In a moment that gave me a powerful sense of deja vu, I ducked under a sword swinging at my neck and rolled aside. I turned in time to see Redagga’s shield sm into Azuriel, the impact had enough force that I could feel the air being pushed away from them, but the angel was barely moved by it.
A hiss followed by a sharp and extremely loud whistle drew my eye to Luvetra firing off the emergency fre. I felt torn. I believed this was something happening TO Azuriel and not something she was choosing to do, something others coming in to assist would not be likely to figure out before they attacked her.. But Luv was right, we couldn’t risk all of us and by the gods she was proving far more capable and dangerous now. Though if it was from having mana again or because of whatever was happening to her, I couldn’t say.
“Azuriel! What’s happening, tell me so I can help!” I cried out as I backpedaled, letting Red and Luv engage her in melee.
“PERFECTION! Glorious purity! All white and clean and beyond reproach! I have attained greatness!” The insanity burning through her voice haunted me, the crazed look in her blood red eyes more so.
[Beloved, Jaina might be able to cure whatever is causing this.]
I nodded and rushed over to where the healer was hiding, trembling behind a rocky outcropping. “Jaina, what do you have that can cure negative conditions?”
She gripped my hand to steady herself and let a few breaths flow through her lungs before she was calm enough to answer. “I’ve tried a few general curative spells already to no effect. I can alter them to target more specific problems for more potency but I need to know what I’m dealing with or I’ll run out of mana before I get through even half of all the possibilities.”
[Beloved.]
“No.” I responded before she could ask.
[Esme.]
“She doesn’t have my runes, it wouldn’t work.”
[It will be more difficult. But I can do this, runes or not.]
“You would burn!” I trembled at the idea of her hurting again like she did before. The memory of her covered in burns and trembling in agony haunting me.
[Jaina can heal my mortal form. I do not want my friend to die. Please, Beloved. Let me help her.]
I could feel Carmil twisting inside me in fear and worry. She really had bonded with Azuriel, more than I thought. I felt like my heart was being torn in two, but I nodded. “Promise me you won’t let yourself die.”
[I will fight every bit that I can to come back to you alive. We have a date to look forward to, remember?]
“EPHI!” I cried out to the sorceress, trying to raise stone walls to hold the angel in pce, or at least slow her enough that Red and Luv could do more than simply keep her attention. “Use your gss! Punch a hole in her! Carmil needs an easy way inside!” The horror on the young elf’s face was enough to shock me into silence for a moment before I recovered and expined. “Not fatal! She needs to diagnose Azuriel so we can treat her!”
Ephi’s face grew a look of profound relief, then she nodded and focused her magic. “I’ll do my best!”
I turned back to Azuriel and felt my very core shudder in terror. The blue fmes of her hair turned an angry crimson and seemed to be shrinking, thickening like syrup and looking more and more solid by the moment.. Her arms had grown, fingers elongated, and knuckles covered in ugly, bony growths. All rapidly gaining the sickly red tint of demon skin.
“Rejoice! Praise your good works in aiding my ascension, lesser beings!” the angel screamed out as she swung her sword, dripping with red gore that seemed to weep from inside the very metal itself. I rushed towards Azuriel as I saw a thin bck spike spring into being behind her.
“Azuriel! Stop this!” I roared, drawing her gaze to me long enough for the gss needle to drive into her back, the tip driving fully through her stomach and dripping with glowing blood that rapidly clotted and turned dark.
“Oh, that is not a sign of perfection, you have brought the path of gss to test yourselves on? But you have too much to bleed, the fire is all and the gss breaks your little minds! None but the pure know the gss and blood and fire and pain. Burn it all, bleed it all. Fall and fly and fall and burn and seethe and feed and hurt!” Her rambling continued, growing more and more incoherent with every sentence. I could read her emotions now, meaning I could feel her mind slipping away with whatever this was.
Wait.
Her mind was slipping, her emotions were bare and uncontrolled. I knew what was happening. Or at least I hoped I knew. If this didn’t work-. No. I had to hope.
“Change of pns.” I said as I rushed forward. Red and Luv tried to hold Azuriel down, but the power of the angel’s warping form threw them both aside. The gss spire shattered from the ground then pulled out and tossed away as if it had done nothing to her.
[Esme, what are you doing!?]
I unched myself at Azuriel just as she swung her sword. I felt the edge catch my leg, the power of her swing pulling the prosthetic off and twisting me in the air. But I still got close enough to touch her wing as I sailed past, allowing me to cast Kintsugi and magically reinforce the strength of her mind and its defenses.
As I hit the ground and rolled to look back at her, I saw that the effect was immediate and profound. Her body froze, then began to twitch and shudder. Blue fme blossomed in spots all over, fighting with the red in a war of energies and willpower pying across her skin. Blue fire burned away red growth, which in turn smothered the azure fmes.
I crawled towards her, yelling in hopes that she could hear and understand. “Azuriel! Fight it, you can beat this!”
Her head turned towards me, the jerking motions painful to watch. “You, why-, you did this! Bleed away my perfection!” An accusation flew from her lips, but at least it was more lucid than she had been. Then her eyes shifted blue for a moment. “KILL ME! Please! Don’t let me-, NO! Bleed the lesser children, fy the impure!” The red returned and with it the madness that was overtaking her.
“Azuriel! You can beat this, you are not fighting it alone! I have given you a weapon to cut this away with, use it!” I crawled close enough to reach out and grab her leg. Her skin was rough and scorching hot, it hurt to hold. But I knew that my abilities worked butter with physical contact, and I’d be damned if didn’t do everything in my power to save her.
“Why did she make me care!?” I heard the angel scream, lucid pain in her voice. “Why did she make me smile!?”
Carmil realized as soon as I did, my elemental leaping from me and wrapping arms around Azuriel as soon as her body formed. “Please, fight this! We have so much more to do, so much more to talk about, you wanted to see the ocean with me! Please, Azuriel, come back to me!”
“Carmil…” I watched as the celestial’s hand opened, the sword falling from it so she could return the hug. I felt the emotions, thoughts, and drives fighting inside her. I saw the urge to tear into Carmil with her cws pulse through the angel, only to be drowned by a sudden and massive wave of righteous fury driven by compassion. I felt love pulse from inside Azuriel. It was deep, pure, and so intense that it drove me back. This was not for me.
As I released her, there was a blinding fsh of light, a warring wave of blue and red energy washed over the area and sent a sudden, but brief feeling of a hundred extreme emotions coursing through me. When it ended, I was on my back several yards away and every muscle in my body hurt. Before I could say anything, the sound of sobbing drew my attention. I turned to see Carmil and Azuriel on their knees, holding each other as the angel cried against the elemental’s shoulder. Carmil’s hand softly stroked her friend’s back, comforting her as she wept.
No one spoke, our eyes taking in Azuriel and looking for signs of the corruption that had been overtaking her. Though it was immediately apparent that not only had she rid herself of the corruption, her mutations all now reverted, but she had also changed.
Her hair was, well… hair. Sort of. Her short blue locks still waved and flickered as though they were fme, but otherwise looked to be actual, physical hair. Her skin was that same obsidian color, though a few of the invisible, marble like lines that the blue lights beneath her skin followed when she blushed were now visible, flowing over her body like rivers of molten gold. The beautiful wings that she had grown now had golden tips on the otherwise midnight bck feathers.
Before I could say anything a deafening shriek assaulted my ears, immediately followed by several more nearly identical ones. Sixth sense screamed at me and I felt danger rushing towards us rapidly from the north east. I scrambled to find my rifle, dropped in the rush to help Azuriel. I saw it almost immediately, but crawling to it with one leg was harder than I would have expected. By the time I reached my weapon and turned to face the oncoming threat, a group of demons was already in the clearing and charging us.
Carrion Feeders made up the bulk of the group, but I saw two more Abyssal Purifiers. The shing whips on their backs were at least slightly helpful to us as they scored deep gouges in any Carrion Feeder that got too close, even outright killing a couple of them. But if they were as strong as the one we’d just killed, they alone would be a major problem.
I raised my rifle, the angle odd because I couldn’t brace properly, and started sending rounds into the charging force. Honestly I didn’t even need to try, there were so many that I would only miss by aiming too high or low. But I knew we were in trouble, I didn’t have enough ammo for this.
Then the front line of demons screamed as they toppled forward, their bodies writhing on the wall of bck gss spikes that was rapidly growing in front of them. Within seconds the army of demons was cut off, more and more of the beasts leaping madly against the wall and impaling themselves. It wouldn’t st, they would overwhelm it soon and crawl over their own dead.
I turned to see Ephi struggling, pouring her mana into the wall to fix the constant cracks and keep the spike growing to kill more of the creatures. But she would burn out and empty her pool soon.
“Ephi! Don’t use all of your mana or you’ll colpse!” I cried out in warning.
“Just need to give Jaina time!” Her response made me gnce at the healer pouring magic into Red and Luv to get them back on their feet. They would be good in moments, but Ephi was right, those were moments she was buying us and could not afford to lose.
“Azuriel, please tell me you can fight.” As I reloaded I spared a moment to look at the angel.
Carmil slowly released her friend from their embrace and helped her stand. “Zuri, do not push yourself. If you need-”
“What I need is irrelevant if we all die.” Azuriel stood and shuddered, her wounds from the fight not yet healed. She struggled to stand, leaning on Carmil who helped her to where Jaina was healing the others. “I am sorry, I will face whatever punishment awaits me. But first you must survive.”
Jaina said nothing, simply adding the angel to her stream of healing energies. Unfortunately, our time ran out. The Purifiers reached the gss wall and crashed through it, barely slowed. Though the spikes and shattered fragments tore gouges into the beasts, they seemed unbothered by the damage.
Ephi immediately started sending waves of gss fragments into the wall of demons and I added my own rifle rounds, but it did little to stop the tide. They would be on us in seconds and I couldn’t think of anything that would stop them. I sent a prayer of apology to my Goddess for failing her and wondered if Charon would be disappointed that I wouldn’t have much more to tell him.
Then my thoughts were broken by the sound of machine gun fire and the roar of an engine. Qwil’s armored transport crashed through the brush. One soldier on the top mounted gun and the other firing her rifle from the open window of passenger’s seat in the driver’s compartment.
The rapid fire gun tore a chunk out of the center of the mass of rampaging creatures and caused the rush to stumble. Several of the beasts peeled off from the main group to chase the car as Qwil turned to keep it moving through the clearing.
“Thank the gods.” Ephi groaned next to me, letting herself breathe for a moment before she renewed her attack on the oncoming demons.
Luvetra was the first healed, which I realized when a blur rushed through the rear of the demon’s lines and several Carrion Feeders fell bleeding. Maybe we had a chance after all.
Redagga was back in the fray not long after, hefting her shield and turning towards the demonic force with absolute fury in her eyes. She braced the massive steel wall between her and the nearest Purifier, but instead of waiting to be hit, I saw a pulse of magic through her body just before she shot forward like a rocket propelled battering ram, trailing flickering green energy behind her.
The demon tried to shift aside, but Red was moving faster than Qwil’s car and it simply stood no chance. She smmed into the beast so hard that they simply kept moving, smashing through a few Carrion Feeders as they made their way across the battlefield. The flight stopped suddenly against a stone outcropping, Red’s shield and the boulder coming together and splitting the demon in two. The top half squirmed and shrieked for a few moments before Redagga’s shotgun silenced it.
“Holy shit.” I found myself awed by the dispy, so much so I briefly forgot about the battle. But a scream of rage from the second purifier brought me back. It had faltered in its attempts to dodge machine gun fire and was being cut down by Qwil’s group. A foolish thing to attempt, but demons seemed to operate on insanity.
“If we’re not holding anything back for the t-trip home…” I heard Luvetra say from nearby. I turned to see her standing near me, holding up her bdes and slowly turning them in hand. I could FEEL the power radiating from her as it built with whatever skill or spell she was focusing on. Like heat from a bonfire, it pulsed stronger and stronger until I could see the shadows under her start to warp and shift. Suddenly her shadow stretched into the demonic horde and joined with theirs. In a blink she was gone and two dozen or more of the Carrion Feeders split open and fell to the ground, dead in an instant. She reappeared on the far side of the demons who shrieked and screamed and turned to charge her.
But Red was there, smming the edge of her shield into the ground and letting out a primal roar so loud that it shook the surrounding brush and rattled my bones. Every demon nearby turned towards the orc shield maiden, bodies spasming as they tried to fight off the powerful taunt skill that I didn’t even know she had.
As the demons turned on her, a small group of them were suddenly engulfed in violet fmes and fell screaming as they died in agony. I looked at Azuriel with my brows raised and found the surprise on her own face was likely even greater than my own. Her hand was outstretched towards the group, violet fmes dancing on her fingertips. She shook off the shock and spoke, “I need my sword, where-” she stopped as she saw her bde nearby, the steel warped and vile red flesh still clinging to it, pulsing with some ugly mockery of life.
I could see the fear in her eyes as she looked at it, but the sound of demon cws scraping against Red’s shield tempered her will. She dashed over and grabbed the sword’s hilt without hesitation, violet fme crawling up the organic mass and causing it to burn and shrivel as her power consumed it. I could read the relief in her body even if she didn’t give herself a moment to process it, merely dashing into the fray and cutting down demons as fast as she could alongside Luv and Red.
We were all tired, hurt, low on strength and mana. But there were only a few left and with all of us ying into the group, including Jaina and her pistol, we would win. Unless of course a second group appeared, which Sixth Sense was unfortunately telling me was happening.
“MORE INCOMING!” I screamed as I turned my attention north and waited for a new wave. My heart stopped as a copse of trees was leveled in moments by three Swarming Nightmare Hives crawling forward, each one pouring out drones. Worse still, more Purifiers rushed out from behind them with another wave of Carrion Feeders in their wake.
“Where the fuck are they coming from!?” Jaina screamed in fearful frustration. This was too much, maybe if we got into the car we could run, but that might take too long before-
Lightning interrupted my thoughts, a bolt of destruction nding on one of the Hives and turning it and everything near it into burnt corpses. Before I could even wonder what the hells was happening, more bolts nded among the demons, cutting most of them down in seconds. Battle cries and the screams of eagles filled the air and drew my attention skyward. My lips spread in a wide, powerful smile as I saw our saviors descend, throwing spells and bullets into the demons from above.
“Gryphons!” I cheered, ecstatic that not only had we been saved, but it had been by absolutely beautiful and regal lion-eagle hybrid creatures and uniformed riders on their backs. I took a moment to appreciate the grace and power they flew with before I raised my rifle and let Heavy Heart Piercer drown out everything except the st living Hive. Within seconds I found a gaping wound that had somehow just opened in its side, revealing a lump of dense flesh inside that screamed importance. I sent a round into it and watched the beast fall, the notification of its death the st thing I saw before I too, tipped over.
I grinned, there was a soft patch of moss under my face that felt nice. Almost as nice as the moss by the river back in the Encve District. I was going to nap on that moss when we got back. Oh! Have Wen make snacks and then nap on the moss while using Wen’s p as a pillow. Best pn. Ooooh, someone was carrying me, that’s always nice.
I lifted my head and tried to raise my rifle, but I wasn’t holding it anymore. I felt a familiar sensation inside me and was warmed by the realization that my elemental love was with me again. Then the world snapped back into pce. “Woah, okay wow, that one was worse than normal,” I muttered against Luvetra’s shoulder.
[It seems that the effect was previously being lessened by Soul Containment. But it also appears that it doesn’t st nearly as long now. You were only debilitated for ten to fifteen seconds. I would have needed to be within you when it began to have more information, but I believe this will be how the skill affects you from now on, beloved.]
“Did we win?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around Luv’s neck.
“W-with help, yes. Said help wants to s-speak with you, Esme.” I nuzzled into my giant love and squeezed before nodding.
“Okay, has anyone found my leg?” I asked as I turned in my lover’s arms.
“I believe one of my men went to retrieve it. He saw it as we were coming in, Saint Dreamsinger.” The man speaking was older, grizzled, his hair more gray than brown, including his very well groomed beard. He wore riding leathers with fur visible in various pces, the suit was clearly meant to combat the wind and cold of the skies. His uniform was decorated with several bits of insignia and made me feel somewhat stupid for not knowing what any of it meant. I was going to have to actually learn some of this considering how much I was certainly going to interact with the military now. He offered a small bow before introducing himself. “Captain Asmund Eldingson, Mother’s Teeth Cliff-Watch patrol, fourth company, eighth squadron.”
I reached out a hand in greeting. “We owe you our lives, Captain, and I am one to show gratitude gdly. But right now I have to check on one of my people. I promise you I will give you more attention as soon as I am able and I apologize for making you wait.”
He shook my hand with a firm grip. “I understand, ma’am.” Then a sudden crash of thunder drew his attention. “It sounds like another group has been spotted anyway, I’ll want to go see to that.”
As if on cue, several more armored vehicles drove into the clearing. Captain Riverwalker leapt from the door of one before it stopped and rushed over to us. “Saint Dreamsinger. What do you need?”
I responded quickly. “I think we’re all beat up and low on mana but otherwise okay, Gina. Captain Eldingson’s squadron may appreciate assistance with clearing out another group of demons nearby, however.”
The man gave a grunt and nodded. “Not fool enough to turn down help against demons.”
The two captains quickly moved to coordinate their forces while a group of Gina’s medics tended to my group’s wounds. As Luv carried me over, Oscar stomped over to me with a look of supreme annoyance on his face. “Esme, would you please tell your feathered idiot to let me do my job?” He damned near barked the words out as he thrust a finger at Azuriel.
I had Luv set me down next to the angel and looked her over. It occurred to me just in that moment, not any second before, that she had spent the entire time since growing her wings completely topless. I had been so caught up in what had been happening that it was only once I looked at her with arms tightly wrapped around herself to cover her chest that the fact actually hit me. The interesting thing wasn’t so much that. No, no the interesting thing was that it hadn’t seemed to bother her until the fighting was over. But in that moment she was a blushing mess, trying to wrap her wings around herself to hide as blue and violet lights pulsed through her skin.
“Azuriel, you need to be tended to. You’re still injured.” I spoke softly.
“No, no you should just put me down before I hurt anymore again!” Came a half sobbing cry from behind the awkward feathery barrier.
Carmil stepped from my runes and up to the angel’s wings. “Zuri. You are whole. The corruption was burnt away. You are not a threat to us.”
A wing gracelessly pulled to one side, nearly knocking Oscar over. It seemed she didn’t come with full motor control of them right away. A violet eye looked up at Carmil. “Millie, I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Then do not. It is quite simple.” Carmil carefully stepped closer and knelt. “Do you feel the way you did when that was happening?”
Azuriel shook her head. “But I don’t feel the same as before either. I don’t understand, once the fall begins, there is no way to stop it.”
“Then I suppose it is fortunate for us both that you happen to know someone capable of miracles.” My elemental love leaned forward and pced a small kiss on the angel’s cheek.
I spoke up then. “The corruption, I knew how to help once I realized that it’s a mental effect. I have a spell that makes it easier to fight those off. And, as an added benefit, you are far, FAR more resistant to whatever the spell helps you overcome if it works. Permanently.”
The obsidian and gold celestial stared wide eyed at me. “You… you purged the corruption from me and made me resistant to it as well?”
I shook my head. “No, YOU, purged yourself of it, with Carmil’s help I admit. All I did was give you the chance.”
“Semantics.” She snapped, though without any real heat behind it. “You saved me. In a way that should not be possible.”
“I see the world the way it should be, the way I dream of it being, and I try and make that dream come true. Having divine power just means I have a better chance of succeeding than others with the same mindset.” She gave me a small, frail smile, her emotions clouded by confusion and indecision. She didn’t know how to feel, but there was an undercurrent of gratitude. “Now, why don’t we get you something to cover yourself with and let Oscar here patch you up? We’ll be heading back soon and I bet Wen is already preparing a feast for us.”
She blushed again, but nodded. I would ask more questions tomorrow. Today was a day to celebrate our survival and her safety. Also to send a prayer of reassurance to Vei’Ryn who was desperately trying to get me to respond. Gods I was tired.
