room, aside from the sounds of the others bumping and tossing things while clearing.


    Only thing for me to think about are my own thoughts. A dangerous prospect that''s for sure. Seymore wants me to suicide run up to a building and shoot the cultists. Stupid plan is an understatement, what he''s asking is for me to effectively go out and die so that they will have a chance to live. Which in a vacuum would be an unbelievably dick move. But we¡¯re not in a vacuum, we''re in a god damn cultist, demon, and zombie demon infested city. And there is a good chance that even with the heavy weaponry we liberated, we¡¯re still all gonna die. So I guess the question is what''s one life to save five others? Of course, that''s the worst case scenario, that we are the only ones left alive in the city. Not even getting into if other groups are hiding or if the southern bunker is still holding out. I let out a sigh, either everyone walks away from this with nothing, or someone might at least survive or something.


    ¡°So then¡­. What is your miraculous plan I''m to enact to absolutely dumpster the cultists hopes and dreams?¡± I ask the old man, but my tone is anything but cheery.


    ¡°Well, it''s simple, at least the first part. Take the launcher up to one of the buildings. Go to the top, fire down at something important, preferably those crystals they are trying to charge. Then drop the launcher and run like hell.¡±


    ¡°And that''s going to stop them? You think they didn''t bring backups or what? How do I know the missile would even hit? Wouldn''t they have shields or something protecting all the important shit?¡±


    ¡°There is a good chance those crystals are the backup. But even if you don''t stop them, you will slow them down¡­. And distract them.¡±


    ¡°So you do want me to lead them on a wild goose chase through the city.¡±


    ¡°The longer you can, the more time we get.¡±


    ¡°And the shield issue?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know if those crystals will have secondary shielding. But that base doesn''t have shielding, at least it shouldn''t.¡±


    ¡°How are you so sure?¡±


    ¡°Because that building fell on it. If they did have a shield protecting the base, it would have shattered on impact. Damage like that ain¡¯t going to be repaired quick.¡±


    ¡°OK, so assuming I do manage to sneak through a city full of shit that''s probably fully alerted to our presence now, get onto a roof close to their base, and manage to get the missile past any shields and bunch of demons cracked out on power. Then what?¡± I ask him, because I really, really want an actual plan. Not fucking fire, forget, and fuck off like a bat out of hell.


    ¡°Well, with any luck the shield will drop and you''ll only need to survive a few minutes at most before reinforcements arrive. I doubt they will leave you hanging with free live target practice chasing you around.¡± Oh come on Seymore that''s your plan? Your killing me here old man, possibly literally.


    ¡°And what if they think I''m part of the target practice?¡±


    ¡°Pfff, they¡¯re better trained than that.¡±


    All I can do is gawk at him in response. Does this man not understand the terms friendly fire and collateral? I''m not trusting some random dude not to put a high explosive something up my ass. This whole plan is so fucking stupid I''m losing IQ think about it. And I''m gonna do it anyway.


    ¡°Alright, I''ll need a place to recharge my mana. I''m not running through that shit hole unprepared.¡± I say, then I notice George, Toby, and Robert have moved to clear the door that leads further into the building.


    ¡°We might not have the time, unfortunately. Tell you what, if you want to clear those bathrooms the others have missed i''ll watch those two and the lobby. Once you''re done just pick one and get as much mana back as you can before the cultists catch up to us.¡±


    I nod to him, getting up and pulling my pistol out of my pocket. I walk over to the women''s restroom, carefully to avoid the nearby glass from the shattered conference room panels. I take a deep breath and push the door open, only to realize once I stare inside that I don''t have a flashlight. I let the door fully close in front of me, then make my way back to Seymore.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°Yea, I need a flashlight.¡± I tell him. He just chuckles in response and fishes one and hands it to me. I then realize I felt no pain in my foot on the walk there and back. So I move the healing crystal back to Sara.


    ¡°Actually Lucy, think I could have that healin do dad while you''re clearing the bathrooms? My arthritis is starting to act up again. I should only need it for a few minutes.¡± So I call the crystal back and put it on Seymore.


    New equipment in hand I return to the bathroom and push the door open while clicking the flashlight on. What greets me is a standard women''s bathroom, with white painted drywall and gray tile floors leading around a small corner to increase privacy. Timidly I round the corner, making sure to run the flashlight over every nook and cranny. Three stalls on my left, two personal, one handicap, stand opposed to four sinks built into a dark granite countertop. Slowly I approach the first stall, its door hangs half open partially revealing the inside. I push it open all the way and find nothing but a standard commercial toilet.


    Moving to the next stall¡¯s door is completely open, giving me the same view as the first stall. Finally I come to the handicap stall. Slowly I push the door open, checking the corners as I make my way into the stall. Nothing, which is a good thing because I don¡¯t want to deal with shit. I make my way back out and move to clear the men''s side.


    Unfortunately, pushing open the door greets me with the sight of a massive amount of dried blood splattered across the walls, floor, and even some on the roof. A trail of it runs further into the bathroom around the corner, with splatters,spurts, and smears around like whatever was getting dragged was still flailing about while bleeding. How about a big old helping of nope! I step back and make sure the doors closes before turning back around.


    ¡°Hey, I''m gonna need some help over here. This one''s got a lot of blood in it.¡± I call out to Seymore.


    ¡°Old or fresh?¡± He replies.


    ¡°Old.¡±


    ¡°Then just watch it and wait for the others to finish. I don''t want to leave this area unattended.¡±


    So I step back from the door and wait, and wait, and wait. It feels like it''s taking forever. I don''t hear anything coming from the back where the other three went in, which is both a good and a bad thing. Seymore seems content to watch the front ¡®entrance¡¯ while Karen takes a nap and Greg watches Sara. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, I hear some bumping around and grumbling coming from the back. I turn and look just in time to see the three coming out.


    ¡°The back looks clear, most of it is open office area but we found a better protected room with a walk-in vault in it. Problem is it''s closed, and I don''t think we can open it from the outside without the code.¡± Robert says.


    ¡°Hmmm, that might be something we can look into. Everything is quiet here, except Lucy found some blood in the men''s bathroom and wants help checking it out.¡± Seymore replies, causing the rest to look at me confused.


    ¡°Dude, this wasn''t just ¡®some¡¯ blood. It''s pretty clear someone got whole ass murdered in there. Like grabbed and dragged around the corner kicking and screaming. I''m not going in alone on the off chance whatever did it is still hanging around.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Fair, enough. Toby help her clear it. I''d rather be safe than sorry. The rest of us are moving to the back, we''ll grab the missile launcher and meet you back there when you''re done.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°Aw man, why do I gotta do it?¡± Toby gripes.


    ¡°Just make sure she''s in front.¡± George sneers. But I ignore him, because at this point if I don''t I''ll knock his fucking teeth into the ceiling long before the demons can do it.


    Me and Toby make our way to the restroom. I push the door open and Toby imminently gags.


    ¡°Holy shit you weren''t kidding!¡±


    ¡°No shit.¡± I reply as I start pushing in and checking the corners and ceiling as I go. The men''s has a slightly different layout to the women''s, having only two stalls, one handicap and one single, and two urinals placed opposite the counter with four sinks. There''s also blood all over everything, with the trail leading into the handicap stall, whose door is slightly ajar.


    Slowly we walk forward, the feeling and light crinkle of dried blood under my feet not at all pleasant. Nothing happens for the first half, but as I approach the first stall I hear it. Slow, raspy, wheezy breathing. So low in volume I can barely hear it between footsteps. I tense up and freeze in place so as to not make any more sound. Toby picks up on me a moment later and also freezes, his flashlight shining just over my shoulder at the handicap stall door.


    With the ensuing quiet I can finally tell where the breathing is coming from, and to no one''s surprise it''s the handicap stall. I move to hold my flashlight in my mouth, then motion for Toby to give me his rifle. Probably better for me to actually poke my head in and kill whatever is in there instead of Toby. He reluctantly agrees and passes me the rifle while taking my pistol while I keep my eyes on the stall the whole time. I check the safety and find it''s already set to full auto. I pass my flashlight back to him as well, since the rifle has one duct taped under the barrel. I point at the stall and slowly make my way towards it, trying my best not to make any noise.


    With nothing but the sounds of breathing and the ever so light sounds of our footsteps we move forward. It isn''t until I get just past the first stall and next to the handicap that I get the feeling something is off. I pause and just feel for a moment, before realizing the door to the single stall is closed. But it just doesn''t feel right. Slowly I crouch down enough to shine my light and look under the stall. I can see the bottom of a barely human figure, I think it''s curled up on itself but upright, head to its knees and arms wrapped around them while leaning back against the toilet.


    Except it''s pale as fuck, and its arms and legs, at least what I can see of them, are abnormally long and gangly. Whatever it is definitely isn''t human, and isn''t awake yet. I slowly pull the light away and stand back up. I use my trigger hand to motion to the stall, then hold up one finger. The problem is I still hear the breathing coming from the handicap stall, so I''m willing to bet we have two problems to deal with.


    I motion for Toby to start backing up, which he promptly does. Only for him to bump into the god damn trash can mounted into the wall next to the sinks. For fucks sake!


    A clawed hand shot around the corner and violently grabbed the frame of the handicap stall so hard it cracks. The creature in the regular stall also started to stir, the horrendous screeching of tearing metal ringing out as I see it under the divider stand up off the floor. A split second later a mangled toilet paper dispenser clattered to the floor with a heavy twang.


    The creature in the handicap stall slowly revealed itself while pushing the door open. A pale white, lanky figure with only scraps of white hair pulled itself into the light. Its face distorted and its jaw naturally distended, revealing razor sharp teeth jumbled about its mouth. Its eyes locked onto me, an ominous purple filled with malice seemingly attempting to burrow its way into you to consume your soul. It opened its mouth, revealing more teeth all throughout the mouth and even into the back of its throat.


    I see its chest expand like it was pulling in air to scream. I pull down the trigger and the rifle spews forth a wave of pain and death with the symphonic banging of shots firing. I do my best to keep on target, but it''s not the kick throwing off my aim. I''m strong enough to handle that. As the first bullet slams into the framing divider of the stall, the creature''s building scream comes out as a horrific screeching as the round passes through and into its body on the other side. It tumbles and falls into the doorway, spazzing and jerking  as more and more bullets slam into it. Sprays of black ichor spew out of the impact holes in all directions, coating everything in the cursed blood of the abomination.


    After two full seconds of holding the trigger the rifle clicks and the bullets stop flying. The demon''s screams turned into a pathetic wheeze as it lay twitching in a growing pool of its own blood. The relative silence only lasts a mere moment. The other abomination blasts through the door to the single stall and crashes into the opposite wall, sending dust, plastic, plywood bits, and drywall flying about in spectacular fashion. In response I reflexively pull the trigger again.


    ¡®Click¡¯


    Fuck! I turn to yell at Toby to run, just to find he''s already beaten me to it and has thrown the door open. I decide to bitch his ass out later and rush after him, damn near instantly catching up to him due to my enhanced speed. Unfortunately, that ugly ass ghoul thing is just as fast, as I hear it crash its way out of the wall and rush across the bathroom while letting out a horrendous screech so loud it almost makes me deaf. If the fucking cultists and demons didn''t know where we were before, they definitely do now. Me and Toby make it out the door and I tackle him to the ground just in time for the ghoul as I''m calling it, to crash through the partially cloud door behind us and go sailing over our heads. Splinters of wood and the door handle clatter to the ground around us as the ghoul fails it''s landing, going tumbling along the ground and into the of the writing desks in the middle of the lobby, destroying it and making even more of a mess.


    It keeps screaming until it slams into the table, at which point it changes to an angry growl. I throw a confused Toby off of me and jump to my feet at the same time as the ghoul does. Me and it stare at each other for a moment, then it moves. It stops growling and screeches once more while lunging at me, and I barely have enough time to hold the rifle out in front of me to catch its claws and prevent it front bisecting me. A harsh clang rings out as its claws impact the metal of the rifle, and it closes its hand and grabs hold. Instead of trying to rip the gun away it continues to throw its weight forward, trying to get close enough to me and rip my face off or my throat out with its teeth. I desperately push back, but it clearly has more mass as while I keep it at arms reach it starts forcibly sliding me backwards along the ground.


    But the more we slide the closer it gets, using its height against me and slowly pushing itself over-top of the gun. Suddenly a bang rings out, and the creature flinches, giving me the moment I need to force the gun back up to its chest level and keep it at arms reach. Another loud bang rings out, and this time it hisses in what sounds like annoyance while still trying to push me over. You know what, fuck this guy, demon, thing. He¡¯s right up in my face, so I¡¯ll teach it to mind its fucking personal space. I charge up a screech, set for damage, and blast it in the face at point blank.


    It scrambles backwards as its face explodes into a shower of black gore as the ceiling above it explodes into a shower of drop tile debris from the parts of the attack that overshot. But it keeps screeching as it finishes tumbling back and recovers while holding its face. Only now it somehow sounds even more enraged. Another shot rings out and it collapses onto a knee, that''s when I finally notice Toby on the floor behind the creature, his weapon aimed for another shot. He fires again and it flinches, but starts to stand again anyways as it stops screeching and starts to inhale a large volume of air.


    My danger senses scream at me to move, and I have a bad feeling I''m about to be on the receiving end of my own spell or something worse. I lunge to jump out of the way, but the fucker in a blur of movement grabs me by the arm and yanks me back. I hear more shots rapidly ring out from Toby seemingly abandoning precision in an attempt to save me. It flinches but keeps holding me while charging its attack. I sock it in its ugly, bleeding, half destroyed face but that just seems to piss it off even more. I feel whatever it''s doing reaches its crescendo, and its mouth starts to glow as it tries to pull me closer. I charge another screech spell and blast it in the face again in an attempt to interrupt it. My attempt is partially successful, as it staggers back, letting me go and clutching its face again, but doesn''t lose its spell.


    I also stumble, failing to catch myself after it lets me go and landing on my ass. It recovers and leans towards me with furry in its eyes. I throw my hands in front of my face and brace for whatever is about to come next. This is gonna fucking hurt.


    But the attack never comes. Instead I hear an extra loud bang from deeper in the building, and feel little droplets of something splatter all over me. Then it''s quiet, nothing but silence and me and Toby''s heavy breathing. I open my eyes and peak at the now half headless ghoul as it teeters, then falls towards me. Landing just short of actually falling on me, it hits the ground with a loud thunk and sprays a fresh set of back ichor and demonic brain matter all over me. God fucking gross! Even in death these things have to be assholes!


    Robert bursts out of the door to the back, weapon ready. Unfortunately his help is a little late, but better late than never. I go to stand only to realize there is a sharp burning in my right leg. I look down and find a bullet hole going through my calf, clean through and leaking a fair bit of blood. God damn it!


    Mana: 2,252/26,544


    And I''m almost out of fucking mana!


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 Chapter 50: Scrambling to Safety

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    ¡°Everyone OK?¡± Robert asks while moving towards us, but constantly shifting his rifle between the bathrooms and the giant open hole that is the front of the building.


    ¡°No, I''m fucking hit!¡± I reply.


    ¡°Shit, can you heal it?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°Oh fuck I''m so sorry Lucy!¡± Toby yells, pulling the tie off his forehead and running over to me.


    ¡°Mother fucker you pissed them off and then you shot me! What is it with you people and pissing off demons!¡± I yell back at him. And I yell loud because I am pissed. Because getting shot hurts. Oh my god this burns so bad. Now that I don''t have a demon in my face to distract me, I realize just how much my own leg is screaming at me because there is a hole through it. OK, calm down Lucy. You got two heals left and worst case scenario the crystal or even mana surge.


    Through I don''t want to use mana surge if I can help it. I lean down and conjure up a heal, the glowing green manifesting for a moment before I touch my own leg right on the hole. I feel a sharp, stabbing pain for a moment that makes me hiss, then it goes away. It''s replaced by a dull throbbing as the wound starts to close and the blood ceases to flow. Unfortunately it seems to fall short of totally healing the wound. It''s a lot smaller now and isn''t bleeding, but attempting to put weight on it still hurts. The burning pain is almost gone, replaced by a dull warm throbbing sensation.


    Now the question is do I use the remainder of my mana to finish it or save mana and just use the healing crystal? But the real question is do we have time?


    The question is posed in my mind, and immediately answered by the sounds coming from outside. The bone chilling howls from before swept their way out of the dust and through the lobby. We all freeze, complete silence throughout the lobby, save the for crunch of glass coming from right outside.


    Time''s up, they''re here. The single silhouette of a dog starts to emerge from the dust. It steps across the broken glass, slowly coming into full view. Its nose to the floor, constantly sniffing as if it''s trying to track something. It looks like a great Dane, just smaller. It looks up from it''s sniffing and stares for a moment. Everything happens at once.


    I scrounge up the dregs of my mana and slap my last heal spell on my leg. Jumping to my feet without a shit given for the moments it would take the heal to fully execute. The demon''s face splits open in addition to its jaw, revealing ungodly amounts of teeth and even several barbed tongues. Robert swings his rifle around. He fires two consecutive shots as the Corjo demon lunges forward at incredible speed. It lets out a howling snarl as it starts its charge, but is cut back to a grating whimper as both rounds impact it at once. It stumbles for a moment, losing momentum before it recovers and charges again.


    Me and Toby ain''t idle, he''s scrambling to his feet and running past Robert toward the back. I''m also running, with no ammo and no mana I ain''t taking my chances against demons meant to engage in close combat. Robert will be fine, he still has the shield crystal floating around him. I get to the door to the back first, and turn around just in time to see Robert drop the first demon with two more shots. I say first, because the moment the first one hit the floor and stopped twitching, two more jumped out of the dust.


    The second looked like an oversized chiwawa, and the third a golden retriever. Both charge at him while he backs his way toward the door. He fires on the retriever first, striking it with three rounds in rapid succession before missing a fourth. The stumbles, then trips over itself and comes to a stop in a jumbled heap. The chiwawa keeps charging, uncaring of the state of its partner as it jumps over both it and the first demon to land just short of Robert.


    Robert flicks his aim, but isn''t quite quick enough to kill it before it lunges at him while taking a bullet to the back. Just when it seems like Robert is about to get his guts ripped out, a rainbow tinted barrier appears between him and the oversized ankle biter. The demon crashes into the barrier, an ungodly scraping noise rigging out as its teeth and claws rake over it in an attempt to breach it. Robert keeps shooting, a moment and four bullets later the demon lays in a slumped over unmoving heap leaking black ichor all over the floor.


    Toby gets to the door and bolts inside, with Robert turning around and running to join us. Five more corjo demons burst forth from the dust and give chase. I get inside and hols the door for Robert, ready to slam it shut the moment he gets here. He literally dives through and I slam the door and hold the door right on the closest demon, causing a loud metallic thunk to ring out as it slams into the reinforced door.


    ¡°Everyone OK?¡± Robert asks, getting up off the floor.


    ¡°Fucking peachy, now find something to block this door!¡± I bark at him as more demons pile into the door in an attempt to get it open. And with the lock and latch being blown out, I''m the only thing holding it closed.


    Robert''s eyes go wide as he realizes we aren''t out of immediate danger yet. He looks around his eyes settling on something as he takes off towards it. I have to spin around and throw my full weight into the door to keep it closed. Some of the corjo demons are throwing themselves at it relentlessly while others are constantly trying to push through the gap as the door buckles. A loud bang from the tellers area next to the door gets my attention, but because of the layout a shelf keeps me from seeing what''s going on.


    ¡°Toby, help me move this!¡± Robert yells.


    I hear Toby scuttling over as one of the corjo demons gets its snout into the crack as the door buckles again. ¡°Fuck off!¡± I snap at it and punch it in the face as hard as I can. I feel something crack under the impact, and my hand comes away stinging as the demon yelps and yanks its head back. But that only buys me a little time and they are quickly back to trying to force their way in.


    ¡°Come on, get that side.¡± I hear Toby tell Robert. ¡°It''s too heavy, we can''t lift it!¡± He yells a moment later.


    ¡°Then fucking push it!¡± Robert replies.


    I hear the two putting in no small amount of effort as something starts to slide across the carpeted floor. Another bang rings out from the tellers area, but this time I can tell it''s a gunshot. I guess Seymore or Greg is shooting through the slits in the metal shudder.


    A particularly big demon throws itself against the door causing me to almost lose it, and allowing two demons to stick their heads into the resulting gap. I desperately shove the door closed on them, pinning them in place for the moment.


    ¡°I need some fucking help over here!¡± I scream out, moving to punch one of the demons but quickly abandoning the idea. If I let off this door for even a moment they will push their way in.


    ¡°Hold on Lucy, almost there!¡± Robert calls out.


    A third demon gets its head in the door, and one of the first two gets most of its neck in. It promptly turns its head and starts snapping at me, trying to take a chunk out of my leg.


    ¡°Lucy, move!¡± Robert yells. And I turn just in time to see him and Toby tipping over the mother of all filing cabinet racks towards the door. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    I jump out of the way just in time to avoid getting squished between the super cabinet and the door. It hits the door and quickly slides down, hitting the ground with a massive thud. The demon with its head fully in the door gets bonked on the way down, promptly yelping and pulling its head out to avoid being fully crushed.


    That unfortunately doesn''t stop them, as two still have their heads in the door and another throws itself against it again. The cabinet shifts a small, but perceptible amount, and the demons start trying to wiggle their way in again. Fuck, we need more weight on it! Or less demons pushing on the door. Personally I prefer less demons on the door.


    ¡°Robert, you got more ammo?¡± I ask him, throwing Toby''s rifle back at him. Toby barely catches it, fumbling for a moment before locking his grip and righting it.


    ¡°Yea¡±


    ¡°Good, reload and shoot these fuckers!¡± I snap, before leaning down and pushing against the fallen cabinet with all my strength.


    It works, and now even with them throwing themselves against the door they can''t make any more progress. Another bang rings out from the tellers area. Someone is taking their sweet time picking off targets that''s for sure.


    A light thunk from Robert''s feet indicates he''s dropped his old mag, followed by a click and the racking of his gun. He steps up to the cabinet and takes aim while Toby is off to the side still fumbling getting his new magazine in. Robert fires once and black blood sprays out of one of its split face parts as it yelps and yanks its head away. Robert shoots the second, missing his first shot because of its flailing but managing to land a second. It too decides it prefers not getting pointlessly shot while pinned in a door frame and yanks its head out, finally allowing me to push the door closed. Another shot rings out from the tellers area.


    ¡°Alright, get some more shit to pile on while I hold this closed.¡± I tell them, prompting both to run off to a smaller filing cabinet and start dragging it over. Once they drag it to the door, I pick it up and toss it onto the big cabinet to add more weight. That isn''t quite enough. So they run off and drag another over, which I promptly throw on the pile.


    ¡°Alright that should hold for now.¡± Robert says as he wipes the sweat from his brow.


    ¡°Fuck me¡­. I didn''t realize they were that bad.¡± Toby says in between his heavy breaths.


    ¡°Those ones are pack hunters. There dumb as fuck as you''ve seen but they are great at working as a group. I need a gun, I''m out of mana.¡± I say, promoting a concerned look from both of them.


    ¡°Shit, you used the last fixing your leg didn''t you?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Toby says, probably blaming himself for both the leg shot and now my lack of mana. Now that I''m not in burning pain from a bullet wound I don''t really blame him. The demon was all up in my shit and he was trying to stop it. Still doesn''t mean I appreciate getting shot, accident or not.


    ¡°Yea I did, and I won''t have enough to do anything meaningful for a while.¡± I say, leaving out the unspoken - unless I use my emergency manasurge. But I don''t want to do that unless I absolutely have to because it could cause permanent damage. Ah who the hell am I kidding! You know what''s more permanent than permanent damage? Permanent death!


    ¡°You know what, fuck it! I can get some mana back, just dont panic if I start bleeding.¡± I say, earning a look of confusion from Toby and suspicion from Robert.


    ¡°What do you mean start¡­.?¡± Is all Robert gets out before I cast manasurge on myself.


    I feel the rush of mana through me, before the shooting pain following it slams into me. I grab my gut and double over falling to my knees, it feels like razors are running through every cell of my body. And just as quick as it hit it''s gone. Leaving me with just the aftershocks echoing through my body.


    - Warning!


    - Continued usage of Manasurge on current target without extended rest period will result in permanent damage.


    Ah, how wonderful. The system is being so kind as to warn me I should knock it off because I¡¯m about to wreck my own shit. Unfortunately for me the demons are probably going to do it before I get the chance.


    ¡°Oh fuck. Damn it Lucy, what happened!?¡± Robert yells while leaning down to help me.


    I feel something warm and wet start to run down my face from my eyes while the taste of blood speckles over my tongue. Oh boy, bleeding eyes is a new one. Now I''ll really look like shit.


    I drop a heal on myself, and one seems to be good enough to alleviate most of my bleeding. I let Robert pull me back to my feet as I regained my senses.


    ¡°geuz guehing mui maha hak.¡± I say, my words coming out slurred. Apparently a side effect this time is part of my mouth going numb.


    ¡°What?¡± Toby replies. And I don''t blame him, I barely understood what I said, and I''m the one who said it.


    In lue of trying to answer again I stagger towards the tellers area with Robert''s help. Once we round the cubicle desk next to us we get a full view of the old man in his current perch. His rifle held up with the barrel pointing between some slats, but just shy of actually going through the metal shudder that separates the tellers from the rest of the lobby. The muzzle flashes and a loud bang rings in our ears.


    I greedily steal my healing crystal back. I''m not too keen to waste another thousand mana unless I absolutely have to. Seymore notices it''s departure and turns to look at us. One of the corjo demons throws itself against the gate with a clatter. Its paws hook in between the slats as its mouth opens wide and teeth scrape against metal as it attempts to bite its way through. A barbed tongue slips through and flails around trying to get at anything within reach. Seymore doesn''t seem to be impressed, casually lining up the barrel and blasting the fugly shit in the mouth.


    ¡°There''s more coming. What the hell happened to her?¡± He asks, turning to look back out the shudder as another demon latches on.


    ¡°She did something with her mana but I think it backfired.¡± Robert says as I try to stand on my own.


    I give my face a slap, trying to get feeling back so I can actually communicate.


    ¡°Iz fune, juz neeth soz tine. Gime ah sho guz.¡± I say, trying to tell them I''m fine and to just give me the shotgun. Because I wana go break shit.  Unfortunately my words are still coming out slurred.


    ¡°What the hell is she saying?¡± Seymore asks, angling his barrel down. He blasts another corjo demon in its open mouth as it latches on.


    ¡°I think she wants a gun.¡± Toby says, offering his own gun.


    ¡°Noz yuz stupizd!¡± I snap at him.


    ¡°Then what the hell do you want?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°She''s got brain damage.¡± Toby says.


    ¡°Take her to the back so she can heal up. Fucking christ girl, now is not the time to be doing stupid shit.¡± Seymore says, shooting another demon in the face as it latches onto the shudder .


    Brain damage, really Toby, thats the best you could come up with? Any brain damage I incurred was earlier in life from doing stupid shit with Anna and Charles. Or that time Toby threw his blocks down the stairs at me.


    I just huff and walk over to the shudder . The corjo demons seem to have figured out that they aren''t getting in the barricaded door. So they redirected their efforts on the tellers'' shudder . Three more demons jump on the shudder and start trying to claw their way in. I look out and can''t see anymore in the lobby, so these three are probably it. Two of them already have gunshot wounds in their heads. So these are the ones that were trying to get through the door originally.


    Unfortunately for them, I have a bone to pick for trying to bite my leg. Unfortunately for me I don''t currently have a weapon to do it with. Unless you can''t my magic, but i really don''t want to waste mana on small fry that Seymore can just shoot.


    ¡°Toby take her back to the prevault room. Are there anymore coming in Seymore?¡± Robert asks.


    ¡°No, it''s just ¡®BANG!¡¯ these two. But more will be attracted by the noise.¡± The old man replies, before stepping away from the window and pulling the magazine out and checking it.


    ¡°Out of ammo. How much 7.62 we got left?¡±


    ¡°OK, come on Lucy, let''s get you to the back¡­¡± Toby days, only to be interrupted by a familiarly ungodly screech.


    Another pale and lanky should blasts out of the dust and slams into the metal shudder. It hits so hard the building shakes and I hear the groaning as the metal deforms under the impact. It shoves its long gangly arm through and swipes at us for a few seconds, before realizing we''re not in reach. Robert and Toby level their guns to shoot it, but it suddenly screeches again and scrambles up the gate. Disappearing from view, the only indication of where it went is the ceiling tiles falling to the ground in pieces. Oh thats not good.


    I don¡¯t give it the chance to get lost in the ceiling. I look up and drop a full powered screach spell of my own straight into the ceiling above the tellers. The ceiling explodes in a shower of dust and tile bits as the demon¡¯s own noises reach a new pitch. With a whole lot of extra noise it falls backwards and slams into the ground on the outside of the tellers shudder. Of course it immediately starts to get back up, but thankfully Robert and Toby aren''t waiting for invitations. Robert gets to the shudder first, Toby arriving only a moment later, shoving the barrels of their riffles through and throwing a leadstorm at the struggling to stand ghoul.


    Somehow the damn thing makes even more noise as it dies, screeching and screaming all the way back to the floor until the only noise it can produce is a wet heavy gurgle. I hope we don''t see anymore of those things, but something tells me our luck isn''t going to be that great. Funny enough, I think casting the screach spell put some feeling back in my mouth, or maybe it''s the adrenalin.


    ¡°God I hate those things. Let''s hope they don''t bring in any more.¡± I say, looking through the shudder at the still twitching but soon to be dead ghoul.


    ¡°Yea, it almost got over the top. Wait, I thought you had brain damage. It couldn''t have healed that quick could it?¡± Toby asks, turning to look at me.


    ¡°The only one here with brain damage is George. My mouth went numb due to the backlash from the spell I used, that''s all.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Lucy your fucking eyes were bleeding. A simple ¡®don''t panic if I start bleeding¡¯ isn''t enough of a heads up!¡± Rober snaps at me.


    ¡°OK, that time it hit a little harder than I was expecting but it''s fine! Only minor damage that I can heal up.¡±


    ¡°Lucy, not being able to communicate or move properly in a combat scenario is not minor. You may not have expected it but it happened. Now, at least tell us that whatever caused that was worth it.¡± Seymore lays into me, sounding miffed.


    ¡°Yea, like I said, it wasn''t that bad before. And yes, I got all of my mana back.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Well, I can see why you didn''t mention it before. But seriously, full mana?¡± Toby asks.


    ¡°You didn''t think this was important information? Wait, is this why you need privacy when you regenerate mana?¡± Robert asks before I can answer Toby.


    ¡°uh¡­. No, that''s different. And it''s an emergency spell, if I use it too much it does permanent damage.¡± I reply.


    Robert looks like he''s going to keep going but Seymore cuts him off.


    ¡°Enough, we''ll be here till they apocalypse ends if we start critiquing who did or didn''t do what right. Toby, please take Lucy to the back to clean up and get a better weapon. Robert and I will watch the front and start figuring out what to do next.¡±


    Toby just gives them a nod in reply and starts heading further into the back. I figure that means our ¡®conversation¡¯ is over and move to follow him. All this healing, getting hurt, fighting, and lugging around a missile launcher has made me hungry and thirsty. And wow I just realized how much I need to go to the bathroom. I better make this quick, something tells me that group was just a starter. The rest will jump on us soon.

 Chapter 51: Tellers Gate Tango

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    Karen shrieked as I entered the little back room before the vault where we had smashed all our supplies. I almost shrieked back in pure surprise and terror myself considering she did it right in my ear. Unfortunately Greg was next to her loading magazines.


    ¡°God damn it Karen that''s my ear!¡± Greg snaps at her.


    ¡°I''m sorry! It''s just, Lucy! What happened to your eyes!?¡±


    ¡°Spell went wrong. I''m already fine, just need to clean up some.¡± I say.


    ¡°Some? You look like you had a full on crying fit but with blood instead of tears!¡± Greg says.


    ¡°Eh, whatever.¡± I reply, leaning down to one of the food bags to grab a bottle of water, some chips, and a couple of napkins I found.


    First thing I do is wet a few of the napkins and wipe the semi dried blood from my face. After that I quickly dig into the chips, shoving the salty potato ¡®crisps¡¯ down my gullet as fast as I can without choking. While I''m eating I notice the missile launcher and accompanying ammo bag stuffed in the corner.


    I finish stuffing my face and down my water. Toby has talked with Greg some and takes a handful of loaded magazines off him.


    ¡°Lucy I''m headed back up front. Join up when you''re done.¡± Toby says before heading back out into the office space.


    I give him a nod as I finish off the water bottle. Next on the agenda is a bathroom break, because I haven''t gone in¡­. Well since before this shitshow started. That''s probably unhealthy, demon or not. Problem is I don¡¯t know where the bathrooms are. They might not even have employee restrooms back here. But given how small the lobby ones were, and the fact the back is kinda big, I''d be surprised if they didn''t at least have a small private one.


    ¡°Hey, do either of you know if they have a bathroom back here?¡± I ask Karen and Greg.


    Karen just shakes her head no, but Greg looks up and me and thinks for a moment.


    ¡°I think I saw a door down to the left a little ways that was labeled restroom. Not a hundred percent because we were busy moving stuff quickly.¡± Greg replies.


    I thank him and go to step back out, throwing my empty water bottle in a trash can just outside the door. Funny enough it''s probably pointless to care about littering or not right now. But civilization hasn¡¯t fallen outside the shield, as far as we know, so I wont act like a total savage just yet. Speaking of, I pass the healing crystal back to Sara before I step out. I''m feeling well enough that I should be fine. Worst case scenario I can heal myself again.


    Taking a left and heading down, I pass a few doors before I thankfully find the one Greg was talking about. Sure enough I can just barely make out the restroom sign on the door in the dim light. The problem is when I open the door its pitch black inside, and I don''t have a flashlight on me.


    Well, I could go back and get one, or I could just temporarily unshift my eyes. The light glow should be enough to barely see in the small space. Built in nightlight for the win! Besides that, there is something else I want to check. I slip inside and close the door behind me, feeling around for a second on the knob to find the lock button. Once I hear the click symbolizing privacy I unshift my eyes and horns. My life sense spreads out around me in a good twenty feet while my eyes bathe the room in a light orange hue. I immediately notice two things. First, these guys are/were almost out of toilet paper. No wonder the demons invaded, complete chaos worshiping behavior right there.


    The second is all the souls I''m picking up with my essence sensing. There are concerning more signatures in the building than there are members of our group. I spin around in a panic and almost throw the door open. I stop for a second to shift my horns and eyes back but before I can the rest of my brain catches up and I do a double take on the signatures. They aren''t moving, and if my spatial awareness is correct¡­.. I think those signatures are in the vault!


    There are six of them in total, grouped up a short distance away from Greg, Karen, and Sara. I can also see three signatures near the front, who I assume are Seymore, Toby, and Robert. I do a quick look over the building, at least what I can see of it, and the only other signature I can detect off alone at the edge of my range. It¡¯s not moving around much, so it might be George.


    Well the signatures in the vault aren''t moving, which is relieving and concerning, and I don''t sense anything else in the building. So it can all wait until I finish my business. Which I surprisingly manage to do without incident. I managed to barely make due with the remaining toilet paper, and the toilet itself was a normal one with a tank so I got one flush. Honestly at this point I expected a tentacle to come out of the toilet or some ugly fucker to come crashing through the ceiling. But nothing happened, so I finish making myself presentable, shifting away my horns and eyes. I open the door to step out¡­. And am immediately met by the sounds of gunshots and screeching from the front.


    I waste no time and sprint towards the front. Even without a gun I can at least provide buffs and use my screech spell. I rush through the back area, weaving between cubicles until I round the final one and arrive at the tellers area. The scene unfolding before me isnt a good one, but not horrible either. Two bloodied ghouls are on the tellers gate throwing their weight around, a few holes splashing black ichor all around as they thrash. A lot of corjo demons are also jumping around outside the gate. Some attempt to also latch onto the gate, only to be sent flying by the ghouls thrashing.


    Toby is currently trying to fumble a new mag into his gun, emphasis on the word fumble as he drops the replacement to the floor and has to bend down for it. Robert and Seymore are trying to blast more holes in one of the ghouls. But the ugly bugger is intent on not getting hit and is jumping around like a coked up monkey, sometimes even jumping back and plowing through the horde of corjo demons.


    I start rushing over to the gate, hoping to get close enough to use my screach spell without catching the others in the radius. The ghoul not being shot at saw its opportunity and lunged forward, shoving its arm all the way through the gate and grabbing the barrel of Roberts gun. It earns a bullet through the hand for its troubles. But it keeps holding on and yanks the gun, pulling Robert towards the gate. It presses itself against the gate, shoving it''s other arm through and swiping a clawed hand at Robert as he stumbles forward. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    For a moment I panic, fearing Robert is about to get sliced up like a block of cheese. But instead it strikes the suddenly manifested rainbow rainbow barrier around him, the claws getting deflected in a shower of rainbow colored sparks.


    Seymore takes the opportunity to shoot the now relatively stationary ghoul in the face. The larger caliber meant the difference, as its face exploded into a fountain of gore while chunks flew off the back of its head. Its corpse slumped back and fell off into the ravenous horde of corjo demons snapping from below. And they legit started eating it, god damn.


    Robert gets back to his feet as Toby finishes slapping his new magazine in and cooking his rifle.


    ¡°Swap to single fire you two, you''re not hitting shit on full auto with how much this ones scrambling around.¡± Seymore says as he tries and fails to effectively track the remaining ghoul with the semi bulky riffle.


    And it''s not his fault. I don''t know if it''s doing it on purpose or not, but with its friend dead it has all the room to move around it wants and it''s using it.


    I get to them as Robert starts picking himself up off the floor. Toby has also joined Seymore in attempting to blast the spazmatic ghoul, but neither of them have any luck as it continues to bounce around.


    I''m tempted to blast the ghoul into the face with a screach spell, but that''s starting to get expensive. I could tone it down some, but I don''t know how powerful it would have to be to effect the ghoul. Then the thought occurs to me, our guns are effective. It''s just we''re not fast enough to hit the jumpy little shit. Well, the others aren''t. I probably could hit it, but that won''t solve the larger issue if more show up.


    I''m technically a healer, with some support sprinkled in, maybe I should act like it. I charge up a haste spell and give Robert a slap on the back before the glow can even fully envelope my hand. He turns around to look at me like I''m, let''s say less than helpful. But his eyes go wide in surprise when the effect settles over him. He spins back around, about a quarter faster than he was before, and almost effortlessly lines up on the ghoul and blasts it in the chest.


    It stumbles from the damage, allowing Seymore and Toby to finally catch up with their aim and unleash a barrage of lead into it. It dies fairly quick, all that speed working to its disadvantage as it slips and its limbs get tangled in the gate. Toby taps it a few more times even after its spasming when getting hit.


    ¡°Hold your fine boy, it''s dead. Save your ammo for something that actually wants to eat you.¡± Seymore lightly castizes him.


    Before anyone can say anything else a corjo demon jumps up out of the group, grabbing the hanging corpse by the neck and savagely dragging it down into the clamoring horde. Sensing the coast is clear of ghouls, the remaining corjo demons all start jumping on the gate. Like rabies ridden dogs in the throws of insanity, they viciously claw and chew at the metal barrier in an attempt to reach us on the other side.


    I step over to Toby, who has raised his gun with shaky hands, and carefully tap him on the shoulder to apply the haste effect. If I had slapped him he may have had an accidental discharge or dropped his gun. The good news is the boost seems to have improved his mental state, as he stops shaking almost immediately.


    ¡°Long long does this last for Lucy?¡± Robert asks as he lines up on a dog and puts a bullet into its gaping maw.


    ¡°Uh, I think ten minutes. But I''m not one hundred percent on that. I don''t use it much.¡± I reply while giving Seymore his boost.


    ¡°Shit, ten minutes or not we shoulda been using this earlier. I feel like I could outrun a car!¡± Toby says before blasting another corjo in the face.


    The problem is that it doesn''t die, instead yelping and falling back into the clamor. Only to be replaced by a fresh one jumping onto the gate moments later. And this happens almost every time someone shoots one, with only the occasional going down limp and silent. The assault rifles we stole from the cultists don''t pack enough punch to reliably one tap a corjo demon even on a head shot. Which means aside from Seymore, all we are doing is wounding them. Seymore of course is just blowing the things brains out with the higher caliber of his dmr. And I of course don''t even have a gun right now.


    ¡°Robert, I need a gun!¡± I yell over the thundering of the weapons fire.


    ¡°In the cubicle behind me.¡± He yells back, not breaking his concentration on shooting the false dogs piling up at the gate.


    I cast haste on myself for good measure as I duck into the cubicle. Sure enough waiting for me is one of the gun bags along with the remaining assault rifle and shotgun sitting propped up against the desk. Jackpot! I snatch up the shotgun and quickly start fixing through the gun bag for spare shells. Side pocket? No, nothing there. Front pouch? Just spare empty pistol mags. Another side pouch, Jackpot!


    I greedily fish shotgun shells out of the bag and start stuffing them into my pockets. But The stupid women''s jeans I''m wearing have those stupid super slim pockets, so I find myself emptying them in a desperate attempt to hold more than ten shells. I toss aside an old pistol mag I forgot I had, along with a butter knife I still had smashed away. I feel something else buried deep in my pocket, flat and small, so I fish it out. To my surprise I pull out a contact card that was given to me by Marcy. Funny, though I lost this and the contract she had given me in the middle of this shithole. I might actually hit them up after this mess, if I survive it.


    I stuff the card back into my pocket, then fill the rest of the free space with shotgun shells. Fully loaded I rush back out of the cubicle to the tellers area, ready to join the firing line desperately trying to keep the demons at bay. The shooting has been continuous since I stepped away, and I can see why. Even more corjo demons have piled onto the gate. Its to the point I''m starting to legitimately worry they might collapse it before they eat through it. And I can hear even more clamoring around in the lobby.


    Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I''m definitely getting my manas worth if I blast these guys, so that''s what I do. I step between Robert and Toby and drop a full powered screach spell set for damage. It''s highly effective, ripping through the demons on the gate and washing across most of the remainders in the lobby. Most of the ones on the gate are blasted off in a explosion of blood and fur. Their bodies tumble back into the horde, visibly limp the whole way down. The damage decreases as the wave travels, but it still has enough power to finish off any wounded demons and leave the rest maimed. Suddenly the lobby has gone from a booming chaotic hell hole to eerily silent and still, save for the occasional whimper of a living demon trying to pick itself up and limp away. There''s gonna be at least a dozen dead, and three more trying to escape.


    Those three don''t get very far. Seymore promptly puts a round up the farthest one''s ass, while Toby and Robert gun down the closer two.


    ¡°Damn, that was effective.¡± Toby says, lowering his rifle and letting out a huff.


    ¡°Yes it was, but we''re not done yet. I can see more gathering outside. A lot more, including some¡­.¡± Seymore says, but he cuts himself off with a shot of his rifle.


    ¡°Cultists¡­..hmm, that one has a shield on him. We might have... GET DOWN!¡± Seymore screams.


    I don''t have enough time to react to the command even with my natural and enhanced speed. A deafening thunder clap and a blinding flash rip through the gate. I watch it slam into Seymore as my vision whites out and my hearing fails.


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 Chapter 52: A Proposition

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    It takes what feels like an eternity to blink enough of the blinding white out of my eyes that I''m seeing more environment than spots. I cast a heal on myself but it only barely takes the edge off. My ears won''t stop ringing, nothing but the ever reverberating sound of nothingness in them.


    I slowly pick myself off the floor. Thankfully nothing else hurts, so I''m otherwise uninjured. That or it''s so bad I can''t feel it. The gate now has a massive hole in it where the magical lighting bolt skipped though. Molten bits of bar still dripping from the edges and burning their way into the counter. Fuck, a corjo demon could definitely fit through that.


    But the gate wasn''t what they were aiming at, it was just in the way of¡­.. SEYMORE! I stumble around, almost tripping over as I try to reach the stricken old man. Still having more blindness than workable vision doesn''t help. It''s only when I manage to stumble down next to him that I understand the full damage.


    The bolt took his right arm off at the shoulder. The arm itself is now just a charred lump covered in the unrecognizable melted metal of what I assume was the rifle. Somehow there isn''t any bleeding, the hit having cauterized the blackened stump that is now his shoulder as the arm was detached. I place a shaky hand on his chest and to my relief I feel it rising and falling, barely.


    I push a heal onto him and it takes, but doesn''t have any visible effect on his wounds. A minor heal spell isn''t going to fix his arm, I never expected it to, I just want to get him stable again.


    Doubting I can do anything else for Him I turn my attention to Robert and Toby. Both of them are trying to stand up and failing spectacularly. They are weaker than me, being regular humans, and that bolt put me on my ass. I can imagine they won''t be seeing or hearing shit for a good while. Which is very unfortunate because out of the side of my vision that actually works I see a ghoul jump up on the gate and start going to town on the hole.


    Headless of its own safety or pain, it grabs the edges of the bars and starts to bend and rip them out. And with the integrity of the gate compromised, it''s making a lot of progress very fast. I stand up and blast it with a full disorientation screach. It works perfectly, and the ghoul tumbles back off the gate flailing and disoriented. I wait a moment for the next one but nothing else jumps up. Good, seems I''ve bought us a little time. I can almost see again, I now have more vision than spots. But my hearing is still useless, which starts to get me concerned that it may be permanent.


    I fish my shotgun off the floor, the weapon thankfully intact. Robert and Toby are still fumbling about, and since healing doesn''t help, the best I can do is hold the gate until they recover themselves. I push up to the gate to get a view of the lobby.


    The ghoul from before is still fumbling around at the base of the counter. Further back a bunch of corjo demos who apparently got caught in the attack continuously trip over themselves and one another. Out of nowhere another ghoul comes hauling ass out of the dust and starts closing on the gate. I''m getting ready to try and shoot it with the shotgun when suddenly the ghoul below the gate gets it''s bearings enough to stand upright, right in front of the charging one. I can''t hear anything, but the resulting crash looked spectacular as both go crashing to the floor in a tangle of angry limbs.


    I figure that''s my queue to pick one of them off before they can recover, but to my surprise they don''t bother trying. Instead one of them gets angry and goes at the other, and suddenly they''re a ball of claws, limbs, and teeth rolling around on the floor trying to rip each other''s faces off. Well, works for me.


    Unfortunately the corjo demons start to recover. The first one picks itself up off the floor and makes a beeline for the hole in the gate. But it gets a little too close to the ghoul scrap ball rolling along the floor. A limb flies out of the scuffle and smashes the corjo hard in the side, sending it skating across the floor.


    The rest pay enough attention to go around the murder tumbleweed as they rush their way toward the gate. The first one gets close and leaps at the hole, trying to clear it in one go. But I still have haste on me, and have enough of my vision back to aim. So all it gets for its trouble is a shell''s worth of buckshot shredding its face mid air and knocking it off course. It crashes into the gate and tumbles down to the floor as the next one tries its luck leaping through the hole. It meets the same fate and joins the ever growing pile of corpses on the floor.


    A third tries, but this one keeps enough momentum after I shoot it that its body lodges partially in the hole and gets stuck.  The next few crash into the gate trying to dislodge the corpse as I keep shooting whenever they get close. But when I finish off the fifth the remaining three turn tail and retreat. Wait, demons don''t retreat. Why are they backing off?


    My hearing comes back enough for me to hear something else from the lobby. I look over and see the ghouls are done infighting. Both of them look very injured, covered all over with bites, cuts, and bruises. One of them is even missing an eye, black liquid slowly seeping down its face from the empty socket. They both open their mouths and let out some kind of noise as they start charging the gate. I target one eye first and clip it with my first shot causing it to stumble. Which lets me line up a proper follow up that knocks it to the ground writhing. A third shot makes it stop moving entirely.


    The other more healthier ghoul makes it to the gate and slams itself into the hole. It''s just barely too small to make it through, and starts thrashing and wiggling about trying to squeeze its way in. I level the shotgun at it and pull the trigger, happy for the easy kill.


    ¡®Click¡¯


    Fuck! I slam my left hand down into my pocket and grab a huge handful of shells. Pulling them out so quickly I drop a few to the floor. I desperately start trying to fumble the rounds into the gun, but only end up dropping one between my fingers.  I''m about to just drop the shells and rush it using the shotgun as a club when a bunch of muted pops sound off behind me. I don''t have time to celebrate my hearing starting to come back. A bullet nearly grazes my ear and a bunch more slam into the stuck ghoul, sending black ichor splattering across the gate and desks. While most of the shots miss and spark off the gate, enough hit that the ghoul slows down. Its struggling goes from crazed thrashing to lethargic wiggling. I finally get a round to slide into the tube. Then I chamber the shell and turn the ghouls head into demon giblet confetti.


    I lower the shotgun and take a moment to breathe. My hearing is definitely coming back, because with the following silence I can hear my heart thundering in my chest in addition to feeling it. Some noise behind me gets my attention, and I turn around to see Robert leaned over against a cubicle, the barrel of his gun still smoking. He says something, but all I hear is incoherent noises, and I can''t tell if it''s just my hearing or he''s having other problems too. He tries to say something else, but I just cut him off and point to my ear while shaking my head.


    He points to Seymore and says something else, but again I don''t understand it. Seymore is laying in the same spot still, Chest slowly rising and falling. I don''t know if he''ll live or not, but if he does arthritis will probably be the least of his issues.


    I shake my head, then point to Seymore and point to the back. Robert''s face goes solem and dark and he seems to grasp full understanding. Seymore isn''t getting back up, at least not while we''re still in this apocalyptic shit hole.


    Toby is still hunched over trying to regain enough of his composure to stand, Robert is barely standing with the help of a wall to lean on, and I''m still deaf. Not looking good is an understatement. The good news is repelling that last attack seems to have given them pause¡­. for now.


    I drop to my knees and prop the barrel of the shotgun against the floor to stuff more shells in. With less pressure and panic I''m able to actually line the shells up properly and slide them in. I don''t know how many it can hold, but I suspect I''m about halfway through filling it when I feel a tap on my shoulder. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    I look up and back to see George has finally shown up. He''s yelling something at me, but while my hearing is better. It''s still mostly ringing, so I can''t understand him. I simply point to my ears with my free hand and shake my head. I point to Seymore and try to say ¡°Get him to the back.¡± But I can''t tell if my words are good or not. I guess it was good enough because George looks to Robert for confirmation. Robert nods his head so George Walks over and starts to drag Seymore away by his feet with one hand while gagging.


    I wonder why one handed and gagging, then I remember and realize. I''ve become so desensitized and distracted I didn''t even register the burnt person smell in the air. And George has a jacked up shoulder. We''re all so fucked. But just maybe I can do something about it.


    I finish loading the shotgun and stand up to watch the gate. Nothing else shows up, and slowly my hearing comes back enough that I can make out what''s going on. There is a lot of yelling coming from the safe area in the back, and a lot of noise coming from the street out front. My guess is the yelling is Karen freaking out over Seymore. And the noise is the pileup of demons coming to rip our faces off and eat out entrails.


    I keep watching the front, hyper focused on the wall of dust, waiting for the next wave to come charging out. I almost jump when I''m tapped on the shoulder again. This time I turn my head and find Robert looking at me.


    ¡°Lucy, can you go help Seymore?¡± I barely make out him saying over the reduced by still present ringing in my ears. I shake my head when I answer him. ¡°I can''t fix lost limbs Robert. I already did what I could.¡±


    ¡°What about the¡­ shit!¡± Robert says, before lifting his gun and pointing it at the lobby. I snap my head back forward and do the same, spying a lone figure slowly strolling their way out of the fog of war like they owned the damn place. We don''t hesitate, both our guns spewing fire and roaring thunder at almost the same time.


    Our shots connect¡­ and bounce off in a cascade of rainbow colored sparks as a shield materializes into existence around our target. Welp, if that''s the asshole who can throw lightning bolts we''re cooked. Robert fires two more shots in rapid succession, and I get one more off. None of it is effective, except for creating a light show that partially obscures the figure for a moment. They stop walking at the halfway point, seemingly uncaring that we are still shooting at them. Another set of sparks fly as I loose another buckshot at them, then duck back down behind the counter. Robert fires a few more times then joins me.


    ¡°So, I think we might be fucked.¡± I tell him while fishing a shell out of my pocket.


    ¡°We just need to get rid of that shield.¡± Robert replies.


    ¡°Oh great idea. Let me just get my shield removal spray. Then we can kindly ask¡­.. them to leave.¡± I reply full of sarcasm before realizing, we might actually have ¡®shield removal spray¡¯. Well, more like an everything removal missile launcher.


    I look around, and Toby is just getting to his feet, perfect.


    ¡°Psssst, Toby!¡± I harshly whisper at him, and somehow he hears me enough that I get his attention.


    ¡°Go get the thing!¡± I tell him, but he just looks at me confused. Don''t tell me his hearing is still shot enough he can''t tell what I''m saying.  I make hand motions like I would if I hold the missile launcher, then point to the back with a harsh look on my face. He seems to get the message, nodding frantically and stumbling off towards the back.


    I turn back to find Robert peaking up over the top of the counter, watching the asshole.


    ¡°Well?¡± I ask him.


    ¡°They''re just standing there.¡± He replies


    ¡°Asshole is taunting us!¡± I snap.


    ¡°Let them, time is something we are short on and if they want to give us more we¡¯ll take it.¡± He says.


    I poke my own head up from behind the counter, finding that indeed the figure is just standing there observing us. Their face isn''t visible under the hood despite the fact they are looking straight at us. But they¡¯re smaller in stature, being just a little taller than yours truly. The robes they are wearing are fancy to put it mildly, and drop down to just above their ankles. I can see gold trim along the front and hood forming intricate patterns. Across the whole getup I can see runes and inscriptions faintly glowing through the darkness of the lobby. I can just barely make out some kind of insignia pinned to the left shoulder, with a gold chain ending in a glowing gem hanging off the right. They''re holding a staff that looks like a bunch of tree roots and vines all weaved together and dipped in silver, before splitting at the top. It also has a few glowing runes near the top and inscriptions along the shaft. Clearly someone very powerful and important among the cultists.


    ¡°Oh fuck me!¡± I hiss in displeasure. Only for the figure to reply.


    ¡°Careful Lucy. I might just take you up on that.¡± A strangely familiar voice replied.


    I freeze. I¡¯ve heard that voice before but I just quite can''t place it. Was that a woman? No, definitely a man. Not a super deep voice but not high enough pitched to be a woman.


    ¡°What, no quick wit angry replies? That''s not very Lucy of you, Lucy. I guess dealing with the fodder has taken a toll on you.¡± They continue.


    I''ve heard this fucker before but I cant quite place it. They reach up and pull down their hood, allowing the flashlight on the shotgun to illuminate their face. I recognize the voice in conjunction with the blue highlights on the dark hair.


    ¡°James you fucking ass wanker! I¡¯m gonna sodamize your fucking ass!¡± I scream at him, causing him to let out a laugh.


    ¡°Woah, woah, woah, there Lucy! We should get to know each other at least a little more before we jump into the kinky stuff.¡± He replies with a smile.


    I go to snarl back but Robert grabs me and pulls me back down behind the counter.


    ¡°You know this guy?¡± He asks, sounding calm and collected as ever.


    ¡°Yea, he is¡­ was a good friend of mine. Haven''t seen him for a while. Guess that''s because he decided to join the demon dick suckers squad.¡± I reply.


    ¡°Judging from those robes he''s been in with them since long before any of this started.¡± Robert observes. And he''s right, James only turned eighteen back in January. I know cultists will recruit anyone but shit, how young would he have to have joined up to look This pretentiously and powerfully important at eighteen?


    ¡°I don''t know. He never seemed cultisty or anything.¡±


    ¡°I can hear you, you know. Kinda rude after all the deference I showed you by not blowing you and your little groupies up.¡±


    ¡°The fuck are you yabbering about? You blew off Seymore''s arm, you prick!¡± I poke my head up to yell at him, finding him still casually standing in place.


    ¡°Did you all really think we couldn''t see you up in your little tower? God knows you all sat at the windows long enough watching us. Sbrugreth, was about to order them killed. When you stumbled upon them. I figured you were gonna play with the mortals so I stayed his hand. We thought you would try to camp up there until you got rescued. So I planned to come pick you up and deal with them once everything else was sorted. That was until the US military gave our shield a bit more of a thwacking than we anticipated. You know the rest after that.¡±


    ¡°As for the old man? Ah, well that''s fair. But I had to get rid of him or he woulda shot you in the back of the head when I made my offer here.¡±


    ¡°What off¡­? You know what, I don''t wanna hear your shitty offer. Take it and shove it up your ass with the rest of your shit.¡± I reply seething. Where the fuck is Toby? I wanna blow this treasonous ass hat to pieces so badly!


    ¡°Oh come on Lucy, don''t be like that. I¡¯m sure you''ve had your having your fun bossing these hooligans around. But lets be honest, your not like them, and they''ll turn on you in a heart beat once they see who you really are.¡± He says a kind of knowing grin.


    No fucking way he knows. No he can''t, there''s no way! He''s just blowing smoke, he''s gotta be. Then again he''s a high ranking cultist, he might have some weird thing that lets him know who or what is a demon and all that. It''s OK Lucy, don''t panic quite yet. He is a cultist, that means no one is going to believe him. Everyone is going to just think he''s blowing smoke up their ass to try and cause trouble.


    ¡°Talent like yours would be wasted at playing human. You should come work with me instead. Lady Anvasta isn''t your typical demon lord. We don''t slap down on our underlings. Merits get you recognized, not quashed by your direct superiors for being a threat to their position. While the entry bar is a little high, the perks are very generous.¡±


    ¡°As a bonus, I''ll even get the ah, previous incidents of the last few days swept under the rug. Not even detracting from your other perks.¡± He rambles on. Man l, his pitch sucks. I''m feeling a hundred and ten percent unconvinced to join him. I''d argue it''s a good thing he didn''t become a used car salesman, but a cultist is way worse.


    I''m about to interrupt his rambling with


    another insult when I feel a poke on my leg. I almost jump in place but manage to stop myself from moving too much when I realize it''s Toby. Apparently he was smart enough to crouch along below the countertop so James wouldn''t see him. I smile and crouch down to take the missile launcher from him while he sets down the accompanying bag of spare tubes. A quick check shows its ready to go, so I flick the safety off.


    Robert hears the click and looks over. Once he sees what I''m holding, he reaches up and shoves the ghoul corpse out of the hole in the gate. Robert then ducks, Toby scrambles off the way he came. James is either to stupid or too pretentious to notice because he finishes his ¡®offer¡¯ without a seeming care in the world.


    ¡°So Lucy, what do you say? Wanna stay friends?¡±


    My response is simple, eloquent, short, and descriptive all in one. I stand up with the shouldered missile launcher and aim it through the hole at his feet.


    ¡°No.¡± Then I pulled the trigger, and enjoyed the oh shit moment he had before the resulting fireball consumed the entire lobby.

 Chapter 53: Boom and Scoot

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    The resulting blast engulfed my entire view for a hundredth of a second before violently throwing me backwards. Everything twisted, spun, and flew by as I crashed through something. When I finally stopped, I was covered in debris and had no idea where I ended up. At least I managed to hold onto the missile launcher. A bit of soreness across my arms, face, and chest is easily fixed with a quick heal.


    Now, why am I on the ceiling? Why do they have carpet on the ceiling? Wait, I''m upside down on the floor, never mind. I roll over, knocking a bunch of crap off me in the process. When I finally get to my feet it feels a bit breezy, but I chalk it up to new airflow from the missile damage. I shake the discombobulation off then realize I''m facing the wrong way.


    I spin around and smile with glee at the scene before me. The gate hasn¡¯t suffered any additional damage, but the shity fake wood tellers counter wasn''t so lucky. Somehow it survived the claws and weight of the demons from before, but a missile at close range was too much for it. Pieces of the counter top have been blown off and about. Massive holes and cracks run along the entirety of the desk. Looking at it I realize how much stronger the gate is compared to the now decimated counter.


    The rest of the lobby fared no better. The writing desks in the center of the lobby are just gone. Consumed by the giant black crater now acting as the centerpiece of the room. A hole clear to the sky now exists directly above the blast point, with bits of the roof collapsing in around the edges. Some ceiling tiles have evaporated into seeming nothingness while others lay strewn about in pieces. And James, well that fucker isn''t anywhere to be found! I''m about to celebrate when Robert pokes his head up from under some ceiling tiles that fell on him.


    ¡°Holy shit Lucy! You OK?¡±


    ¡°Better than OK! We fuckin blew up a cultist overlord or whatever that dickhead was!¡± I shout in triumph.


    Robert chuckles as he stands up, and Toby pokes his head back in from around the corner, looking a little frazzled but otherwise no worse for wear.


    ¡°Bloody Hell, looks like a bomb went off!¡± Toby exclaims.


    ¡°No shit sherlock. I put the missile right at his feet! Of course the place is trashed!¡±


    ¡°Speaking of trashed. You uh, might need a new shirt Lucy.¡± Robert says while averting his gaze.


    I look down, and find my tits just hanging in the wind for everyone to see. Apparently my shirt didn''t survive the blast wave. That explains the breezy feeling. I slap my free hand over my breasts in an attempt to cover them. I can at least get my nipples covered, but with only one hand I''m still leaving a lot exposed.


    ¡°Oh for fucks sake! Stop ogling and get me a new shirt or something!¡± I chastise them, even though both are making a point to look away.


    Robert responds by taking his shirt off and tossing it at me, leaving him with only an undershirt on. The white dress shirt is stained with god knows what at this point and smells of man sweat. But it''s better than me flashing every person and demon I meet. I drop the missile launcher and throw it on, but quickly figure out it doesn''t fit very well while doing the buttons up. I manage to get my breasts covered but have to leave a bunch of buttons undone, showing off some midriff. It''s a man''s shirt, and I''ve got tits. It just doesn''t fit me right.


    ¡°Thanks. Don''t think I''ll be giving you another show any time soon.¡± I say.


    ¡°Darn, I liked the part where that cultist exploded.¡± Toby jokingly replies. I shoot a quick glare his way but don''t hold it, instead opting to pick the launcher back up. Of course I only get two steps before¡­.


    ¡°Lucy! You really want to play it that way? Fine, let''s see how lucky you really are then! Bring her to me, kill the rest!¡± A very indignant James bellows from the street. Followed by a wave of demonic war cries.


    You gotta be shitting me! Of course he isn''t dead after taking a missile to the face. No that woulda been too easy. I rush forward, snatching up the launcher and immediately setting to work pulling the old tube off the back. Then I hear the rumbling, and look over to see a tidal wave of demons crashing through the lobby. Ghouls, corjo, super zombies, and several other types I don''t recognize.


    I immediately realized that even if I get this launcher reloaded in time it wouldn''t be enough. They were going to get through that gate. We need to leave, but no doubt the building was surrounded and there were even more outside. I could probably make the dash but everyone else would get torn to pieces. So, only one option left really.


    ¡°Into the back, now! Robert grab the bag!¡± I yell, pointing to the bag of missiles next to Robert. Both him and Toby pause for a second, clearly having expected to make a stand.


    ¡°I said now!¡± I bark, which gets them moving again.


    Toby tries to side track to grab the gun bag but I just push him forward towards the back. I hear the groaning of metal and the crackling of wood as the demons slam into the gate and counter. We rush past the cubicles and make the turn into the pre vault room where we find Karen and Greg tending to an injured, but surprisingly awake Seymore.


    ¡°What was that explosion? What''s going on?¡± Karren asks frantically. But I ignore her and everyone else in the room and move to the vault door.


    ¡°Some sort of cultist overlord and shit ton of demons! Like way too many!¡± Toby says.


    ¡°Lucy, please tell me you have a plan?¡± Robert asks me.


    I don''t respond to him, but I actually do have some semblance of a plan. It''s risky, but its the only way I see any of the others surviving this. Welp, I already feel a bit bad for doing this, time to be a bit of a bitch. I bang on the vault door as hard as I can, the heavy thumps echoing throughout the room even over the din of the demons outside.


    ¡°US Army! We''re evacuating survivors! Open up!¡± I scream as loud as I can.


    Almost everyone else looks at me like I''ve completely lost it. Except for Seymore, the look on his face tells me he knows exactly what I''m doing. A few silent seconds pass so slow it feels like an eternity.


    ¡°Lucy¡­.¡± Robert starts to say, only for a click from the door to interrupt him.


    The door starts to slowly open, the voice of a middle aged woman spilling out. ¡° Thank god, please¡­¡±


    I grab the door and yank it open, revealing a equally parts confused and terrified middle aged woman with blonde hair wearing sweat stained business casual.


    ¡°Hey, sorry but we¡¯re up shit creek. The good news for you, we aren''t cultists. The bad news¡­.¡± I don''t get to finish my sentence before a loud bang comes from the direction of the front lobby.


    ¡°That. So you''re going to let my friends in. Everyone inside now!¡± I yell, fully throwing the heavy door open.  Karen and Greg immediately start to lift Seymore, while Toby and Robert drop their guns. Robert grabs Sara under the arms while Toby works with George to grab the bags.


    ¡°Hold the fuck on, you¡¯re not¡­¡± A loud angry voice comes from the inside as a older man with short pepper hair in what appears to be a very stained fancy suit steps up. I cut him off.


    ¡°Mother fucker I have both magic AND a missile launcher. I fucking am and your going to cooperate. Because if you don''t I¡¯ll break your arms and legs so you can''t not cooperate.¡± I snarl at him.


    That seems to shut him right the hell up, probably something to do with the literal missile launcher I¡¯m loading. Or you know, the very obviously magical fancy rocks floating around me. I turn back and snatch up the bag of missiles Robert brought back. I finish ripping the old tube off and toss it to the side, fishing a new one out of the bag and slotting it in. In the background I hear the vault dwellers arguing with the rest of the group. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°We don''t have the room or the supplies!¡± One of them bitches.


    ¡°Too bad, we brought our own supplies and we''ll just have to make due with the room.¡± Greg replies.


    ¡°Lucy, hurry up!¡± Robert yells from inside as I finish slotting a new tube into the launcher.


    I look around, every one else except Greg is inside, and that''s because he came back out to grab a remaining bag and discarded guns. An extra loud boom comes from the direction of the lobby, accompanied by the ripping of metal and renewed cries from the demons. Times up, now all I can do is yolo it. Because if I''m gonna die in this demon infested shithole of a city, I¡¯m gonna break all their important shit on my way down. I look over and recall my shield crystal from Robert. The translucent barrier appearing then disappearing with a pop as the crystal flies over to revolve around me.


    ¡°Greg, inside! Time''s up!¡± I snap at him. He hauls ass back into the vault.


    ¡°Close that door and don''t open it no matter what!¡± I yell back as I rush out of the room.


    ¡°What are you¡­.!¡± I hear over my shoulder as I bust into the back area of the bank, leaving the others, and the bag of missiles behind. I can''t afford the extra weight for what I''m about to do. My mana is lower than I''d want for this, so I''ve only got one shot.


    Mana: 14,328/28,536


    A horde of demons is crashing over and through the cubicles on my left as I dash though the back. A corjo launches off some demon and takes a snap at my head mid air on its way by, and I just barely manage to duck enough to avoid getting bit.


    Sure enough my plan works, the majority of the horde turns and follows to chase me, giving the others a hell of a lot more safety. Hopefully I can lead the horde away while heading to the cultist camp. I turn a corner and find the emergency exit in front of me and make a dash for it. I slam into the door at full speed, throwing open and sending a demon waiting on the other side tumbling away from the impact.


    The exit leads into an alley between the buildings, and its fucking infested with demons. I jump and boost myself up to the roof of the next building over with my flight magic, demons biting at my heels as I lift off. One particular demon that looks like a cheetah with three snake heads actually manages to graze my foot.


    I land on the black rubber roof with a muffled thud, then look back down to see the clamor I managed to barely escape from. A sea of demons surges in from both ends of the alley as well as through the emergency exit, all crashing and washing over one another. At least for a moment. Suddenly they seem to realize they cant get me, and begin surging at the side of the building. It takes only a moment for the smartest ones to realize they can''t get me, and begin reacting in different ways.


    Packs of Corjo demons break off and head for the ends of the alley, probably to try and surround the building. Some of the ghouls begin looking for foot holds and climbing the side of the building. Others continue to clamor around below. One of the super zombies picks up a corjo demon and holds it up for a moment. I¡¯m wondering what the hell it''s doing when it suddenly yeets the damn thing straight at me.


    I dive back as the fake dog thankfully falls short and slams into the side of the building with a crunchy splat. Right demons are insane and blood thirsty. Not a fun combination to be on the receiving end of. Time to keep moving, before¡­.


    A howl from above interrupts my train of thought and I look up to find six large dots circling in the sky. Ah yes, the demon air force, because this shit wasn''t already hard enough. If only I had my own wings, that would make this¡­. a lot¡­. Easy¡­¡­.. Sometimes I wonder how I haven''t gotten myself eaten yet. I reached down and rip the dress shirt off, freeing my back to deploy my wings. Sorry Robert, your shirt was helpful for five minutes at least.


    With a simple thought all of mimicry is dismissed. My horns stand tall just above my ears once more, my tail comes out and lightly brushes against the cool rubbery surface of the rooftop, and my wings spring free to feel the cool air. It''s not like I have anyone to worry about seeing me. Maybe a security camera or two but I highly doubt it, after three days or however long its been most backups will be dead or torn apart by demons. And with the milky white dome still covering the city, I don''t have to worry about spy drones or anything. That and it''s helping my mana regen.


    Mana: 14,424/28,536


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    Mana: 14,432/28,536


    The city is like my playground now, it''s just that all the other kids are mean, and have knives, and are out to kill me. OK, so maybe not quite like a playground.


    I only see two problems will the current setup, both having to do with my wings. I need to make sure my wings don''t smack the back end of the launcher. And when I fire it I''ll need to keep my wings well clear, because catching the back blast will probably hurt like a bitch.


    I¡¯m still carefully observing the circling dots above me, trying to figure out how I want to do this exactly, when a loud thunk to my left shakes the roof a little. I look over and find a small sized Corjo demon has actually managed to land and is getting up. Except it sees me and skips the getting up part, opting to just straight lunge at me. I reflexively cock my left wing back. And when the little shit leaves the ground my wing springs forward like a coiled up hydraulic piston being released. The Corjo doesn''t stand a chance. I slap it away and end up punting the little shit back off the side before it can close its jaws on my wing.


    Fuck, I know Charles said these things pack some power, but I didn''t expect to be punting demons around. Oh well, works for me. Next step, get to their little camp. And to do that, I¡¯ll need to use my wings properly.


    I look up and double check on the dots circling above. They seem content to stay up there for now, but might get aggressive once they figure out I can fly. Still, a one versus six is much better odds than the horde down stairs. Speaking of, another Corjo demon goes sailing through the air. But this one overshoots by a wide margin and ends up crashing down on the street on the other side of the building. I should probably leave before it lands another one on the roof that I have to deal with.


    But as I step up to the edge of the roof and spread my wings while looking at the horde below I realize a slight concern I should have had before now. I¡¯ve never really tested my ability to fly. Charles said my wings probably weren''t meant for flight, and I never got around to actually testing it on account of the city being on so high alert. And while yea I know how to move them, I have no idea if I naturally know how to fly with them. The most I''ve really done with both my wings and my magic is jump into a tree. Well, worst case scenario I probably have enough mana to keep myself from falling into the fustercluck down there. And nothing like a little pressure to motivate me to not fuck it up the first time.


    I move my wings around to get feel for everything, before spreading them wide and raising them up. I push myself up with flight magic as I give a huge flap of my wings, and suddenly I¡¯m rocketing straight up into the air with no small amount of speed. Too much speed in fact, the result of me grossly overcompensating for the additional weight of the launcher. I cut the magic and throw my wings out wide, resulting in an air break maneuver that almost gave me whip lash as I yanked myself around.


    This of course is itself another massive overcompensation, and leaves me about stall out and free fall. So the answer is no, I don''t know how to fly. I restart the flight magic, giving it just enough juice to effectively levitate myself in the air. Of course this isn''t very efficient, but it''s also not as bad on my mana as I thought it would be.


    Mana: 13,874/28,536


    That still doesn''t mean I have time to daughtle. Charles¡¯s words about how my wings might be meant for gliding crop up in my brain, and it gives me an idea. I spread my wings to their full width and angle myself horizontal, effectively turning myself into an airplane of sorts. Except instead of jet engines I have flight magic propelling me forward. I push off, my wings immediately catching air and generating lift.


    It becomes apparent immediately that I need to keep them rigid and straight, as even a slight flex causes a change in the airflow, and pulls me in a different direction. Another thing I notice is my tail, while not very wide, is long enough to create some drag. And I can throw it around behind me to make small changes. It''s an interesting experience, one that''s surprisingly soothing in its own way despite where I¡¯m going. Buildings pass underneath me at a rapid pace as I feel the wing over my wings, tugging on my tail, and whipping my hair into a frenzy.


    Thankfully I¡¯m moving fast enough that its whipping around behind me and not into my face. I think there are also some protections or something from the flight magic, because the wind isn''t making it as hard to see as I thought it would be. The flight magic is¡­. weird, and it''s hard to describe how. I can use it as a, let''s say propellant force, like I am now. All it''s doing right now is providing motion in a direction, other forces like gravity can still act on me. So if I were to tuck my wings in I¡¯d drop like a rock.


    But that itself is weird because the magic can act as both an independent or bound to me force. So I can have the magic pushing me to say my right, and no matter which way I turn it will always be pushing me to my right. Or I can have it independently pushing on me from my left, and when I turn left it would then be pressing on my back pushing me backward.


    But I can also set it to what would be best described as absolute mode. That''s similar to propulsion mode, but it counteracts all other forces trying to act on me, and I myself am moving, not something is pushing on me, if that makes any sense. I can use it to move, or just sit in place and hover. Obviously that''s way more expensive mana wise. But even I can tell this has a lot of versatility and potential.


    I bring myself to a slow stop in the air and look up to check the dots circling in the sky once again. I''m not confident enough to try flying upside down to watch them yet. Sure enough they¡¯ve followed me, and now all six of them are diving down and rapidly approaching. Well shit, shoulda seen that coming.

 Chapter 54: Sky Flight

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    I flip back around and propel myself forward. I have no plans on getting into any aerial fights. Because the ground will hurt and there is a non zero chance I will be introduced to it if I engage them. I quickly pick up speed, continuing my heading and closing distance on the three pillars of light coalescing at the top of the dome. My current plan is as follows. One, avoid anything I can and get to the cultist camp as fast as I can. Two, land hard and fast, blow up something important, and bolt out just as fast. Step three¡­.. I¡¯ll work that out when I finish step two.


    I shift the launcher in hand a little to get some room, then carefully turn my head to look over my shoulder. I need to make sure I don¡¯t disrupt the orientation of my wings too much or I¡¯ll yank myself in a bad direction and possibly stall. Or just straight up crash into something, defenders make this look easy, when this is in fact a pain in the ass. Then again they don¡¯t have wings, so I probably fly more efficiently. Gah, focus Lucy, angry demons on your tail that want to eat your bones while they are still inside your body. Or worse, hand me over to James. He gives me a bad feeling, the shiver down your spine kind. Fucking cultist!


    I get a glimpse of the edge of the group chasing me but have to quickly face front again. In order to see far enough binding me I need to rotate my torso just the littlest bit. But it''s just enough to start pulling me to the left some, a dangerous prospect given the skyscrapers coming up. I started maybe twentyish blocks from the cultist camp. Now I¡¯m under ten, and that means I¡¯m coming up on the downtown skyscraper line that surrounds the central bunker. Those skyscrapers are a lot of things, but most importantly right now they are cover for me as I approach the cultist camp. Unfortunately that also makes them cover for¡­.


    Right as I have the thought, two blurs dart out from behind two separate skyscrapers on my left and right, and gun straight for me. And oh fuck they are fast! I have mere moments to react. I yank my wings in and throw all my magic into forcing myself down, executing an almost ninety degree shift in direction that has me grunting under the stress, and diving straight towards the ground. It''s barely enough to avoid the glowing black blade that comes swiping for my right wing. My maneuver has a better effect on the second figure, who passes by well outside of their swing range. I flip around to face the figures as I throw my wings out and attempt to start pulling myself out of the dive.


    Two pale purple skinned women with horns, giant wings, and a figure most women would kill for, succubi. But immediately pick up on something else, neither of the succubi are naked like most of their kind normally are. They only have on some very revealing black metal bras and thongs, but it''s definitely armor. Which is extra bad because demons don¡¯t normally wear armor, and the ones that do are supposedly very nasty. And now I have two of them chasing me!


    Both the succubi pull hairpin turns, looking almost like they are rebounding off an invisible wall as they instantly change direction to follow. I respond by blasting a disorientation screach at them at half power. It succeeds in getting them off my immediate ass but not because it hits. Both react to the attack by sharply turning ninety degrees and jetting to the sides, both barely dodging the attack as it splits the difference between them. The one on the right almost runs into a skyscraper. But she corrects her course up just in time to only drag her sword through the glass planes making up the face of the building, sending debris raining down below.


    It gives me some breathing room. Which I need as I spin back around and throw my wings out as I approach the rooftop level of the smaller buildings. I pour power into my magic and give myself enough thrust to level out just short of clothes lining myself on a traffic light that comes out of nowhere in the dust haze hanging over the city. But that gives me an idea, a stupid one, but stupid might be the only thing getting me out of here at this point. I cut my speed and lower my glide angle, causing me to slip low into the haze. Once I think they cant see me anymore I come to a stop and softly land in the middle of an intersection, being careful to minimize disturbances so as to not give away my actions.


    My gamble works as I hear both demons shouting something demonic, before blasting overhead in a straight line so fast it blows a clear trail through the haze. I immediately take off again and break left, keeping myself low so as to not be seen and slow so I can react to anything in the dust. Which was the right call because I immediately have to weave under a street lamp, over a parked semi truck, and back under a traffic light at the next intersection. Unfortunately my little stunt has only bought me so much time, as I hear the tell tale whistling of something flying fast nearby. At the next intersection one of the succubi flies through at breakneck speed, almost knocking me out of the air with the turbulence as she whizzes past. And double unfortunately for me, I fucking make eye contact with her for a split second as she blasts through.


    I hear her screeching bloody murder as she disappears back into the dust while executing a turn that sends her crashing into a building. And judging by repeated crashing sounds I¡¯m hearing, the building lost that physical disagreement. I turn hard in the direction she came from, almost nailing a street light as I re accelerate to full speed and ascend above the dust again. Only to find the other bitch dead in front of me and rearing back a swing! In a panic I throw my wings out and put my magic in full reverse in an attempt to avoid the horizontal swing.


    It works, and I watch and feel the sword whiz by just under my breasts, cutting the dress shirt open but somehow not disemboweling or doing worse to me. It doesn''t do anything for the fact that we are flying into each other at high speed. While I¡¯m breaking, it isn''t enough to stop in time. And the succubi doesn¡¯t even bother trying to slow down at all, probably convinced she could just bisect me on the way through.


    There¡¯s nothing I can do as we collide mid air, but due to our orientations we partially glance off one another. I¡¯m about to slam into her into her side shoulder first when the shield from my crystal flashes into existence for a split second. It immediately explodes into a blast of rainbow colored sparks. Then we actually make contact, and I feel a soft pain bloom in my shoulder as we bounce off one another. I get knocked into a spiral, losing a lot of my speed as I flail my wings about trying to recover. It''s no use, and next thing I know I¡¯m crashing through some glass and wrecking my way through a building.


    I crash through a fair bit of stuff, somehow most of it feels as weak as punching through cardboard. I finally come to a stop when I roll into something a bit heavier than the rest, causing it to shift backwards with a metallic thunk. Oh boy that was not how I expected that to go. At least I still have the launcher.


    I push some debris off me and look around, finding myself in the remains of some kind of open office space. A clear trail of destruction where I went crashing through all the cubicles halfway across the floor. Turns out I slammed into a heavy filing cabinet, and that''s what finally stopped me. Thankfully it was a low enough speed after trashing half the floor that it didn''t really hurt much.


    I stand up and start running across the floor in the opposite direction from where I crashed in. I hear demonic screaming behind me, but I don''t look back as I keep rushing between the office fixtures towards the windows on the opposite side of the floor. I hear something come crashing through the floor behind me, closing rapidly. I get to the window and hold the launcher in front of me, using it like a ram as I crash through the glass and out into a free fall.


    A loud boom accompanied by various kinds of screaming and chanting comes from in front of me, as the lighting suddenly changes. It goes from three moderately bright sources to one singular powerful one. I don¡¯t have time to see what it is as one of the bitches comes diving out after me, but has so much speed she shoots right over top. I can feel her sword go through my hair as she takes a swing on her way by. And I''m pretty sure bitch just cut off a lot of it.


    I spread my wings and accelerate myself downwards, picking up as much speed as possible before the upcoming ground forces me to pull up and level out. Only to find James floating in the air in front of me on some kind of dark storm cloud, charging up a spell!


    Where the fuck did he come from! I pull hard right to evade, it isn''t enough. He swings his staff and a green orb with a little green string attaching it to the tip of the staff flies off  directly at me. I try to throw my wings out and try to use my magic to push myself the other way. But before I can, the orb explodes in front of me. Turning into a giant green fish net that promptly covers and wraps around me, even managing to snag and pin my crystals. It shrinks rapidly before I can do anything. I¡¯m bound so tight I can hardly move my arms and legs, let alone my wings. The traitorous bastard starts laughing, and the string starts to retract, pulling me towards him.


    ¡°Bloody hell Lucy, you certainly didn¡¯t become any less of a pain in the ass. I thought for a bit there that I''d have to let the succubi do you in. But you''re still predictable as ever. I figured you would go straight for the camp trying to pull a fast one. Didn''t think you would pop out right in front of me though.  Reminds me of that time you blitzed Charles in Omega Dawn.¡± He said as he reeled me in like some kind of prize catch with a smirk on his face.


    Suddenly I was cast in shadow. I shifted my piercing gaze from James to whatever appeared above me. My eyes go wide in horror as a succubus floats above me, wearing a full breastplate and helmet with holes for her horns to stick out. Her sword is cocked back to perform a piercing thrust, a murderous look in her orange eyes and an insane grin on her ashen grey face.


    And just as suddenly she¡¯s knocked away by a purple blast and a loud pop.


    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare fucking stab her you power hungry, vacuum skull-ed, oversized imps! I said I wanted her alive! That means NOT stabbing her after I capture her!¡± James snaps at the demon. Then another voice pipes up from somewhere behind me I can¡¯t see, and I realize he¡¯s addressing multiple.


    ¡°Come on master Baker, we just want to have a bit of fun. And getting rid of this ugly little abomination would be doing the universe a favor anyway.¡± A demon says, before flying in front of me and circling around me. I recognize her as one of the ones that was chasing me.


    ¡°Master Baker, more like master bater. We all know you¡¯re not just following Lady Anvasta¡¯s mutant capture directive.¡± Another one pipes up from behind me. She flies in close enough that I pick her up with my essence sense.


    I¡¯d been more focused on dodging than evaluating them when I was flying, so I didn''t really compare them. But now I can ¡®see¡¯ that these demons vastly out power me. Even the weakest of the three succubi has probably five times my power level, or whatever the demon equivalent is. Surprisingly, James is the weakest person here. Which means he¡¯s getting his power from artifacts.


    ¡°Come on, you know you can have some fun with her. We can drop down to one of the little crevices between the dwellings. We¡¯ll even make her more compliant for yo GHAK!¡± The third succubus that was wearing the breastplate flies back up and starts yabering. Only for James to zap her again with a smaller version of whatever he used before.


    Have fun with me! Make me compliant! If I wasn''t trying to thrash my way out of the net spell before, I definitely am now. Even going so far as to try biting at it.


    ¡°Enough! There will be none of that right now. And if I do, I certainly won''t be getting ¡®assistance¡¯ from any of you. Now let us return. It would be a faux pas to miss the ceremony, doing Sbrugreths job for him or not.¡± James snaps, turning around and starting to float off in the direction of the cultists camp while dragging me behind him.


    ¡°Aw, don''t be such a spoilsport! We''re not so bad once you get to know us.¡± One of the succubi snickered.


    ¡°You all have collectively killed twenty of the Bayloroth cultists because you can''t contain your ¡®urges¡¯. Quite frankly it is a wonder anyone or anything wants to know you at this point.¡± James disses back.


    And it seems that little comment hit a nerve, because all the succubi let out a snarl.


    ¡°Fine, keep being a boring little prude of a man whore. Once this is all done they¡¯ll surely do away with you. Let''s go girls!¡± The one with the breastplate snarls as the three rapidly accelerate ahead.


    ¡°Succubi, always a pain in the ass. Especially the young ones. Always thinking they fuck their way to more power. You don''t know how refreshing it is that you aren''t offering to fuck me so you can suck my soul.¡± James says.


    I spit the magic net I''m hopelessly chewing on out just long enough to hiss at him. ¡°Put your dick anywhere near me and I''ll rip it off.¡±


    James chuckles. ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure right now you would definitely try. Not going to lie Lucy, you were one of, if not the hottest girl in school. Any straight guy there, myself included, would have jumped at the chance to fuck you. Turning into a demon didn¡¯t hurt your looks at all, that''s for sure. But there won¡¯t be any of that right now. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll come around after what I¡¯m about to show you.¡± James says with a haughty tone.


    ¡°What, how small your dick is? Don¡¯t start with me on the we¡¯re better because humans are also shit argument! How many people are dead because you wanted to be a dickhead!?¡± I snap at him while continuing to struggle against the net.


    But it''s no use, this magic net is tough enough that I can''t get through it. And its fucking pressing on my wings funny to the point its starting to hurt too! That''s not even getting into the missile launcher being pressed into my chest. I can''t even screach at him because he''s dragging me along below him and keeping me facing away from him.


    ¡°Oh please, don¡¯t bother with the morality angle. We both know you don''t actually have morals anymore. The only thing demons respect is power, which is understandable. Power makes the universe move. What''s that old saying? Might makes right. Something like that.¡±


    ¡°So you did all this for some measly power? Built yourself the power equivalent of an anthill on the corpses of half a city!¡±


    ¡°This isn''t my operation, don''t go blaming me for all those deaths. I''m more like a third party contractor brought in to perform a service.¡±


    ¡°You''re still participating like a treasonous little wank stain!¡±


    ¡°Except my work mainly starts after the city is initially taken, not during it.¡± James replies calmly.


    ¡°So what? That makes it better?!¡±


    ¡°No, it makes it not my fault. Those people would have died regardless of if I¡¯m here or someone else was doing my job. At least this way I''m not left at the bottom of the totem pole. You¡¯ll see soon enough.¡± James says.


    Below me I see the outer wall of the cultist camp as we pass over it. The wall is still a mashup of various large containers and whatnot, but it''s clearly been improved upon. Now properly reinforced, almost no gaps exist, save for the gates. Proper battlements and cover have been placed all along the top, even some machine gun emplacements. Behind the wall I notice several of what I think are anti air emplacements. And is that a fucking phalanx? I''m no military enthusiast but even I know what that is, and how old it is. The precursor to modern point defense systems, and somehow the cultists got their hands on one.


    As I¡¯m dragged over the camp, the chanting from before increases in volume. Both due to the smaller distance, and the fact they are slowly getting louder. Well, I wanted to get into the cultist camp, just not like this. Though if I had tried to fly in that phalanx might have turned me into swiss Nu.


    For all James¡¯s boasting the base still doesn''t look that impressive. I''m pretty sure the US military could literally run this place over in an hour tops. Especially since they¡¯ve had¡­. How long has this shit been going on? Three days ish? Of course, that means the cultists have had that long too. And from the looks of it, they¡¯re about to finish what they have been working on.


    I can shift myself enough to get a view of one of the three crystals, and I don''t like what I see. The beam has changed angles, now aimed at an almost forty five degree angle over the central bunker as opposed to almost straight up. Surrounding it are three circles of chanters. The inner circle is all demons, mostly succubi. But two other types I don''t recognize, making up ten participants total. The two outer circles look to be human cultists, consisting of twenty and I think forty respectively. All kneeling with palms down on the strange formations drawn under the crystals. The floating crystal itself is now a vibrant yellow, and seems to be rotating at a very high rate of speed counter clockwise.


    I''m so fixated on the crystal and chanters that I only realize we are landing when I am unceremoniously clonked onto the floor head first. Of course, my orientation ends up on my side, unable to move my head enough to put anyone on blast.


    I try to squirm to change my angle or flip over, but all it does is cause the net to tighten in response. Then James does something on par with the kind of shit you would expect from a dumb ass cultist. He stupidly walks in front of me.


    ¡°Now don¡¯t try¡­..¡± is all James gets out before I blast him with a fully charged screach spell set to disorientation.


    I don''t even consider using a damage shot. He survived a missile to the face so his shield held or he has backups. But I wonder if hr has any for specifically for blocking effects.


    It works like a charm, with the treasonous dickhead immediately tripping over his own feet and falling flat on his face. Sadly he manages to keep a death grip on his magic bullshit stick. So the net spell not only remains but constricts even harder, cutting off a movement I could make. But honestly it was worth it. James is left bumbling on the ground trying to regain his composure while the surrounding demons, mostly the succubi, taunt him relentlessly for it. After about thirty seconds the effects fade enough for James to uneasily rise to his feet and scurry out of my field of view, cursing under his breath all the while. I¡¯m tempted to blast him again, but it honestly wouldn''t do anything long term accept waste my mana


    ¡°I see you can¡¯t behave yourself Lucy.¡± James says from somewhere behind me.


    ¡°How about you take this net off so I can see how far my foot will fit up your ass.¡± I aggressively snap back at him.


    ¡°Careful, it¡¯ll get lost up in there!¡± One of the succubi calls out, causing the rest to fall into a hysterical laughing fit.


    ¡°He needs the net to catch anything. They always end up running away otherwise!¡± A second one chimes in, causing renewed giggling from the rest.


    ¡°I mean look, even the sick little freak doesn''t want any from you!¡± Another cackles.


    I feel James grab the net and tug from behind me, pulling my head up off the ground. I buck back into his hand and then forward again in an attempt to throw his grip off but don''t have enough movement range to do it effectively.


    ¡°Yes, yes, very funny. Now you, stop your cackling and hold her while I gag her.¡± James barks at one of the cackling succubi.


    I sense as one of the evil bitches closes in on me from behind. The rest of the succubi still fluttering around outside my sensing range and line of sight, but continue to laugh it up nonetheless. From the sounds of it there are a lot more than just the original three.


    ¡°Ooooooh getting kinky with her already? I thought you said you didn''t want any help.¡± She taunts.


    James doesn''t respond, but a moment later I hear the sound of duct tape being torn away from its roll. Suddenly the net vanishes. I try to spring free and bolt but the succubus is on me instantly. With one hand she grabs the missile launcher and rips it away from me. Ripping away not just my weapon but my hope of doing meaningful damage. With her other hand she grabs my throat and spins me around with a sadistic smirk on her face. Lifting me off the ground she starts to squeeze. In a panic I blast her in the face with a minimally charged screach. The attack seems to just roll off of her, not even causing her to blink as she squeezes harder. I try kicking her in the gut as hard as I can. But despite the fact she is one of the ones without armor, it feels like I¡¯m kicking a brick wall and has no effect. I desperately start flailing my wings in an attempt to get leverage, force her grip to weaken, knock some dust into her eye, anything!


    Suddenly something is slapped over my mouth. Before I can reach up to rip it off Jame¡¯s green pervert net flashes into existence around me once again. My wings are forced against my body  in an awkward position along with the crystals once again. The succubus releases her grip, ripping her hand free of the net before it fully closes on her.


    ¡°What an ugly little weakling. What good is that thing going to do for the cabal? Are you sure we can''t just kill it?¡± She sneers down at me as I flop back to the ground gasping for air.


    ¡°The aberration recruitment or capture order is a standing tenet of the organization. You should know well that Lady Anvasta gave the order herself so long ago it escapes our comprehension. And that it is one of the core rules that has always been enforced. It doesn''t matter what we think. She goes before the review committee willingly or not. And any who¡­. Interrupt the process face¡­ very unpleasant consequences.¡± James says from behind the haughty succubus.


    ¡°Fine, I paid enough attention to know it''s not you who¡­..¡± The succubus starts. Only to be interrupted by a booming, commanding, oppressive voice cutting through the city as if intent on informing the whole world of its message.


    ¡°Come one and come all! Come demons and dudes, bitches and broods, cultists and coo coos. The next act of our grand old show is about to begin!¡±

 Chapter 55: Drag of a Situation

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    I try my best to do something, anything! But Jame¡¯s bullshit pervert net keeps me wrapped up tight as I flop on the ground. Getting dropped wasn''t pleasant, but is arguably less worse than being choked to death.


    ¡°Who the hell is making all that racket?¡± One of the succubi growls.


    ¡°Obviously one of the Bayloroth cultists you twat for brain.¡± Another one jeers back.


    ¡°What did you call me!¡± The first one spits back enraged.


    ¡°Enough!¡± James screams. ¡°Disperse all of you! Sbrugreth may be in charge of security, but we are still responsible for the sigils and ritual! Go back to watching and protecting them. We are not taking any chances on the off chance that his ¡®security¡¯ fails again.¡±


    Most of the Succubi snap insults or curse at James, but fly off nonetheless.


    ¡°Not you, come with me, and bring that with us.¡± He says to the one who held me down and stole my missile launcher.


    The demoness grumbles, but ultimately falls in next to James. James starts walking. And when the line connecting to the net runs out, the asshole starts just dragging me across the ground.


    I try to shout at him as loose rocks and assorted debris grind against my skin and lodge in my clothes and hair. But the duct tape over my mouth makes it impossible. Its somehow even blocking me from casting my screach spell.


    ¡°You will get the privilege of walking back when you can behave yourself, Lucy.¡± He talks down on me with a tone befitting a parent talking down to a misbehaving toddler.


    Fucking dickhead, I¡¯m so murdering him once I get out of this net. I don¡¯t care if he has a shield or not, I¡¯ll rip it off then rip his balls off next! No mater which way I toss and turn the drag is painful. Being dragged on my chest hurts for obvious reasons, while my wings are very displeased with the experience as well. In the end I discover being dragged on my side is the least painful of the positions. So I throw my weight around to keep on my side.


    We pass through the camp fairly quietly, with the succubus letting out a grumble or groan every once in a while. I see many more little details we couldn''t see from afar, even with the binoculars. The camp is a mess, looted piles of assorted things strewn about. Ranging from expensive electronics to jewelry, even packaged food and clothing. It looks like the cultists grabbed damn near everything not bolted down. A few groups were sorting through the various piles, taking items and moving them into boxes while noting down something on notepads.


    Several of the large cargo containers are open. And seem to have makeshift facilities built into them ranging from barracks, demon dens, and what I think is a vehicle workshop. The longer I¡¯m dragged the deeper we go into the camp, the density of cultists and demons visibly increasing as we go.


    After what feels like an eternity of dragging we finally stop. I surprisingly only have a few small scratches, perks of demonic bullshit I guess. My jeans on the other hand got ripped up even worse than they were before. Ah well, I''d be pissed but they weren''t salvageable anyways.


    ¡°Sbrugreth! I have some issues we need to discuss!¡± James screams.


    I squirm enough to roll myself over, and find myself facing the main entrance of the central bunker. It''s abuzz with activity. All the main and side doors are open, lines of cultists constantly streaming in and out like ants to a nest. With the occasional demon flying in above them or knocking them out of the way while coming and going. Suddenly a large shadow shoots out of the central door, flashing across the distance between us and it in an instant. A demon the size of a small box truck slams down in front of us with enough force to smash the pavement, kicking up dust and covering me in debris.


    ¡°WHAT! Why do you interrupt me!? Lord Bayloroth is here to witness this event personally and I must attend to him!¡± It hisses out in an ear grating, deep, gravelly, and distorted voice that is barely understandable.


    I recognize its type from the silhouette alone. Big and bulky, with slightly shorter legs, a hunched over posture, and comparatively stubby wings. Malformed feet that look like a cursed mix of a bird and human foot, a face more resembling an orc than anything else, and skin akin to ashen colored stone instead of flesh. What stood before me was a gargoyle. And when it raised off its haunches to stand double James¡¯s height I noticed the true projection of its presence, its power level. The succubi have nothing on this thing. I don¡¯t know if anyone could. If the succubi were lifeboats, the gargoyle would be the whole cruise ship. And I¡¯m the equivalent of a passenger that fell overboard and is trying not to drown in the wake.


    ¡°I wanted to inform you of a slight security situation I had to handle.¡± James says with confidence, not even a hint of fear at the presence of the creature in front of him.


    ¡°What do you mean handle!? My guards would have handled it! Do not think you can belittle and malign me with some hock up scheme of yours! If you went out and found trouble on your own, that is your doing, not mine!¡± The demon raged, stomping forward and leaning down to get directly into James¡¯s face. James didn''t even flinch.


    ¡°More so the trouble was coming to us. I only had to go out two blocks. Because that''s how close she got to the camp unmolested by your guards. Moreover, she had this.¡± James says as he makes a gesture to the missile launcher the succubus is carrying. ¡°It came from one of your lost convoys. She almost had a firing line on the crystals. Had I not personally intervened she may have been able to capitalize on it.¡±


    ¡°That one is from that group of human pets that you wished to keep alive, is it not? It would not have gotten that far in the first place if they had been butchered like I ordered! You intervened in that matter, so that attack is YOUR responsibility!¡± The gargoyle screams.


    ¡°That does not change the fact she got as close as she did uncontested by your people, and that she was as dangerous to the operation as she was with this. All due to your people¡¯s incompetence. If I had wanted to disparage you in front of your lord, I would have brought this up in front of him instead of calling you outside. See to it that this does not happen again.¡± James said, a hint of finality in his voice.


    Sbrugreth stomped again, this time hard enough to spray me once again with dust and debris. ¡°My security has held so far and will continue to do so! I must attend Lord Bayloroth. I will deal with your arrogance later, human! And do not interrupt me with such trivial matters again!¡±


    With that the gargoyle turned in an instant and vanished back into the bunker with a gust of wind that ruffled everyone''s hair.


    ¡°As insufferably pompous and unpleasant as he always is.¡± The succubus sneers.


    ¡°Careful.¡± James chides her. ¡°He might still be able to hear you.¡±


    ¡°He will be too busy being his lord¡¯s personal toy.¡± she snickers in reply.


    ¡°Best not test him anyways. He is more easily angered than normal with Lord Bayloroth himself here. Either way, deal with that weapon and return to your duties.¡± James says, turning towards the closest giant crystal.


    The succubus angrily mumbles under her breath in demonic while turning away and floating off towards one of the containers that looked like it contained a makeshift armory. Well shit, I was still hoping to somehow get free and steal that back. But at this point it''s pretty clear that''s not going to happen. Well, I kinda did it to myself, which somehow pisses me off more than if it just happened.


    I was so busy figuring that I¡¯d die a horrible death ripped limb from limb and butchered that I didn''t consider the actual worst case scenario of going out to fight. Getting captured instead. Because if the stories are true, death is a mercy compared to what the demons might do. And I¡¯d be lying if I said that didn''t scare me.


    James lifts off the ground again, but this time only about a foot. Apparently he¡¯s too gone back to being too good for walking. He starts floating away, moments later the magic line connecting the net to the staff goes taught. The dragging resumes, along the unpleasant feeling of rocks and other debris grating against my wings, arms, legs, even face. I desperately squirm around trying to get a ¡®good¡¯ position that hurts the least.


    Along we went through the camp the sounds of cultists doing cultisty things and demons being the infernal horrors they are. I hear a loud, deep snap on my left, followed by a series of smaller crunches. I peer over to find a corjo demon laying under one of those fold out plastic tables. It¡¯s chewing on something, something fleshy, red, with a white core. Another crunch as it bites down and I realize it''s chewing on an arm, a severed one to be exact. It lifts its paw, revealing a feminine hand, a glint on the finger catches my attention. A wedding ring goes down the corjo¡¯s gullet with a sickening crunch.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    An imp lands on the table above the corjo. The ugly little thing is only a foot tall, short stubby legs with wings making up most of its body mass. It¡¯s also got a face not even a mother could love. With a snicker it reaches a clawed red hand down and snatches the unsuspecting dog demon¡¯s prize away. It takes to the sky as the corjo violently bolts up after it, sending the table and its contents flying over backwards. It snaps its jaws shut just short of the imps tail, the little demon flying away cackling. The corjo bolts after it, leading to several screams and a few curses as it darts between two containers.


    Suddenly, another imp lands in front of me. This one¡¯s green, and a little smaller than the first one. It¡¯s also a lot weaker than the other demons. Which makes sense, it''s because an imp. I don''t need to be a demonologist to know these guys are at the bottom of the demon totem pole. Its maybe a third of my power level.


    It hops along next to me, seemingly taking joy in my struggling and pain while observing me. Suddenly it reaches out and sticks a claw through the netting, grabbing a hand full of my hair and yanking. I scream out in pain as the little shit digs its heels in and cackles with glee. I thrash around trying to knock its grip off but to no avail. For an agonizing minute it yanks my hair every which way as I¡¯m dragged across the ground, James seemingly uncaring of its antics.


    It finally seems to get bored and lets go, but continues hoping along beside me. Suddenly it jumps into the air, flaps its wings, and lands on top of me. I thrash to throw the little shit stain off, but it keeps its balance. It jumps around, stabbing at me with its claws and giggling every time I flinch with pain. It gives a particularly hard jab, and I scream as a sharp pain shoots through my left wing. Then I feel something warm and wet running down it. It fucking punctured my wing. It''s not a big hole, but I can feel it throbbing with pain and heat every second. I start to cry from all the combined pain, a few tears running down my face as my eyes get blurry.


    The imp lets out a sadistic cackle, then starts jumping up and down on my back like a little gremlin jumping on a bed. Except it''s so small that it doesn''t hurt me at all unless it lands on the punctured wing, which results in me letting out another howl of pain, much to the demon¡¯s amusement. It tries to jump up and down on the bad wing repeatedly, but I shift myself sideways so it can''t. If it were to try, it¡¯d simply side off.


    So it switches targets, and reaches through the netting again to start poking at my ass. I feel a few sharp stings, but nothing like the punctured wing. It shoves a claw through the fabric and rips a chunk away, laughing in glee at the destruction it''s causing. Suddenly it stops cackling, and seems to become interested in something else. That something is unfortunately my tail, which is pinned down between my legs by the netting.


    I feel it reach through and grab hold hold the base, then yank with all its might. The attempt is so pitiful I almost let out a laugh despite the pain I''m in. I barely felt it pull. Apparently my tail is tough enough to be resistant to this little shit, much to its outrage. It keeps tugging, its demented laughter turning into angry grunts as it keeps trying yank but to no avail. Then it reaches a bit further down and pulls again, pulling some of my tail up a bit. Realizing it¡¯s doing something, the little shit proceeds to start pulling more and more.


    I couldn''t get my own tail free of the netting due to how tightly it was bound. But the little shit has leverage and an angle being outside the net, and is slowly able to pull my tail through the hole just above the base. It''s by no means a pleasant experience, especially at the start when my tail is basically folded over itself. At first I thrash my tail a bit trying to get it to let go, but then I realize I should let it pull it free. When it seems to start getting bored, I wiggle my tail some and let out another pained grunt, trying to make it think I dislike its treatment. It takes the bait and starts yanking with renewed vigor.


    Come on you little shit, just a little bit more. Got it!


    My tail pops free, the imp cackles and does a little hopping side to side dance on top of me. It lunges at my tail and grabs hold. At the same time I curl it down towards the imp. My tail is long and flexible enough that I actually can bend it back around and touch its own base with the tip. I¡¯ll even have a little room to spare depending on the angle. The imp discovers this the hard way.


    I manage to wrap the end around one of its arms, and squeeze tightly. The imp lets out a startled shriek, and swipes at the end of my tail. I feel a burning pain flare up as it gets good hit in, but I keep my grip. It''s not strong enough to stop me as I yank the little fuck stain into the air, then slam it down into the ground in front of me as hard as I can. It shrieks even harder as it slams into the ground with a satisfying crack, and I think I even feel something break in the devil. I lift it up, the imp still screeching and trying to claw its way free. Then I viciously slam it into the ground again. It lets out another screech of pain, but all that does is tell me I need to keep going.


    Over and over I flail it around and slam it down, twisting and whipping it around to cause as much damage as I can. After a particularly good slam its yelling turns into gurgling. Another slam shuts it up all together. But I''m not done, I thrash it around some more. Most of the impacts end up in front of me so I can see the mangled course of the little shit getting what it deserves. I hold the mangled corpse over in front of my face, drinking in the damage I¡¯ve inflicted. It twitches, so not a corpse¡­¡­ yet. Another slam headfirst into the ground takes care of that problem.


    Around me a few cultists and demons seem to have taken notice of the show. Some of the cultists simply watch with blank faces, others seem more disturbed by the scene. The demons however have reactions ranging from bored to laughing at the imp¡¯s miss fortune. That or they are laughing at me being tied up. Probably both.


    ¡°See Lucy, you don¡¯t want to be at the bottom of the pile. They can sense weakness, and won''t hesitate to Oof!¡± James starts yabbering, but is interrupted when I hurl the mangled imp at the sound of his voice and apparently manage to hit him. Much to the amusement of all the demons around us.


    ¡°You are testing my patience Lucy.¡± James says.


    Suddenly power flashes through the net, and an electric shock runs through my body. For a full second the world is spasms and pain. When it ends my body goes limp as James continues to drag me along the ground. Now I feel slow, sluggish, my limbs don''t want to move, everything hurts with a lingering dull pain. I can faintly make out the stench of burning something, probably me.


    ¡°That''s a warning to behave yourself. The next one will be twice as long and even more powerful. Now pay attention, we¡¯re here.¡± James spits out from ahead of me with an amused tone.


    I don''t know where here is. But judging from the magical buzz in the air and the faint glowing lines on the ground ahead of me, we¡¯re at one of the crystals. A powerful entity enters my sensory range, moving up to James.


    ¡°Lord James, final preparations are complete. The base station has finally prepared the portal on their end and is ready to receive. We are ready to begin the connection process at your command.¡± It says to him in a twisted feminine voice.


    ¡°Excellent Shema, I¡¯ve already done a double check on the calculations. All that is left is to inform Sbrugreth. No doubt he will wish to put on a show for his lord.¡± James replies.


    ¡°Of course, and given his shall we say, poor response to surprise situations, it would be best to ensure he has prepared.¡± The demoness replies.


    ¡°Poor response is an understatement.¡± James says while shifting to drag me into view of the figure he is talking with.


    This Shema is another succubus. All purple hair blends with all purple skin, black horns jut out of her forehead and curve back over the top of her head. Red menacing eyes bore into me as she seems to evaluate me.


    ¡°This is the new variant? Her magical talents seem acceptable, but the rest is lacking.¡± She states while continuing to stare at me.


    ¡°Nothing breaking her in can''t fix. Her attitude is good when she applies it properly. Even smashed an imp to a pulp on the way here. But none of that is our concern, that will be left up to the review committee. But I have to keep her with me due to her propensity to get herself into trouble and the younger girl''s blood lust.¡± James replies.


    ¡°Yes, leaving her with the new bloods would have resulted in¡­. Damaged goods.¡± Shema replies while handing James some sort of demonic handheld device.


    James holds it up to his mouth and starts speaking. ¡°Sbrugreth! Come in! We are ready to start opening the gate. I suggest rapidity before the base station fucks something up on their end again.¡±


    A small crackle a moment later and Sbrugreths wretched voice comes through the communicator. ¡°Very good! Start the process immediately! Lord Bayloroth grows tired of the interruptions!¡±


    James simply nods to Shema, who in turn spins around and darts off while barking orders.


    ¡°Now Lucy, you''ll get to see what true power looks like. It''s not being one of those creatures that can travel faster than sound, or smash an entire building with the flick of your wrist. No, it''s being able to get those to bend to your will and follow your wishes. Something that the demons are surprisingly good at for all their narcissistic, power hunger antics.¡± James says as he walks to and leans over me. Seemingly unconcerned that he is now well within tail range.


    ¡°You know Lucy, I''m kinda envious of you, not going to lie. It takes a lot of preparation or¡­. grit, to not be completely overwritten by the dark urges during demonization. I''d have gone through it myself already otherwise. And yet, the moment you walked into school that first day back I knew you had changed. Done on a whim what so many crave and prepare for their entire lives in an attempt to throw off their mortal shackles.¡± He continues. The crystal behind him starts to hum in an ominously strange tone.


    ¡°Hid under your bed my ass. And yet you just go back to playing human. Wasting all that power and potential, then again you probably don''t even realize what you have. How much others have to work for what you just stumbled upon. But that''s how it is, the universe isn''t fair. So let me show you what you''re missing, and why siding with humanity is a losing prospect in the end.¡±


    The crystal starts to vibrate and glow even brighter, emitting a sound like constantly crunching ice. Streaks of blue lighting start shooting out of the bottom and traveling up the side to the top. The tone seems to reach its peak as all the lightning rapidly solidifies into a case around the crystal. The beam starts to shift¡­¡­ and then the whole thing cuts out like someone pulled the power cord.


    And judging by the shift from haughty to ultra annoyed on Jame¡¯s face, that wasn''t supposed to happen. I burst out laughing through my gag. Sick fucking doom crystal they got there.