Ash
Ash cleared her throat some distance away from the Nightmares. With Satsuhiro near her, she began to speak the incantation for Empowered Light, just in case she needed to do any healing during this coming fight.
"For Light of grace to reach those in need, Lumina, allow our faith to dictate the power of our words. Let no prayer we utter be left unheard. To this end, show yourself in our actions and let your brilliance be seen."
When it was done, her own and Satsuhiro's bodies glowed brilliantly. They had hidden behind some boulders precisely so the Nightmares wouldn't see them during this.
"Okay, done," Ash said. She checked her status.
Level 13
MP: 260/300
"I'm trying to think of a strategy here, anything to add?" Satsuhiro asked.
"Uh, so, there are three kinds of demons. Lust Demons are the weakest, Wrath Demons are the strongest, and Gluttony Demons are in the middle. Maybe we focus the Wrath Demon first and save its friends for later."
"Agreed. We don't have to walk up too early either," Satsuhiro said. "We can open with a series of spells from afar, injure them as much as we can before the melee portion of the fight actually starts. Well, at least, you can injure them before then."
"Right," Ash nodded.
"Additionally, you can use your bow form. See if you get a lucky quick kill on any of them. Keep in mind, although I'm sure their mana levels are so high because of the buff, they might still have spells they can use. Put those dancing shoes on and try not to get too close to any of them."
"Maybe you can distract one?" Ash asked. "I mean, fighting three at once really doesn't sound ideal."
"I'll try," Satsuhiro said. "Well, it doesn't seem like there are many more options. Let me know when you want to start."
"I'm ready now." Ash quickly replied. "Let's just get it over with."
"Alright. Good luck."
With those words out of the way, Ash took out Lust and transformed it into a bow. They walked back towards the enemies, who Ash swore had to have noticed them by now. Maybe they're that committed to guarding those things, that they're not even leaving their side. Ash thought. In that case, how delicate are they? Could I just run up, kick 'em a few times and take this whole dimension down? Though, if there's a barrier or something surrounding them, that would just be the dumbest suicide ever committed.
Whatever, focus. An arrow manifested in her bow and she aimed it at the Wrath Demon. Actually... With this Dexterity buff, can I get a clean headshot? Then again, what matters more, my Dexterity or my proficiency? If I do get the headshot though, that would kill that thing instantly, no?
Let's see what happens.
Giving Satsuhiro a last look, he crossed his arms and waited for her to let the arrow loose. Ash did just that.
The projectile flew across the air with a whoosh, crossing the distance between them almost instantly. Ash hoped this meant one less Nightmare to deal with. The arrow found its target in the Wrath Demon's neck.
"Yes!" Ash exclaimed. Not the head, but that should be a kill, right?
She then saw the Nightmares finally starting to walk towards them. All three of those demons.
Including the one she'd hit.
"W-Wait..."
The Wrath Demon, though the arrow had pierced its neck, had not fallen. Instead, it currently walked towards the two Saviors as though it didn't have an arrow sticking out of its body.
"Holy shit," Ash mumbled. "How...?"
And then, a particular stat came to her mind that she hadn't thought of in a very long time.
Constitution. A person or creature's ability to take damage. It wasn't a stat she thought about often because in her own quest to become stronger, both she and Kaori had mostly focused on finding power. Accumulating damage through spells and the Strength and Dexterity stats to kill enemies faster. Not just that, but she hadn't run into anyone that prioritized this stat, and when she had first started all of this, this had been her highest stat, so she ignored it.
What this meant was simple. She didn't quite know the full potential of this particular attribute. Specifically, she was wondering if this demon simply had the highest Constitution out of anything she'd encountered so far.
"Well, that's not scary at all," she said lowly.
"Focus!" Satsuhiro urged. Then, he started to speak an incantation beside her as Ash looked back. Another arrow appeared on her bow and she quickly pulled it back, aiming it at the Wrath Demon again.
A part of her felt she should switch targets, but knowing this was the strongest one, she was determined to at least wound it further.
Another arrow. This one hit the Wrath Demon's chest. This time, the demons' response was to begin racing towards them, though the Wrath Demon moved the slowest out of the three. The Lust Demon, who had wings, of course, after drawing closer, flew up into the sky. What the...? Ash saw it with confusion in her eyes before she looked back at the Nightmares.
Satsuhiro raised his hands. From his palms, streams of fire emerged, aimed at the demons in the distance. It wasn't strong enough to truly hurt them, but it bought them some time.
Ash had time to let one more arrow loose, however, the Wrath Demon ducked under it, dodging the attack. Finally, she switched to her sword form and narrowed her eyes. The greatsword-wielding Wrath Demon was the first to reach her. It raised its unbelievably large blade up and was about to bring it down on Ash, but the half-demon dodged out of the way. She took a few steps back and aimed her free hand at it.
"Corruption spread, co- oh, shit!"
She just barely managed to notice a spiked ball on a collision course with her body, dodging just in time. She searched for the source and found the Gluttony Demon holding a ball and chain type of flail, which retracted back to the handle as it missed. What the hell is that thing!? She wondered as the Wrath Demon went to attack her again.
Ash side-stepped, raising her own sword to take advantage of the opening that this moment created. Before she could though, something else interrupted her. The Lust Demon from above screeched out a few strange things that faintly resembled words, and then a spike of violet energy shot out from in front of its mouth, aimed at Ash.
Once again, she was forced to move back, the Lust Demon's attack forcing her to put distance between herself and the Wrath Demon. On that note, the battle momentarily halted as the Wrath Demon started to slowly approach her.
Hm. Ash looked up at the Lust Demon in the sky, down at the Gluttony Demon standing some distance away, and back at her main target. I think I get it. Those two are pretty much just here to help out this fucker, she thought. The Lust Demon casts magic from the sky and the Gluttony Demon uses its flail to keep him from getting hit.
"This is going to be annoying," she muttered.
Just as she said that a dragon emerged from her left made of fire, striking the Gluttony Demon. It was a spell she'd seen before, one she knew to be one of Satsuhiro's stronger magics. The Gluttony Demon, barely affected, turned to look at him.
"I'll keep this one on me," Satsuhiro said aloud. "Focus up, they've got a pretty good formation here!"
"I noticed!" Ash responded as the Wrath Demon reached her.
She ducked under a horizontal slash and before she could even think of lunging in for an attack of her own, the Lust Demon above sent another of those violet attacks at her.
The projectile wasn't even aimed at her, it was aimed at the space between them. Ash took a few steps back, frustrated. Once more, the Wrath Demon slowly moved up to her.
There was only one positive that she'd been able to tell. Mainly, that she was certainly faster than the level 28 Wrath Demon Nightmare. However, especially when considering that it took two arrows from her like they were nothing, that meant two things. First, that it could probably end her life with one hit, and second, that Ash probably needed a far larger number of hits to kill it.
Even with the Gluttony Demon distracted momentarily, with that Lust Demon in the sky, literally watching over the Wrath Demon, those hits would be hard to find. Unless...
She recalled her Barrier spell and wondered...
I guess I'll find out.
The Wrath Demon drew closer, this time reaching up for an overhead attack. Ash sidestepped it, but the Wrath Demon wasn't done. It spun with another attack that Ash just barely managed to avoid. She moved back, trying to wait out the Wrath Demon's current barrage of swings until finally, she moved out of the way of a vertical slash that saw the Wrath Demon plant its sword into the dirt.
Now! She looked up at the Lust Demon and saw it already casting its spell. Ash did the same. She aimed a hand up and said:
"Protect me from the evils of this world!" Above her, a white magical shield appeared.
Level 13
MP: 245/300
It blocked the violet projectile that soon came, and Ash hunched over, gritting her teeth as she aimed her sword at the Wrath Demon. With the opening secured, nothing stopped her this time.
She stabbed straight through the demon's abdomen.
And yet, it took the hit, standing upright even as though nothing had happened. What...? Violet blood came out of the demon, but it didn't seem to react. Ash looked at her sword, covered in it.
That's just not fair. She thought.
In response, the Lust Demon above sent a barrage of black spheres her way, forcing her to move back as she just barely dodged them.
Beside her, Satsuhiro aimed several Fire spells at the Gluttony Demon and all of them hit, to very little effect. Then, Ash paled as the Gluttony Demon aimed its flail at him, smashing into Satsuhiro's torso.
Oh no. Ash looked back at the Wrath Demon just in time to dodge out of the way of a swing, but instead of retaliating, she ran towards Satsuhiro. The Lust Demon above hadn't expected this and sent its attack at the spot between Ash and the Wrath Demon as it had done previously, missing.
As Ash reached Satsuhiro and found that although the flail hadn't fully broken through his armor. The Lust Demon turned towards her and aimed more spells her way as Ash dragged Satsuhiro away from the enemies.
"Protect me from the evils of this world!" Her barrier blocked all of the hits that would have come, and she quickly began healing him. The Gluttony Demon was out of range with its flail, and so, all three demons began drawing closer.
MP: 220/300
"That thing hits hard," Satsuhiro said, sitting up with some effort and then standing up fully. "Go ahead, I won't get hit again."
However, as the Gluttony Demon positioned itself behind the Wrath Demon, and the latter started walking towards them, a sizeable distance between them, Ash thought about it.
There's no way he stays safe in this fight. He's just outmatched. Ash thought. Even if I take two of them on at once, that Gluttony Demon lands one lucky shot on him and he's done.
So, Ash looked at the enemies and then looked back at him.
"Stay back," she said.
"What?" Satsuhiro raised a brow.
"If you stay in the fight, you're only gonna get hurt. Come on, just do it." She gestured for him to go.
"Ash, those are three Nightmares, do you..."
"I fucking know, dude!" Ash responded, turning towards the Wrath Demon as it drew closer. "But the only way you don't get hurt here is if I do this. Otherwise, you're probably not gonna make it. Look," Ash reached over and grabbed one of his hands. The action surprised the Savior. "I'm only like, a minute or two away from my Demon Form. Once I hit that, I'll probably be stronger than them. Trust me, I've got this."
That last part, even to Ash's own ears, sounded like she was trying to convince herself just as much as she was him. After all, even with the stats she'd gain from Demon Form, there would still be a vast gap between them. However, Satsuhiro looked into her eyes and nodded.
"Alright. Go ahead." Satsuhiro started to move back, walking away from the fight. Ash nodded to herself.
Okay... Now what?
The Wrath Demon, who had reached her, answered that question for her. It raised a blade and lowered it. Ash moved out of the way, then she took a step back to avoid an incoming attack from the Gluttony Demon's flail.
Ash moved back, breathing heavily.
And then, her sword was wrapped in flames, a dragon made of fire snaking around the blade. What!?
"It's a concentration spell!" Satsuhiro called out, far away. Ash looked back and saw his hands pressed together, covered in fire as well. "I'm not just gonna sit here and do nothing, now go!"
Ash turned back towards the Nightmares.
Okay, I need to think of something, quick. I can feel myself getting a little tired. She realized. That Lust Demon is so far up, I'm only gonna be able to hit it when it chooses to come down. The Wrath Demon and the Gluttony Demon are both slow as hell, but with the Lust Demon supporting them, I have to pick the perfect moments to go in. I can make another barrier before I go for a hit, but now I have to worry about that flail too. So, what can I...?
Going through her repertoire of spells in her mind, she tried to find one that could be of help here.
There was one that came to mind, but she worried about what would happen if she relied on it and was unsuccessful. After all, if these demon's levels were considered too high, the spell wouldn't do anything. However, if it did, it wouldn't just give her space, it would leave her an opening to maybe even go for a killing blow.
I have to try. She thought. Three versus one like this, the only way I'll win is if I gamble.
So, she began to mutter the incantation for it, in a low enough volume so that the demons wouldn't see it coming.
"Lumina, bring your light to this world, let it shine on my enemies." She spoke, reciting the incantation for Flash of Brilliance, the blinding spell she'd picked up from Takomaro.
Level 13
MP: 180/300
Suddenly, from her free hand, a white light emerged. To Ash, it was subtle, like a white ember in her palm. To the demons though, it left them completely unable to see what was happening around them.
Holy shit, it worked! Ash realized. As the Lust Demon above tried to shake its head to regain vision, and the Gluttony Demon put a hand to its eyes, almost like it was trying to force away whatever was affecting them, Ash looked at her target.
The Wrath Demon. She ran up, flaming sword in hand to try to plunge it into its body. And only when she was close enough did she realize that she had fucked up.
As the spell did affect the Level 25 Gluttony Demon and Lust Demon but did not affect the Level 28 Wrath Demon. She had been too hasty to notice this.
And, when Ash reached up with her sword, the Wrath Demon was already in the middle of an attack. It swung its blade at her horizontally, cutting halfway through her armor into her midsection, and launching her in the opposite direction.
A stream of violet blood followed Ash as she flew through the air, landing some distance away. Her sword, still on fire, landed a few feet away, and Ash was face-up, gasping for air.
She barely managed to internalize what had just happened. She looked down at herself and found her body half-severed. Her eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Instinctively, she reached down with a hand to heal the wound.
However, the Wrath Demon, seeing that its job wasn't finished, began to walk towards her. Ash, speechless, looked back and forth between it and herself. And then, her strength left her, as she felt more blood slipping out of her body and onto the dirt beneath.
Well... That sucked. She thought. Fuck, why do my eyes feel so heavy all of a sudden?
She shook her head. No, focus. You need to... stand up.
It was getting harder to see as well.
A violet aura started to encapsulate her, as Ash saw the Wrath Demon getting closer. She shook her head, trying to sort of wake herself up. She tried to think of options, but every couple of seconds, her thoughts would be interrupted by, holy shit, I'm dying.
She raised a hand, and even then, just doing that required quite a bit of strength. She looked at it, finding claws on her fingers. Wait, am I already in Demon Form? She wondered.
As her midsection ached, she gritted her teeth. If that's the case...
"May our vigor never fade, find our spirits emboldened." She just barely managed to get the words out for the Lumina's Spirit spell, trying to give herself some energy to work with.
Level 13
MP: 165/300
The Wrath Demon was just a few steps away.
Ash noticed Satsuhiro throwing Fire magic at the Wrath Demon, but it didn't react. The blinding spell was beginning to fade from the others.
Ash found the heavy feeling on her body had left. Okay, one down. Now...
She cast the basic healing spell on her body.
And, with her Demon Form on, and the increased Int from Niven's Blessing, she felt it work almost immediately. It didn't heal her back to fresh form, but she wasn't exactly dying, at least.
So, when the Wrath Demon came and lifted its sword to deliver a final blow, Ash was able to roll out of the way.
Oh, fuck that hurt. She lamented as her body screamed. Come on, come on...
The healing spell went on for a few more seconds and finally, it was done. She looked down at herself, and though her armor was still broken, her body had been repaired.
"Okay... Now..." She glared at the Wrath Demon in front of her. "Let's see how you deal with this. Corruption spread, corruption launch!" She cast her Dark spell at it.
Ash didn't even care about her mana at this point.
The spell connected with the Wrath Demon and it barely flinched. Ash nodded. Then, she looked up at the Lust Demon above.
Okay, but what about your friend?
And so, aiming a hand at it, she said:
"Corruption spread, corruption launch!"
The Lust Demon clearly hadn't expected a spell aimed at it. The Dark attack connected with its body, and it let out a screech so shrill that Ash nearly covered her ears. With that, the Lust Demon fell all the way to the ground, landing with a thud.
Ash's eyes widened as she saw the Gluttony Demon winding up an attack.
"Corruption spread, corruption launch!"
Feeling rage bubbling up inside of her, she aimed another spell at the Gluttony Demon. The attack hit it, and a deep moan came out of the creature, as it took a step back. Ash smirked.
Finally, she realized what she'd been doing wrong. She picked up her sword and thought:
You might be able to take a hit, but your friends can't.
And so, she ran right past the Wrath Demon. She heard its boots thudding against the ground, meaning that it was running after her, but speed was a category where Ash absolutely had the advantage. So, she reached the Lust Demon first. The creature was squirming on the ground, holding its chest like it was trying to heal its heart. Ash reached it and raised her sword, pushing it down straight on the Lust Demon's head.
It split in two, and the demon's movements stopped.
Ash saw an EXP message appear above her, as the demon died.
YES! With bloodlust running through her, Ash cheered for herself and quickly turned towards the Gluttony Demon. It was almost standing up again. She raced towards it.
The Gluttony Demon started winding up an attack and Ash, remembering that the Barrier spell also blocked against physical objects, though it was mostly used against spells, quickly said:
"Protect me from the evils of this world!" And, instead of the white shield that had emerged before, a full-on magical white wall appeared between her and the Gluttony Demon. Its flail bounced harmlessly off of it, and Ash closed the gap, letting her barrier fade.
When she reached the demon, she tossed her sword aside, preferring to use her claws. Leaping up into the air, the Gluttony Demon's eyes followed her as she soared above it, landing on top of its body. With her feet on its shoulders, she wrapped her legs around its head and pulled back a clawed hand.
Then, with a thrust, she stabbed right through its head with it. Another EXP message and the demon fell, making the ground shake as Ash rolled off of it.
Oh, fuck, Ash giggled, this feels so good.
She and the Wrath Demon locked eyes.
"No more friends," she muttered. "Just you and me, dipshit!"
The Wrath Demon raised its sword and placed it on its shoulders as it started walking towards her.
Ash didn't strategize, Ash didn't take any time to come up with something smart to do. With the mixture of bloodlust, and Dark magic flowing through her body, she simply started running up to it, eager to tear into its flesh.
The Wrath Demon raised its sword and swung it at Ash, horizontally. It reached her left shoulder and, as before, launched her away, nearly severing it as it cut through her armor.
AGH! You piece of...
"Guard my soul against the Dark's reach," Ash muttered, healing her arm, and the wound closed within ten seconds.
Again, she charged forwards. Again, the Wrath Demon went to swing at her, but Ash dodged this time, reaching up with a clawed hand aimed at its head. However, the Wrath Demon kicked her back.
She coughed up violet blood and scowled.
"You really don't like fun, do you?" She asked, as she muttered the same healing spell afterward and put a hand to her body. "I mean, all I want to do is tear to fucking shreds. Is that too much to ask for?"
Once more, the Wrath Demon slowly started to approach her. Ash raised her hands as she finished healing. However, then she thought of something. There were many ways she could hurt this enemy, and she hadn't actually tried one yet.
And right now, above all else, she wanted to see what it was like. She was trying to imagine the taste as she thought of it, her mouth salivating as she felt her fangs with her tongue.
It's probably delicious... She thought as she looked at its neck, where the arrow still was. Like the best honey... All I need is one opening.
And so, as it drew closer, she made up her mind. She waited for it to bring its sword up and when it did, she pounced.
First, she went for its legs, her newfound predatory instincts telling her to disable her enemy first. She ran up behind her and slashed behind its knees and at its Achilles tendon.
The Wrath Demon fell to its knees, not letting its sword drop, and Ash grinned. She could already taste it, but the enemy was still dangerous, even like this. So, she then focused on its arms. Slashing its wrist, she forced it to drop its sword, and only then did she look at its neck.
And, with her fangs, she bit down on it and ripped the meat off.
Sinking her teeth into the soft flesh underneath, she felt more pleasure flood her system than any kiss with Keiko or Kaori had ever produced.
She bit down on its neck and drank the violet blood that spurted out, turning the creature over and then doing the same at its chest. Piece by piece, bit by bit, she enjoyed what felt like a glorious feast, swallowing meat and blood alike. She didn't even notice that the creature had stopped moving a while ago.
She ate as much of it as she could, savoring the feeling until finally, someone said:
"Ash?"
She snapped her head in the voice's direction.
An enemy!? She wondered, but then, as she saw Satsuhiro standing there, looking absolutely disgusted, she remembered a few things.
Who she was, where she was, and as she looked down, what she was currently doing. The instant that happened, the instant she saw the Nightmare had died already, her Demon Form faded. Ash's claws and fangs disappeared.
She reached up and touched her lips, feeling blood streaming down all the way to her chest.
And then, she promptly puked out everything she'd just eaten.
---
Several minutes later, Ash was hugging herself, feeling cold, as Satsuhiro inspected the pyramids.
"So... It might be as simple as just breaking it apart, let me..." Satsuhiro stated. However, as he drew closer, Ash saw violet energy reach his body and, before she could even say anything, he stepped back. "Hm. Well, that's happening. Every bone in my body is telling me not to go near these things."
Ash breathed, standing far back, her eyes low. Satsuhiro said nothing about what he'd just seen, and right now nothing but shame was on Ash's mind.
"Demonic energy doesn't affect you, right?" Satsuhiro looked back and asked her. "Try it out, if anything happens, you shouldn't get hurt."
Ash silently nodded.
With trembling hands, she reached for her sword and walked up. Not a word passed through her thoughts as she stabbed the pyramid-like object.
Her sword destroyed it and a burst of demonic energy came out, but of course, it did nothing to her.
"Okay... Take out the others." Satsuhiro instructed and again, Ash wordlessly agreed. "If we cease to exist then, well, it's whatever, but hopefully we don't."
Ash was firmly hoping they would.
She broke the other two objects and soon, the very realm around them began to dissipate. Whatever happened, it would happen soon. However, before it did, a voice passed through her mind.
She knew it by this point to be that of Niven.
"Abomination. But... More demon than human." It simply said and at that, Ash's heart went cold.
After a moment, she closed her eyes, opened them again, and when she did, she saw that the violet sky had disappeared. She and Satsuhiro were back in the forest they'd encountered the portal at.
"So... We're still alive," Satsuhiro stated, with his back turned to her.
Ash barely heard him. She shook her head.
Tell me something I don't know, she responded in her mind.
Not to Satsuhiro, but to Niven.
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