Chains of Corruption Pt. 02

The harpy is much taller than the catgirl and holds her close under her wing as she says, "Sorry about waking you, we didn't realize anyone was out here."

You instinctively look back into the tent and see nothing is missing so you turn back to the women and reply, "No worries, we should probably get going anyways."

"So, you wouldn't mind if we used your fire pit?" The catgirl asks and you look over and see the embers are still glowing.

"Yeah, go ahead." You say as you return to the tent to wake the others.

The catgirl happily gets the fire going again and the harpy floats up and glides over the lake. She stays there for a moment before stomping her foot into the water. She quickly lifts her leg and in her talons, you can see a fish wriggling as she tosses it to the cat girl.

"Wow, nice catch." You say as you finish packing up your belongings.

The catgirl looks over her shoulder as she prepares the fish and says, "Yeah, Stella could pluck every little fish out of that lake if she really wanted to. Oh, sorry, I'm Sadie."

She quickly rinses her hand in the water and then offers it to you.

You shake her slender hand and say, "I'm Mika, and this is Gwen, Kira, and Maria."

Stella glides back to shore and hands Sadie two more fish before she says, "Well, there are plenty of fish in there, I could catch a few more if you're hungry."

"Yeah, that sounds so good!" Kira cheers.

You smile and say, "If you don't mind, thanks."

A few minutes later, Stella returns with more fish and you help Sadie prepare them before she cooks them over the fire.

After the meal you say, "That was delicious, thank you."

"Are you leaving?" Sadie asks.

"Yeah, we have some things to take care of, but it was nice meeting both of you." You reply.

Stella smiles and says, "See you around then, be careful out there."

You nod and reply, "You too."

As you walk back to the front gates of the city Kira says, "They were nice huh?"

"Yeah, I wonder if they live in town." You say in agreement.

"We should invite them over sometime! Sadie really knows how to cook fish." Kira adds.

You laugh and say, "First things first, let's find Priscilla."

Upon entering the gates, the guard greets you and you walk back to your house where you see Priscilla sitting on the small bench on your porch.

"There you are, I was beginning to think you had left without me." Priscilla says as she stands.

"Sorry, we spent the night at the lake to see if Mara would remember anything." You reply,

Priscilla looks to Mara and says, "Well?"

Mara thinks for a moment and then shakes her head and says, "Nothing new, I'm sorry."

Priscilla smiles and says, "These things take time, don't worry, I'm sure you'll be better before you know it."

You kneel down to Mara and say, "Mara, when we find the demons, I might have to fight." You look to Gwen and continue, "Can you please keep an eye on her for me? I just... couldn't bear to lose her again."

Mara smiles and says, "Leave it to me, she'll be just fine."

You smile and nod before standing up and saying, "Let's drop this off at Bertand's place and then get going."

The walk to Bertand's home is short and he opens the door and says, "Hello again Mika, I trust you have my package?" You hand him the box and he says, "Wonderful, another job well done. I actually have another task, if you're still looking for work."

You shake your head and say, "Thanks, but we have something we need to look into."

"Well, stay safe then. See you around." Bertand says waving goodbye.

As your group heads out of the city, you begin walking south and say, "I've never really heard anyone talking about the wasteland before, is there anything out there?"

Priscilla shakes her head and says, "No, it's completely barren, like the island was. No one talks about it because there's nothing to talk about, no one goes there, no one lives there."

"I wonder why the demons would show up in a place like that?" You reply.

Eventually you come to the edge of the hills and the terrain flattens out, stretching into the horizon. A few sparse trees dot the landscape but they get fewer as you head further south, until you pass the last tree in sight and you can finally see your destination. The dried up, cracked earth crumbles into dust as you press on.

"This is kinda like the desert near Ardent, huh?" Kira says.

"Not exactly, I've been here once before and I took a few samples. I'm almost certain that the corruption is responsible somehow." Priscilla responds.

You are surprised and ask, "You mean like someone released that slime and it covered all of this? The island was pretty big, but you could fit twenty of them in this big of an area."

Priscilla stops and thinks before saying, "There's no way to be sure, but I think something else happened."

"Isn't there something in your history books about it? Something on this scale would have been recorded, right?" You ask.

Priscilla sighs and says, "No, unfortunately not. We only have records dating back to about one thousand years ago. There are some mentions of a cataclysmic event that nearly destroyed the world, but nothing about what actually happened."

"What? How can no one know?" You ask.

"If the entire world was at the brink of destruction and people managed to survive, I imagine they would have nothing left. They would have to start over completely and teaching themselves how to survive must have taken precedence over preserving history. It's a shame, but it must have been their only choice. Of course this is all just my ramblings since there is no proof of anything." Priscilla replies.

You nod and say, "That would make sense, but I wonder what happened back then?"

Priscilla suddenly stops and says, "Look up ahead, can you see them?"

You squint your eyes and can barely make out something in the distance.

"Is that them?" You ask.

"Yes and that must be the monument they're building." Priscilla responds.

You look around and say, "There's nowhere to hide, they'll see us coming. I guess that means we have no choice, let's find out what they're up to."

Your group cautiously approaches and as you get close, some of the demons stop working and stare in your direction but remain motionless. You see now that they are building some kind of tower, about fifteen feet tall. It is jet black although it looks to be pieced together from oddly shaped chunks of black stone. One of the demons drops a piece of the monument when he sees you and he leaps down and lands in front of your group.

The man points to you and says, "What are you waiting for? That's the one that killed Iliya, get her!" A few demons join him but most stand by and watch and the man scoffs as he says, "I'll deal with you weaklings after we're done here."

Priscilla quickly throws a knife at the man and although he manages to catch it, he is caught off guard as Priscilla tackles him and begins stabbing him. He cries out in pain and not wanting to lose the element of surprise, you draw your sword and quickly drive it through a demon's chest. Kira transforms and draws an arrow as the three of you prepare to fight, but a demon woman screams and panic quickly spreads among the demons.

"She'll kill us all, run!" The woman screams as she trips and falls and demons flee in every direction.

You are unprepared for this response and stand in confusion until Priscilla says, "Mika, we should grab one and make them tell us what they were doing before they get away!"

You nod and grab Gwen's hand as you see a demon running away close by. You chase after him and Priscilla follows close behind carrying Mara on her back. He runs around the crude monument but as you get close, a weak pulse of energy comes from the black stones.

"What was that?" Mara says fearfully.

The demons appear to be just as interested and turn their attention to the monument, as it and Mara's eyes begin to glow.

Priscilla looks over her shoulder at Mara and says, "What's wrong?"

Before she can answer, another pulse of energy comes from the monument although it is much stronger this time and knocks everyone off their feet. Suddenly, a light shoots out of the monument and swirls around in the air before expanding. The bright white light gets closer and you brace yourself but it washes over you without harming you at all. You hear a rushing sound and the light is quickly pulled into a sphere that starts sucking in everything around it. The demons cheer and begin swarming towards the monument while you and Priscilla try to keep your group from being sucked in.

The demons willingly throw themselves into the vortex one after another as the vacuum effect intensifies. With nothing to hold on to, you struggle against it with all your might. Gwen begins sliding and desperately struggles as she is pulled off her feet. Without hesitation you rush to Gwen as everyone is lifted into the air and you reach out, barely managing to grab a hold of her fingers. You pull her close and hold her tightly as you look back and see Priscilla holding Mara, as they too float up towards the vortex.

"Kira!" You yell.

Over the loud rushing sound you faintly hear, "I'm back here!"

You look over you shoulder and see Kira hanging onto your armor for dear life. You hold Gwen tightly as you carefully reach around and grab Kira, holding them both close to your chest as you are sucked into the swirling vortex. Inside it is completely dark, you can't even see Gwen right in front of your face. After a few tense moments, the darkness disappears and you are suddenly floating high in the sky. You begin to fall and recognize that you are directly above Ardent City. As you plummet, you know Priscilla can take a landing like this, but you on the other hand are racing towards a cobblestone street and you make a split second decision.

You manage to turn your back to the oncoming city as you hold Gwen and Kira close and say, "Hold on to me."

Kira looks at you with tears in her eyes and yells, "Mika!"

You close your eyes and prepare for the worst when you feel a rough impact, and you open your eyes to see red hands carrying you through the air. You look up and see Astrid has caught you as she lands on a nearby rooftop.

"Damn you all are heavy, what the hell is going on?" Astrid says.

She sets you down and you let Gwen and Kira go before saying, "I don't know, the demons activated some kind of portal and it took us here. We need to catch one and make them talk."

Astrid smiles and says, "You always forget to invite me when your having fun." She hops down effortlessly from the rooftop and looks to you before saying, "What are you waiting for?"

"Without my powers, I'd break my legs." You say with a small laugh.

Astrid rolls her eyes and stretches out her arms.

"Hurry up, or I might decide not to catch you." Astrid says with a sigh and you smile before leading Gwen to the edge.

"Jump, I promise it's safe." You say and Gwen nods before jumping into Astrid's arms.

She lets Gwen down and holds her arms out again as you leap off and she catches you. You get to your feet and thank her as she scoffs.

"This all you got now?" Astrid says.

You smile and say, "Let's find these demons and I'll show you."

Above the city, a swirling vortex spits out demons and they rain down from the sky until it suddenly dissipates. Surprisingly they aren't attacking the city, but rather seem to be in a state of confusion as they scramble around the streets.

"There's one!" Astrid says as she takes off after a demon trying to scale a building.

She leaps up and rips him off the wall, throwing him onto the street with a sickening thud. The demon tries to get up but you place your blade against his neck as Astrid drops down to the ground and walks over to him.

The demon appears to give in and sits down as Astrid says, "What the hell is all this?"

The demon looks around and says in a defeated voice, "A failure."

Astrid gets angry but Priscilla approaches and says, "Mika, are you all alright?"

"Yeah we're ok, how about you?" You ask relieved to see her.

"I'm fine, but Mara seems to be unconscious. The monument must have used her power to activate that portal. I think she's alright, but we should let her rest." Priscilla says as she cradles Mara.

You nod and say, "We caught one."

Priscilla looks past you and sees the demon sitting on the street and she walks over to him before asking, "Why are demons trying to get to Ardent City?"

The demon looks up and says, "We don't care about your city, we were trying to get back to our realm."

"What? What are you talking about?" Priscilla asks.

The man scoffs and says, "It doesn't matter anymore, we couldn't tune the monolith to our realm like we intended, but we thought we had found the royal bloodline. It turns out we locked on to you instead without realizing it."

The man looks at Astrid with contempt, as if it's her fault they failed.

Astrid crouches down beside the man and cracks her knuckles as she says, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you ruined our only chance to return to our world!" The man yells.

Astrid smiles and hits him so hard he falls to the ground.

"I didn't do anything asshole, so fuck you!" Astrid yells.

"Calm down Astrid." You say as the man spits blood onto the street.

He sits back up and looks at you as he says, "Get on with it then, 'demon slayer', I have nothing more to say to you."

You look at your blade against his throat and your hand trembles for a moment before you grip your sword tightly. You realize you killed the other demons in cold blood. You assumed they were doing something wrong and cut them down without a second thought.

Astrid sees you hesitate and says, "What are you doing?"

You sheathe your sword and say, "I made a mistake, I didn't know you were only trying to get back home."

You extend your hand to the man but he slaps it away and says, "So you'd exile us to a world that despises our very existence instead of just finishing what you started? Do you think yourself noble, righteous? We may have been used by Iliya like pawns, but at least she had the conviction to see things through to the end! You're just a half hearted fool given power that didn't belong to..."

Astrid cuts him off by grabbing his throat and you can tell she is squeezing as hard as she can as she says, "Are you stupid or something? She spared your pathetic life and that's what you have to say?"

The man chokes and gasps for air as you say, "Let him go."

Astrid sighs and stands up still holding the demon by his throat. She grunts as she throws the demon clear over the city walls.

She looks back at you while saying, "If I see him again, I'm killing him. End of story."

You sigh and think to yourself, 'He probably wouldn't have told us anything else, oh well.'

"Right, well let's get Mara inside, she needs to rest." You say.

"Come with me to the brothel, I wanna make sure everything's alright." Astrid replies.

You agree and your group follows Astrid around a corner. Despite the numerous demons that exited the portal, they seemed to have realized their plans have failed and most are retreating from the city.

"It doesn't look like the city was damaged, that's good." You say.

"As if I'd let those weaklings just waltz around my city." Astrid responds.

You laugh and Priscilla says, "It's good to see you again Astrid."

Astrid looks back and seems confused as she says, "Yeah you too, what's with the kid?"

"It's a long story, let's get her into bed first, then we can talk." Priscilla says with a sigh.

After a few minutes, you turn a corner and see C.C.'s mansion sized brothel.

Astrid opens the doors and a dark skinned puppygirl greets her, "Welcome back Mistress, are these new clients?"

"Hey go get C.C. Tell her that her friends are here." Astrid says ignoring the girl's question.

"Right away ma'am!" She says before quickly ascending the stairs.

"Mistress? I didn't know you..." You begin.

Astrid cuts you off and says, "Shut the hell up. C.C. told them to call me that as a joke, but now they all think I'm a goddamn dominatrix."

You smile but decide to drop the subject as C.C. descends the stairs and says, "Mika, and you brought everyone else too, how wonderful. I'm so glad to see you all again."

C.C. gives you a big hug and you let out a small laugh as you embrace her back and say, "Me too, it looks like you're doing even better than before."

"Of course, I do one thing and I do it well, haha." C.C. replies before she notices Gwen. "Gwen! You look so pretty, how have you been?" C.C. kisses Gwen right on the lips and Gwen giggles. "Still no change?" C.C. asks.

You shake your head and say, "Nothing yet, but there might be a way."

C.C. cocks her head and says, "Oh really, what is it?"

You turn and point to Mara as she sleeps in Priscilla's arms and say, "That little girl is actually the goddess Mara."

"What!?" Astrid and C.C. blurt out in unison.

"I know, I know, but it really is her. She lost her memories and I'm trying to help her get them back. I think once she has enough power, she can undo whatever Iliya did to Gwen." You briefly explain.

C.C. looks to Mara with excitement but Astrid looks unconvinced.

"Really? That's completely ridiculous." Astrid says looking at Mara.

You motion for her to keep her voice down and say, "If you have doubts that's fine but don't say anything that could hurt her feelings. I don't know why, but she seems to be a normal child sometimes. She cries, she gets angry, but other times she's happy and carefree. The real Mara is in there somewhere, but this little girl is also Mara. I know it's confusing, but just go along with it."

"I've analyzed her and I believe what Mika is saying. She has also demonstrated very unusual abilities." Priscilla adds.

"Maybe so, but I can't believe in anything I can't see for myself." Astrid says.

C.C. spanks Astrid and she flinches as C.C. says, "Don't be like that, Priscilla and Mika believe her. That's good enough for me." Astrid sighs and C.C. asks, "So did you bring her by to jog her memory?"

"Actually, we were in the southern wastelands. The demons have been seen there recently for some reason." You reply as you sit down.

Priscilla nods and continues, "Yes, and they were constructing some kind of monument. The one we caught said they were trying to use it to create a portal back to the demon world, but they couldn't so they tried linking it to the royal bloodline instead."

C.C. looks surprised and says, "I didn't know the demons had royalty."

"Neither did we." You respond.

"Then why did they choose me as the target? Like hell I'm royalty." Astrid says.

Priscilla thinks for a moment and then says, "I don't think the demons knew what they were doing, even the monument looked haphazardly built. They might have found your demonic energy and mistaken it for one of the royal family in their desperation. If you were royalty, I doubt that demon would have acted so casually."

Astrid agrees and then Mara yawns and opens her eyes. Priscilla helps her stand as Mara rubs her eyes.

"Are you ok?" You ask.

Mara nods and says, "I think I remembered something, but... I wasn't myself in the dream."

"What do you mean?" Priscilla asks.

"There were two goddesses, and they were fighting against the corruption. One was really nice, I think her name was Eris, and the other was really strong." Mara explains.

"Eris? I've never heard of her. What was the other one's name?" Priscilla asks.

Mara thinks before saying, "I... don't know. I was seeing everything through her eyes."

"So you couldn't see her face then?" Priscilla asks.