Chains of Corruption

That is nowhere near large enough to reach halfway around the world to Ardent City. Wait, what if you amplified their powers like you did with Priscilla's shield on the Elysium? That might work, but they said they had to know them as well. Kira saw the city for the first time with you, so no one would know her, but Priscilla lived here, surely they must have ran into each other at some point.

"Do you know Priscilla?" You ask.

"You mean that drunken lizard girl, no, she seemed like trouble and never really came around here." Shiori says shaking her head.

What now? You rack your brain trying to come up with something when you are interrupted by Seori.

"Umm... I know Priscilla." She says meekly.

She's been so quiet you almost forgot she was there.

"How do you know that alcoholic!?" Shiori yells.

Seori cowers and says, "Mistress has me go to the bar sometimes to pick up more alcohol. I met her there once and while I was waiting for the bartender, we talked for a bit. She's really nice Shiori, you shouldn't talk bad about her."

Shiori looks mad but says, "Fine, I guess we can help you. So where is Priscilla anyways, why can't you just go find her yourself?"

"She's in Ardent City." you reply to a surprised Shiori.

"What? Didn't you hear me? We can't project that far stupid!" Shiori retorts.

"Shiori! How dare you insult our guest!" Alex is visibly upset but you put your hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright, I haven't shown her my magic yet so she has a right to be skeptical." You say confidently. Alex looks like she still wants to say something but you continue, "The airship Priscilla and I were on came under attack. Priscilla managed to create a barrier but it didn't cover the entire ship. Using my magic, I was able to amplify Priscilla's powers and that's how we survived the crash. I can do the same for you two, I'm not sure if it will be enough to reach Ardent City, but please let me try."

Alex looks surprised and says, "I heard about that! Farah and her crew looked pretty beat up when they finally got back. So you were on board during that incident?"

"Yeah, although not everyone made it." You say remembering all the bodies strewn about after the crash.

"Shiori, let's help her." Seori says looking a bit more confident.

"Alright, alright, we can try." Shiori reluctantly agrees.

"Thank you, both of you I really appreciate this." You say.

"Ice cream." Shiori says with her hands on her hips.

"What?" you say confused.

"You can pay us in ice cream, nothing's free you know." Shiori says with a serious look.

Alex looks mad again but you laugh and agree to her terms.

"So what then, how does it work?" Shiori says.

"Well last time, Priscilla was using her magic to her full extent, so try to project as far as you can." You say hoping you can do this again.

Shiori and Seori nod simultaneously and close their eyes. They open them a moment later and both their eyes are now glowing a bright blue color.

"Ok, this is as far as we can go." Shiori says.

"Alright just hold it like that and you should start to feel your reach extending." You say as you put a hand on each of the girls shoulders.

You concentrate and focus on their frequencies but balancing three of them at the same time is difficult. You pinpoint Seori's frequency first and a few moments later you have Shiori's as well. You begin letting your energy flow into them and they immediately react.

"Whoa! No way! Seori, are you seeing this?" Shiori says excitedly.

Seori responds, "Yeah! It's like we're flying over the world, we can see everything!"

Alex sees you are struggling to concentrate and says, "You can talk later, find Ardent City."

The twin cat girls close their eyes and in a moment, they find it.

"There! It's Ardent City! We gotta find Priscilla." Seori says.

"I know that! Hey, what are those things?" Shiori says.

"Demons! Shiori, demons are attacking the city!" Seori cries.

Shiori says, "They can't even see us Seori, just find Priscilla!"

You begin to feel light headed and don't know how much longer you can keep this up.

"Look Shiori! Someone's fighting the demons, it's another demon!" Seori says.

You reply, "That's Astrid! Priscilla was with her the last time I saw her."

You struggle to talk and not break your concentration.

Seori smiles and says, "There she is! Priscilla is fighting the demons too!"

"Alright, I'm here, with this much power, you can probably speak to her yourself." Shiori says.

You call out Priscilla's name and you hear her answer, "Mika? Mika! Where are you!?" She yells.

"I'm in Cyldell, there's no time to explain, I'm alright and I'm coming back to you." You say desperately trying to maintain the connection.

"Give us some time to clean up here and ugh..." You hear a slashing noise and Priscilla continues, "We'll meet up at the brothel later."

You break the connection and stumble back onto the floor exhausted.

"That was incredible! I never thought we could reach that far with our powers Shiori!" Seori says bouncing on the bed excitedly.

"Yeah, what a trip. Hey are you alright?" Shiori says looking at you.

"Yeah, just used up a lot of energy that's all." You say relieved that it worked, but Priscilla and Kira are fighting the demons right now.

You wish you could be there and help them, but you will just have to believe in them for now.

"Well I'm glad we were able to help Mika, what will you do now?" Alex asks curiously.

"I met up with Farah and she said she would take me back." You reply.

"Well our doors are always open to you Mika, I wish you luck." Alex says with a smile.

You thank Shiori and Seori and promise to return with ice cream for the girls before leaving. You quickly head back to the docks and ride the lift up to the top platform. Farah watches curiously as you rush to the Ashstep. Once on deck, you tell Farah what is happening right now in Ardent City and she looks excited.

"Perfect! Hopefully we can get there before the fighting ends, it will make a good distraction while we approach." Farah says leading you to the bridge.

When you remind Farah how far it is to Ardent City she smirks and says, "You didn't think I'd go and lose my title of fastest ship on the continent did you?" Farah laughs and says, "Buckle up Mika! We're gonna be there before you know it!"

You laugh at her grandiose pose and head inside. The bridge is completely different than the Elysium's, Heavy looking seats with seat belts line the front consoles near the window and more are set up to either side of a seat in the middle of the room with small consoles on the armrests. Farah takes the center seat and presses a button.

Her voice can be heard over the intercom, "This is your captain speaking listen up! We have a special guest on board and she's gonna help us kick some demon ass, so prepare for take off!"

She waves you over to a seat on the right side of her and you take a seat. Crewmen pour into the bridge and begin taking their positions.

Farah says, "I wasn't joking when I said buckle up Mika, wouldn't want you to fly out of that seat and ruin that pretty face of yours."

You take her advice and fasten your seat belt as one of her men says, "Captain! Pre flight checks complete, we're ready to go!"

"Right, our destination is Ardent City! Set the drop coordinates to just outside the city, let's get right on top of them before we strike."

Another crewman yells, "Coordinates confirmed!"

Farah smiles and says, "Then let's go! As soon as we're clear of Cyldell, engage the magicore engines!"

The ship lift off and begins it's ascent. After a few moments, the ship is high above Cyldell.

Farah yells, "Full speed ahead!"

The ship roars to life and begins racing through the sky. It's moving very fast but you don't see the need for the seat belts, it feels the same as when you were riding the Elysium.

Farah looks to you and smiles before saying, "Now! Activate magicore engines!"

The entire ship vibrates and then you are sucked back against your seat as the terrain below and the sky above become a blurry mess of color.

"Sure beats walking, huh?" Farah laughs, seemingly unaffected by the massive amount of g force the ship is experiencing.

A few hours seem like an eternity but eventually Farah looks at her console and says, "We're almost there, everyone ready? This is gonna get intense! As soon as we cut the engines, target the closest anti air gun and fire main cannons. Then we're gonna drop down and let Mika off, she'd probably be more help to the people on the ground. Next, we use our maneuverability and take out the rest of the guns one by one. Got that?"

The crew responds with a unanimous, "Yes Ma'am!"

You ready yourself for another fierce battle as the Ashstep suddenly stops directly over Ardent City.

Chapter 24: Raid

"Fire!" Farah yells, pointing towards the city.

Twin blasts of green energy shoot out from either side of the ship and one of the massive cannons is hit, crumbling to the ground.

"Direct hit! Target one is down!" A crewman reports.

"Good, now bring us down!" Farah looks to you and says, "Go get 'em."

You smile and release your seat belt and run towards and deck. The ship gets very close to the ground, although from the deck, it is still about twenty feet down. You concentrate and redirect your energy to your legs.

"I hope this works!" You yell as you jump off the deck and fall down to the ground.

You land safely, as if you barely jumped at all. Relieved your split second decision didn't end badly, you survey your surroundings as the Ashstep takes off. Demons are raiding the town and killing indiscriminately. You don't see Priscilla or the others but you can't just leave these people to die.

Drawing your sword you run towards a nearby demon and pierce it's chest. It howls and knocks you back, but you held onto your blade and are already preparing another strike. It swipes its claws at you and you swing down hard, cutting the demon's arm off at the elbow. You don't want to give it another chance, so as it staggers in pain, you leap forward and land a powerful blow against its neck. The demons head flies off and lands on the ground while it's body seems to walk on its own for a second before collapsing.

A bloody centaur girl with tears in her eyes says, "Thank you, thank you so much!"

You help her stand and say, "Are you alright? Can you make it out of here?"

She nods and says, "Yes I think so, but there are so many people left in the city..."

"Don't worry about them, I'm not alone. We're going to save as many people as we can, so get going!" You yell and the girl gallops off.

You see another demon kill someone and rush over, but as you get close, several more demons come out of the nearby houses. They roar and charge you all at once. You counter the first attack and kick him away as you block the next. You have an idea but there isn't time to think, it's now or never. You try to focus on your own frequency and charge your energy before releasing it all around you. A massive bolt of lighting crashes down on you and while it isn't killing you, it hurts, a lot.

The energy dissipates and you take a knee, trying to stop yourself from shaking. The demons seem to be dead, but still, maybe that wasn't a great idea. You take a deep breath and stand up over the smoldering corpses of your assailants, when you hear a scream. You turn to look and see a cowgirl running but then she trips and falls. You run to her but then you see a familiar looking demon. He easily catches the woman and rips her in half. You stare at him in disbelief, it's Vestix. But how? Did he really not die in the cathedral? He's got the same broken horn, it must be him, you think as you take cover behind a nearby building.

He hasn't seen you yet and you try to get closer, moving behind buildings and rubble to stay out of sight. Vestix breaks a large hole in the front of a house and the occupants scream for help. You run at full speed and jump into the air, driving your blade straight down into Vestix's skull. He falls to his knees but knocks you off of him. He grabs the blade and pulls it free, releasing a torrent of blood and although he looks like he's going to get up, he falls backward. You get up and carefully make your way to your sword near Vestix. As you lean down and grab it, you notice Vestix's wound seems to be healing. Suddenly, his eyes snap open and stare at you with rage. He grabs your leg and you slice his wrist, but it only goes about halfway in. Before he can react, you discharge electricity from your sword and cut all the way through his arm, and take a few steps back.

He seems unaffected by losing his hand, and again charges at you. With only one claw left, his attacks are a little easier to read and you can block them with relative ease. Vestix suddenly raises his mutilated arm and a new hand shoots out from the wound. He roars and continues his assault leaving no room for error. You manage to cut him deeply in the chest, but you are wide open and Vestix grabs you. The hulking demon raises you up and slams you into the ground again and again. After the fifth or sixth time you lose your grip on your sword and it falls the the ground. Vestix lifts you up again and throws you into a building.

You crash through the wall and slam into a bookcase, which falls on top of you. Luckily, it's not very heavy and you get to your feet just as Vestix approaches. He charges at you and you dive out of a window back onto the street. You make a break for your sword, but Vestix has the advantage when it comes to speed, and he forces you to stop midway as he bursts through the wall and lands between you and your sword. You devise a risky strategy and when Vestix charges you again you do the same. You throw fire at the ground between you and Vestix producing a barrier of smoke. You quickly pour energy into your legs again and jump high into the air. Vestix continues clawing his way through the smoke, and as you pass overhead, you unleash a volley of electricity at him before landing closer to your sword. You immediately run for your sword and when you reach it, Vestix jumps towards you.

You prepare for a counterattack when all of a sudden, a black fire screams across the air and hits Vestix, knocking him into a building that is set ablaze by the black flames. Vestix roars as the flames consume him and he begins melting. His flesh drips off him as he tries to stand. The demon takes a few steps forward, leaving pieces of burning flesh in his wake, before collapsing on the floor.

"Told ya it burns pretty hot, huh?" C.C. says gliding over to you.

"C.C.! You're alright, where are the others?" You say in relief.

C.C. flexes her bicep and says, "I told you, I can take care of myself, and everybody else is ok too! Come on, I'll take you to them!"

You nod and follow C.C. through the battlefield to her brothel.

"Everyone's inside." C.C. says as she opens the doors.

"Mika!" Kira says as she flies over and hugs your face. "I was so worried, you just disappeared!"

You peel the fairy away from your face so you can speak, "It was Iliya. She sent me to the island."

Astrid comes up and says, "Are you sure it was her?"

You nod and respond, "Yeah, I saw her and then she made me fight one of her assassins. I learned I was on the island and then I found Mara."

"Mara!? Where is she?" Priscilla asks.

"She was at the bottom of a huge crater, she was chained and they were... it looked like they were injecting black slime into her." You reply.

"By the gods! The demons are corrupting Mara!?" Priscilla says trying to grasp their intentions.

"That's what I thought too, I was going to free her, but she said Iliya was coming and then she sent me to Cyldell. I met two girls there that could speak telepathically, and I boosted their power so I could contact you." You explain.

"If you were in Cyldell how the hell did you get here so fast?" Astrid remarks.

"I ran into Farah, she's got a new ship, and right now, they're destroying the anti air defenses around the city." You say.

Astrid looks surprised and says, "Is that what those explosions were? Well what the hell are we waiting for? Let's drive these bastards back to where they came from!"

Astrid kicks open the front door and rushes out.

Priscilla walks over and says, "It's good to have you back, we'd better give her a hand."

She smiles and then follows Astrid outside. C.C. and Kira also fly outside and you follow them preparing for another fight. As you run through the streets, Farah's ship continues to blast the massive cannons stationed around the city. The city's defenses are having trouble keeping up with the Ashstep and it seems like they were meant to keep ships at a distance rather than engage one within its limits.

Your group soon comes to a plaza crawling with demons and comes to a halt.

C.C. glides towards the mob and says, "Leave these ones to me. All this fighting has me hot and bothered. I'll catch up later."

You are about to ask if she can handle this many enemies on her own when the demons begin dropping their weapons. C.C. glides over to them and they swarm around her as she smiles and takes one of their cocks into her mouth. You guess she will be alright and you continue towards the city center.

"The demons are coming through that portal, if we can stall them long enough, I can close it." Priscilla says as you approach a glowing light in the center of town.

"We got your back, just close that thing as fast as you can!" You yell as you all come to a stop and surround the portal.

Priscilla starts chanting and demons approach from all sides. Astrid leaps out and begins fighting on her own and you take the opposite side to fend off the demons there while Kira deals with any that slip by.

"Mika! Something big is coming through the gate, I don't think I can close it in time." Priscilla yells over the sounds of battle.

You cut a demon in half and yell, "Just keep trying!"

Another leaps in and you block its jaws with your blade while Astrid is sending the demons flying as she hits them with vicious force. You break the deadlock and slice through the demon's head just as a massive demon emerges form the portal. It is easily the size of a large building and it stands on all fours. Four jagged horns protrude from its skull, and it has a large scar over it's right eye. This has to be the demon that Hakon fought all those years ago, the description fits perfectly.

Priscilla blasts green energy into the portal and it explodes. The giant beast lets out a deafening roar and swipes it's tail at Priscilla, throwing her towards you.

You catch her and ask, "You alright?"

She nods and says, "Yes I'm fine, but we need to do something about the big one before it destroys the entire city."

You look up at the behemoth and say, "I think I have a plan, but I need a distraction."

Priscilla smiles and says, "Leave it to me."

You focus and put energy into your legs and jump up to the roof of a nearby house. From up here you can see Farah's ship, and you jump from rooftop to rooftop at blinding speed. When you get closer, you put even more energy in your legs and jump all the way up onto the deck to the Ashstep.

You race to the bridge and say, "Farah I need you to shoot that huge monster down there."

"How the hell did you... whatever, you heard her! Get this ship moving!" Farah commands and the ship begins moving.

"Wait until everyone is clear then give him everything you have." You say before rushing back to the deck.

You see Astrid and Priscilla using their bestial strength to throw large pieces of debris at the monster. You charge your blade full of energy until it is brightly shining in your hand and raise it up high. Priscilla and Astrid see your signal and begin retreating.