Chains of Corruption

Tears begin welling up in Lilith's eyes as she says, "Thank you. I never expected for everyone to be so, accepting of me."

"Like I said, you're a normal girl Lilith, some people just needed to be reminded of that." You say.

Lilith wipes the tears away and says, "I know, it's just strange to have been shunned for my whole life and now suddenly, everyone is nice to me. I'm still getting used to it, that's all. Oh! Here it is, this is what I wanted to give you."

Lilith holds out a blue sphere of pure crystal a few inches in diameter.

"A merchant came through town a while back. He stopped by the shop to have a dagger repaired and when I told him I was looking for a gift, he showed me this. He said it was a good luck charm, and that it can even grant a single wish if the person is pure of heart. I couldn't think of anyone more pure than you Mika, so I want you to have this, even if it's just pretty crystal. I would at least feel better knowing you had it when you fight the demons." Lilith says.

You smile and say, "Thank you, I'll keep it with me and hopefully it will bring me some luck."

You reach out and grab the crystal and it glows brightly at your touch. the glowing subsides after a few seconds and nothing else happens.

You look around confused and say, "That was weird."

Lilith smiles and says, "Maybe it is magical after all!"

You look at the small crystal in your hand again and try to channel some of your energy into it. It greedily absorbs your energy, but still, nothing happens.

"Did the merchant say anything else about this thing?" You ask.

Lilith shakes her head and says, "He just said it was a good luck charm. I didn't ask about how it worked."

You shrug and say, "Oh well, I'll keep it anyway. Thanks Lilith."

You and Vivienne talk with Lilith for a while until you suggest returning to the bar.

"So, this is it then? You're going to the island tonight?" Lilith asks obviously worried.

You nod and say, "Yeah, we're ready to put an end to this." You reply.

"Be careful Mika, and, make sure they pay for everything." Lilith says.

"Count on it." You reply.

Vivienne leads the way back to the bar and upon entering, you notice Priscilla is not here so you make your way to the bar next to Astrid.

"Where's Priscilla?" You ask Astrid.

"She went to the dock to get us a boat, it's almost time are you ready?" She responds.

You nod and say, "Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be."

C.C. glides over and says, "I didn't know you were so popular around here. Everyone seems to know your name."

"All they've heard are rumors. Last time I was here, I didn't meet any of these people." You reply, looking around the bar.

"Maybe you just didn't introduce yourself." C.C. jokes. You shake your head and C.C. laughs.

A while later Priscilla returns and says, "I've taken care of the preparations, we're ready to go when you are."

You nod, but C.C. says, "Hey isn't there like a potion shop or something? Don't you think we should stock up while we can? It would save energy if we needed to heal light wounds."

Priscilla nods and says, "Yes, but those potions are very expensive, we wouldn't be able to afford even one."

C.C. smiles and says, "Even if they are that expensive, I'm sure I could get one for all of us if I use everything I brought with me."

"Did you really bring that many arens with you? Where are you keeping them?" Priscilla says in disbelief.

C.C. unbuckles the satchel from the strap around her torso and opens it.

She begins taking out handfuls of golden arens at a time saying, "This bag is like Kira's, it's enchanted, so I can put all kinds of stuff in here!"

You suggest that this isn't the best place to be showing off her wealth. She sighs and begins putting the coins back into her bag.

She says, "So, is there a shop in town?"

"There's only one shop in town that sells potions, but it's run by that crazy cat girl." Vivienne replies.

You know exactly who she is talking about and after a short walk, your group is in front of Salem's warehouse.

You open the door and say, "Salem, are you in here?"

The cute cat girl pops up from behind the counter and begins to greet you, but as your friends enter, she looks worried.

Salem cowers and says, "Crap. Come on this isn't fair, all of you against me?"

You guess it kind of does look like that but you say, "No, I... What's done is done, no hard feelings. These are my friends, we were wondering if you had any healing potions."

Salem looks relieved and says, "Whew! I thought you might still be mad, but I see you've come around, huh?"

You warn her not to push it and she says, "Ok, ok, I do have some of those potions left over, they're in the back, come with me."

You follow her to the back shelves and she points out three vials filled with light blue liquid.

"That's all you have?" Priscilla asks.

Salem responds, "Yeah, not a whole lot of people want to have fun with a big ol' horsecock anymore. Everyone's all like, 'I need to heal my wounds' or 'my daughter is sick, she needs to be healed'. These things are the only thing that actually sell. I don't get it."

You sigh and say, "Never mind, we'll just take what you have."

Salem nods and rings you up. "One hundred fifty eight thousand arens please."

Salem says extending her slim hand with a smile. Priscilla looks like she is going to object to the price, but C.C. glides over and begins taking out a small mountain of arens with a smile. It takes a while for them to count out all the money, but eventually, Salem hands C.C. the potions and you are on your way. The walk to the docks isn't very long and you travel in silence, mentally preparing yourself for the biggest battle yet.

Chapter 29: Voyage

The moon is high over head as your group stands in front of the boat Priscilla prepared.

"We're going across in this tiny thing?" Astrid says looking at the small, wooden boat.

"Yes, the smaller the boat, the smaller the wake that follows it. We're trying to sneak in, remember?" Priscilla remarks.

"No use arguing about it, let's go." You say and climb onto the front of the boat. Astrid takes the rear and Priscilla and Vivienne sit in the middle.

As Priscilla begins to row, she says, "Remember, using magic will produce light, which will give us away, so let Vivienne take care of the demons with her bow. C.C., we're counting on you to distract the demons away from the boat."

You look to everyone and say, "This is it, be ready for anything."

The boat slowly glides over the water's surface as the moonlight bathes the area in a pale light. The first hour or so is uneventful, but then demons start flying by in the distance more frequently.

"Alright, I'm going to conceal us now, Vivienne, use those eyes of your and keep a lookout." Priscilla says as her eyes begin to glow.

Vivienne nods and begins scanning the skies while her long ears perk up at every little sound. After a while, a thin mist begins to blanket the water.

Vivienne whispers, "Over there."

She points to an area in front of the boat, as you activate Mara's blessing and sense the flying demon as well. Priscilla nods to C.C. and she takes a deep breath. C.C. kisses her hand and blows it towards the demon in the distance. It's movements become irregular and it soon flies in the opposite direction. The boat continues it's slow journey as the demonic presence becomes stronger.

Flying demons are passing directly overhead as C.C. struggles to keep up with their numbers. Vivienne raises her bow at a demon flying straight towards the boat. It doesn't seem to notice anything and gains altitude as it flies past the boat. Vivienne tracks it until it is out of range and continues scanning the skies as you tense up and have an ominous feeling. None of the demons have noticed you yet, although the mist is getting thicker and begins to swirl unnaturally.

"The mist is going to give us away, damn, I didn't expect this." Priscilla whispers as demons continue to pass by overhead.

"Just keep going." You respond.

C.C. is trying her best, but there are too many for her to handle and some of them notice the mist being distorted by the boat. Two of them fly over to investigate and Vivienne loads a second arrow into her bow. One of them must have caught a glimpse of something, because he points to the boat. Before he can make a sound, Vivienne releases the tension on her bow and each arrow sinks into a demon's skull. Both of them fall into the water and you look around as some of the demons heard the splash. C.C. manages to turn three of them away, but three more still approach the boat.

You silently draw your sword and Vivienne readies another arrow. Two of them pass by the boat without noticing and inspect the area nearby that the splashing noise came from. The last demon slowly glides over and stops just in front of the boat. He's so close you could reach out and slash him, but it would alert the others. You hold your breath as the demon tilts his head and looks right at you. Suddenly, his eyes widen and he opens his mouth to yell.

You plunge your blade into his throat, but the sound of him choking on his blood makes the others aware that something is wrong. You withdraw your blade and the demon falls into the water as Vivienne kills one of the others. The final demon takes off high into the sky and Vivienne fires another arrow. From this distance, the demon has enough time to move and avoid a fatal injury, as it howls loudly to alert the others.

"So much for sneaking onto the island, I guess we're gonna have to fight our way there!" Astrid says excitedly.

Demons begin to swoop in from all angles as you and Astrid hack and slash as many as you can. C.C. throws black fire, and although it does kill them, their corpses still carry momentum and some of them nearly set the boat on fire.

C.C. quickly strips naked and yells, "Everyone hold your breath!"

You take a deep breath and turn around to see C.C. rubbing her breast with one hand and her pussy with the other. A pink smoke forms around her and quickly spreads to cover a decent sized area. Every demon in the pink smoke loses control of themselves and begins furiously masturbating. Some of them even forget they are flying and fall into the water. C.C. takes a deep breath and blows out softly. The pink smoke continues to spread out in all directions as the area around the boat clears up.

"Ok, it should be safe now." C.C. says licking the juices from her fingers.

You exhale and catch your breath, you had no idea she could do that, and you wonder what other hidden talents your friends possess.

"That was some attack." You say.

"Yeah, but I can only do it once. Then I have to build up my lust again." C.C. responds.

"Your lust?" You say confused.

"It's just what I call the pink smoke, not my libido, I'm still raring to go!" She smiles.

Astrid laughs and says, "C.C. can fuck all day and all night and she'd still be begging for more!"

You shake your head and are about to laugh when you notice the mist becoming distorted.

"Something's happening." You say pointing to a spot where the mist is gathering.

As you all look on, the mist slowly forms into Iliya's face, only, it's huge, easily twelve feet tall. As it finishes forming, Iliya's eyes snap open and lock their gaze on you.

"So you've come back to me? Well I don't remember inviting you this time." The giant head bellows. "I have a special way of dealing with people foolish enough to cross the water, would you like to meet my guard dog?" Iliya says as she smiles.

She opens her mouth as a massive sea monster flies out of the water and through her misty face, causing it to dissipate. The sea serpent is bigger than anything you've ever seen and it glides over the boat and lands in the water on the other side, creating huge waves in the process. Everyone holds on as the boat is slammed with one huge wave after another.

"What the hell was that?" Priscilla yells over the raging ocean waves.

"Leviathan." Astrid yells back, "There's no way for us to beat him in the water."

"What are we supposed to do?" Priscilla asks.

Astrid just smiles and says, "Don't die. This boat isn't going to hold up much longer, so we have to swim the rest of the way. The current will take you to the island, so just stay alive until then."

The boat begins to change course and you realize the serpent is making a giant whirlpool.

"Now's our only chance, if you get caught in that, you're dead! We have to jump, now!" Astrid yells as she leaps over the side of the boat.

Everyone follows her lead and in a few moments, the boat is consumed in the rapidly swirling waters.

"Faster!" Astrid yells, leading the mad dash through the dark waters.

You feel a current growing stronger, but realize it's pulling you backwards. You glance back and don't see anything, but a moment later, the massive sea snake flies straight up out of the water only a few feet behind you. The gigantic creature moves incredibly fast for something its size, and surfacing like that dragged a few thousand gallons of ocean along with it. You and your companions get sucked up as well, but gravity pulls the water back down shortly after and you see that you are very high up over the water now as you begin to fall.

Leviathan dives back into the water but as his tail passes behind your group, it flails and knocks Astrid into the mist and out of sight. You fall through the air and smack down on the water's surface hard. You feel like you're going to lose consciousness, but as you begin choking, it gives your burning muscles a kick as you fight to swim to the surface. You barely make it to the surface before you black out and choke on the little bit of water you swallowed. The waters are turbulent and it is difficult to stay afloat, but you see C.C. trying to keep Vivienne's head above water.

You swim as fast as you can towards them and yell, "Are you alright?"

"Vivienne is unconscious." C.C. yells back as she struggles against the dead weight.

When you finally make it to C.C., you take Vivienne and bring her above the surface.

"Can you see the others?" You ask C.C. while making sure Vivienne is still breathing.

"No, I just happened to land next to her and noticed she wasn't moving." C.C. says, "What do we do now?"

You put one arm under both of Vivienne's and begin slowly swimming as you say, "Don't die, just like Astrid said."

You feel another current pulling you back and you yell, "It's coming!"

C.C. grabs your shoulders and desperately tries to pull you faster through the water, but a loud rumbling sound is followed by Leviathan's massive jaws rising out of the water around you. The force of the water Leviathan kicks up knocks C.C. away and into the water. You instinctively wrap your arms around Vivienne trying to shield her, even though you know it won't do any good. Leviathan's entire head comes out of the water and he snaps his jaws shut, sending you falling through his massive throat in pitch black darkness. The sea serpent lifts its head and roars, while C.C. watches in horror.

Your eyes suddenly glow as you draw your sword with your free hand. You stab into the beast and sink your blade in as far as it will go, stopping the free fall. You focus on your arm and, with a little help from Mara's blessing, you pull yourself and Vivienne up into the wound.

"We're not going to die here." You say to her unconscious body.

You hold open the wound with one leg and charge your blade with energy. You slash hard and send a vertical wave of energy ripping through the beast. You grab Vivienne and hold her to your chest tightly as you pour as much energy into your legs as you can. Leviathan begins flailing around causing the wound to constrict you for a moment before relaxing again. You begin to run and the muscle walls slam against you again, and even with your energy, it slows you down considerably. You eventually make it to the edge of the wound and see that you are very high up again. Leviathan thrashes around side to side and you lose your balance standing on the bloody muscles, falling out of the creature and into the air.

You clutch Vivienne tightly as Leviathan's massive head comes sweeping toward you. You close your eyes and tuck your head against Vivienne's as the gigantic creature collides with your back, sending you flying at an incredible speed. You flip through the air uncontrollably and catch glimpses of what looks like land. Before you can process it, you slam into the shoreline and lose your grip on Vivienne. You tumble back and slam against a large rock, blacking out instantly.

You awaken to Vivienne lightly slapping you saying, "Come on, come on, we have to get out of here!"

You are dizzy and struggle to your feet, blinking and shaking your head. Your vision is blurry and tinted red, then you realize it's blood coming from your head.

You can make out the general shape of the demons surrounding you and yell, "Vivienne, watch my back."

As you charge in and begin cutting down the demons. With your vision blurred, you can't see some of them coming, but Vivienne's impeccable accuracy stops the rest dead in their tracks. You manage to fend off the demons and when you kill the last one, you stumble backwards and fall down.

You sit and wipe the blood from your eyes, breathing heavily, and Vivienne says, "What happened?"

You catch your breath and say, "That monster almost ate us, but we barely managed to escape. I don't even know how we're still alive."

Vivienne's ears perk up and she says, "More are coming, maybe you should use one of those potions."

You shake your head as you stand up and say, "No, I'm fine. We should save them for an emergency."

"They can only heal light wounds, if someone is on the brink of death, it won't do anything but make their last moments a bit less painful." Vivienne says concerned for you after you saved her life.

"It's ok, really. Let's just try to find the others. Hopefully they washed up here too." You say as demons approach past some large rocks.

You and Vivienne duck behind a rock and carefully make your way behind them. You have to take them out now before they find you. You charge your blade and one of the demons looks back at you. An arrow comes to rest in his eye and as the other demons turn to investigate the noise, you slash and release an arc of energy, slicing them all in half from a distance. They fall to the ground but one of them is somehow still alive and his torso crawls towards you, even with only one arm left. You don't feel sorry for this creature in the least, and walk over and smash it's head beneath your foot.

You and Vivienne continue along the shoreline, taking out one patrol after another. As you kill another group of demons, you notice some of them are gathering on the high ground beyond the beach, trapping you against the water. You clench the handle of your sword tightly while the demons just stand there and watch your every move. Some of them hop down and begin approaching from both sides, boxing you in. More jump down and advance as well, as you slowly back up into the water. Vivienne draws another arrow and you take a few deep breaths and focus.

Their slow advance means you have time to put energy into your armor as well as your blade. You yell as you run towards the middle of the pack of demons and begin fighting. The demons attack one after another in quick succession, but your training with Astrid is paying off, and you hold them off for a while until one of them sweeps your legs out from under you. You fall onto your back and desperately slash at the demons trying to pile on top of you. They fall dead left and right and soon their corpses threaten to bury you.

You release the energy in your armor and create a large shockwave, pushing the demons back and giving you time to take a breath and get to your knees. As you try to stand, a large demon runs up and kicks you hard, taking several arrows from Vivienne along the way. You fly through the demons, knocking them down as you impact them and finally slam into the raised ground leading deeper into the island. Your ears are ringing as you stand and see the muscular demon walking towards you as Vivienne fights against the other demons.