On the 2nd Christmas day, right before the New Year, they’re on their way to Bavaria. By use of their Vambrances, they’ve managed to get in contact with Railgun. Though she was hesitant to give them a location, she did give them a meeting spot and a bit of trivia. Bavaria is split into seven administrative districts of which six Dream Catchers hold power over. Railgun holds dominion over Swabia. Her presence has lead to a lot of turmoil but since someone as renowned as Raven, the person that owns most of the AKASHA System, spoke well of her, people have grown less hostile and sceptical. Shen can imagine that leading people who do not respect you as a person must be hard.

“Wanna play chess?” Nikolay sounds eager to quell his boredom.

“But you don’t know how to play? And I haven’t played in years.” But Shen doesn’t seem to mind teaching him how to play. If anything, keeping his mind occupied is likely for the best right now.

“Teach me as we play. Like some sort of practice round!”

They commence as Nikolay manifests a chessboard from his domain. Its neither bloody nor soaked meaning he has recovered from his battle with FoP. Setting up the pieces, he curiously inspects each and every single one of them.

“You know, I never had someone to play with. Smoker couldn’t be arsed to learn chess but he knew how to bet it all and lose it all on random card games. Something about being an idiot.”

“An idiot? Card games aren’t for idiots. You always decimate me in them.”

With the board fully set up, Shen presents Nikolay two pawns: one in black and one in white. Nikolay picks the black pawn.

“What a shame. I go first.” He moves his first piece. “This is a pawn. You have a whole row of them. If I’m remembering correctly they don’t really do anything than move one step ahead or two on their first move. Oh and you also want them to get to the other side so you can transform into other more powerful pieces.”

His pawn now occupies e4 one of the four squares sitting at the center. “I think you want your pawns to occupy these sqares along with other pieces. It’s kind of like a command center. Anyone who occupies all four of them, probably controls the game.”

“Probably?” Nikolay asks himself. He picks up a pawn of his considering whether or not he should just do what Shen is doing. Finally, he decides on blocking Shen’s pawn. “Marvel at my brilliance as it stifles yours.”

“Sure.” Unimpressed, Shen makes his second move. Now two of his pawns occupy the center without riski of being snuffed out since Nikolay knows nothing of the game. “Next”

“Copy block!” Nikolay copies Shen once again.

Shen is quick to knock over Nikolay’s pawn on e5. “Well you must be aware of pieces being claimed, right? Something like that. Or games would drag on forever.”

“Yeah but why can you do that?”

“Well… you can also move pawns diagonally to… um, capture pieces! I think they’re the only pieces that capture differently.” Shen seems elated that he can explain the game for the most part. He’s still a little unsure just hoping that Nikolay would pick most things up.

“Hmm… I see. I see.” He captures the white pawn on e4. “Like that?”

“Like that!” Shen makes his next move. Before he could explain his next, something catches Nikolay’s attention. Their short session of chess abruptly comes to and end as they close in on their goal. Though most of that journey was spent sleeping, Nikolay thought it was a rather enriching one despite waking up only for some food he had prepped that morning.

“Let’s get off here. We’re in the right city. Getting off here isn’t much of a problem. It’s still the same city,” he says. “There’s a demon roaming nearby. It’s just a Scrounger but it’s best to take care of them now.”

“What about her? Should I send her a message?”

“Sure. Quick.” Now that they’re in the capital of Swabia, they are within foreign territory. At least in their hometown they are capable of finding escape routes that would drag them out into the public if they ever were to face off against hostile Dream Catchers. Here in Bavaria they have no allies, no friends, and no home advantages. Their baggage vanishes within Nikolay’s domain.

“Do you have a name yet?” Shen asks.

“THC… cannabis, huh?” Nikolay wonders how this demon came to be and what their origin curtails. Perhaps it was a Dream Catcher unjustly brought before court to be met with fines over something so trivial. As they enter its domain, Nikolay feels some sort of relaxation as smoke nearly swallows them both while Shen remains unaffected. This world is dimly lit by streetlights. The lights are stained green creating a spooky atmosphere with the green fog.

“Make it quick.”

Nikolay grins as he summons his new plaything. It looks as if he bought the entire set. The gloves are now proper gauntlets with plating on the fingers akin to brass knuckles. The tool belt along with the capsules are present as well. His first countermeasure is creating a blood mist while releasing a few droplets. Like a beast, THC closes in with its claws drawn. The knuckles block its first blow brushing them off as if it was nothing. Without even seeing its true appearance, Nikolay smashes its head in. The domain dissipates shortly thereafter.

“Huh. It’s pretty weak.”

Yet suddenly, a beast comes crashing down from the skies along with its domain. This behemoth almost crushed Nikolay beneath its countless furry arms. Nikolay instantly realizes that he’s met with a Fusion. ‘The Glutton’ is this horrid amalgam of demons devouring and subjugating them. They’re not a true Fusion as they cannot work in harmony. They’re simply under the main monster’s command with no autonomy of their own.

“Run!” Nikolay floods the area with copious amounts of blood to make way for some sort of escape. Shen can only make it for a few steps before drowning beneath the flood of blood. He’s hoisted out by Nikolay as they take off above the Fusion.

“It must have waited for you to beat that Scavenger! Just try heading out.”

Making it out of this domain sounds almost impossible. This cavernous space interlocked by fleshy webs pulsating and growling whenever they fly by seems infinite. Usually, you can escape domains by flying past the horizon or walking for long distances. Some domains loop in on themselves meaning exiting is almost impossible. These walls make it impossible for Nikolay to escape meaning they have to confront that gluttonous beast.

“We have to fight it!” Shen is ready to confront that Fusion. “You’re just wasting your energy flying around like that!”

“Huh?! Are you insane?? It took six of us to beat that other Fusion!”

“That Fusion is that Fusion! This Fusion is this Fusion!” Shen is quick to counter Nikolay. “Schmidt is a blacksmith. You can sense demons. If Dream Catchers can have a diverse range of abilities, so can demons. Fusion is just a type of demon! It doesn’t mean it’s automatically stronger than you.”

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Shen isn’t wrong. Typing doesn’t necessarily indicate strength. However, it does raise the likelihood of their strength being greater and their abilities being more complex. Nikolay has a name meaning he could at least figure out what its abilities may be. The fleshy cavern is another clue.

“It’s a Fusion, is called ‘The Glutton’, possesses several with which it hastily crawls around, and it swallows Devil Seeds whole. You have several of them in your domain, right?”

“No. Just the last two we fought on our own.”

It has cought up somehow. Even though they were maneuvering around so they could loop behind it and take their time to think, it has somehow found them. The fleshy walls and tendrils don’t seem like they act as extensions to its own senses. Their actions feel independent. Nikolay can feel several more demons closing in on them one of which is THC.

“Several more!”

“Did it spit them out?”

“Don’t know!” As they close in, Nikolay summons his cleaver. That bloody blade looks like it’s itching for battle but it’s likely just reacting to his nervousness. They land on the fleshy ground beneath their feet. They pulsate and growel even more but don’t seem to react other than that. Since it’s safe enough to keep Shen on his feet. Nikolay can lure these demons away and fight them without interruption.

Glutton is crawling closer and closer at speeds as great as its mass. Some stranger pops up next to him. Wearing just a croptop, sleeves that only cover her forearms loosely connected to her crop top, and oversized pants, she’s walking around bruised and battered. Her long black braid is swaying with every step she takes along with her chain blade. Her green lips and black nails tends to point to an interest in gothic elements. She appears to hold some love for the Y2K aesthetic but looks too young to have ever partaken in that culture when it was trendy. Tattoos are covering her right arm while piercings are placed all over her face.

“What? Afraid?” She’s carrying that creepy grin with her. “That your boyfriend?”

“What the fuck is your problem?”

“Relax. I just hunt demons. We can work together and beat that thing or you can do it alone and die.” She seems confident. Cooperating with her likely is for the best. “I’m a little off the rocker today so let me get a head start.”

She begins to run like a deranged beast. Her green eyes glow as she’s high on adrenaline crushing the first demon she comes across with ease. THC’s complete form is that of a skinny lanky man with needles lodged in its arms and a sagging beer belly. Everything above the lower jaw was replaced by a bong spewing green fog. The only weapon it possesses are the knifes for fingers that look like homemade shanks. One punch through its chest has it fading away into black smoke revealing its Devil Seed. She had impaled it with her arm.

Royd, Asphys, and Hyenic Gremhorde, are approaching along with The Glutton. There likely are many more demons it can spit out but so far none seem formidable enough to pose a threat to Nikolay, let alone this stranger appearing out of thin air. Nikolay heads back to Shen just watching that young woman decimate several creatures.

“Should we just…?”

“No, we should help her. At least you can get the ones surrounding her.” Nikolay may be willing to ditch that stranger but Shen is not. It feels morally wrong to abandon someone that may be in danger especially when you’re capable of helping them.

“Can’t we just wait for Railgun?”

Shen shakes his head. Nikolay has to help according to Shen’s morals. They can’t escape this domain anyway so they might as well help out in taking it down.

Hyenic Gremhorde is a demon that swarms its enemies with malnurished gremlins about a meter tall with long limbs and reptilian features like scales and tails. Ganging up on their target and tearing them limb from limb is its usual strategy. Sometimes, it uses its teeth to speed up that process. It struggles to reach her as the swarm is cut to bits and pieces with that long versatile chain blade. Even when they briefly lay a hand on her, she just grabs them and throws them into one of the fleshy cave portrusion with such might that they burst like pinatas.

Royd has jumped into the air approaching this ruthless slayer from above. Suddenly, it is struck down by Nikolay mid air landing not too far off from Shen. Though it is quite dangerous to be fighting so close to Shen, it at least lets him be close enough to protect him in case things go wrong.

“What’s with that ugly mug?” Nikolay asks. He knows it cannot communicate but mocking it sounds like fun.

This demon only possess arms and hands placed over the usual extensions of torsos. Two massive bloody hands stand in for its head clasped together as if they were hiding something. Its four limbs are four skinless arms so muscular you could believe them to be stolen from a gorilla. Royd, like its name, is roided up with such a small torso for such huge arms.

“Damn monkey.”

It jumps towards Nikolay as he swings the cleaver in his left to slash away at the endless muscle fibres covering its arms. Little is achieved with that slash. Blood spurts out for just half a second as the fibres begin to heal. With a mighty right hook, it knocks Nikolay off his feet. Panicked and shaken, he checks for broken bones and the like but can only find bruising. Luckily, his belongings are with his luggage. It would have been a waste to lose Shen’s gift just a day after getting it. His coat vanishes as well within the depths of his domain as he wonders where his cleaver had gone.

“Aim at its torso! It looks like a weakpoint!” Shen is quick to offer Nikolay advice as this muscle-riddled behemoth makes its way towards them. “Here!” Shen runs towards the cleaver as Nikolay attempts to gather his composure. Getting back onto his feet fills him with pain. How can he not, when the powerless one of the two is the one fighting?

Royd is coming closer and closer running towards them on two hands. “Throw it!” Shen throws the cleaver at Royd. Nikolay’s weapon simply bounces off as one arm deflects it with a simple motion. However, it contains Nikolay’s blood and therefore can be controlled from afar. It’s swung down like a mighty executioner’s blade yet that alone isn’t enough to take down such a powerful foe. Suddenly, from the lodged in blade, sprouts a cluster of black gems tearing into its torso and its right arm. Royd stumbles and falls.

“Again! Try doing it again!” Nikolay shouts before he watches Shen collapse. That alone was enough to rob Shen of his strength. “Shit!” Meanwhile, that gothic stranger is having the time of her life hacking away at beasts that stand no chance against her.

Recalling his cleaver, Nikolay rushes towards it while it’s still weakened before it can recover. Jumping to dodge its intial strike, he comes to learn that Royd is a lot more flexible than expected. Another blow, though weakened by a mass of blood, connects to his head. This beast is double-jointed in ways that leave little to no openings for striking its torso. Before he can fly off, it grabs him by his dominant arm and swings so hard that it rips off while being crushed. The shock is so great that his consciousness fades as he begins to bleed out up above Royd.

Yet, that alone is not enough to shatter Shen’s confidence. His body has grown heavy and fatigue is riddling him all throughout his body but he’s running towards Nikolay with sheer determination. The gemstones wedged into Royd’s body react extending even further till they poke out of its entire torso. The demon explodes into blood as it falls over. Shen is quick to pick up Nikolay’s arm before he could land. Shen barely catches him and gently lowers him to the ground. In hopes of reattaching his arm, he lines it up to the shoulder it was once attached to while trying to suppress his urge to puke.

“He’ll be fine!” he tells himself over and over again. He begins to cough as if something was scratching out his throat. While panicking, he spots their stranger knocked out next to Asphys. It is releasing some sort of gas invisible to the eye. No wonder its appearance is that of a woman made entirely out of clouds. She was just too far away and far too faint to be seen.

Nikolay rises shaking Shen in a panic. Though he had been knocked out by shock, he managed to regain his composure as if it was nothing. For some odd reason he’s the only one still capable of moving. Incapable of talking, Shen points towards the vixen showcasing the root of their problems. But before they could act, The Glutton drops in from above seemingly having crawled atop the cavern walls. Now that it’s directly above them in perfect view, can Nikolay see just how disgusting it is. A torso with six arms for limbs, pockets of puss constantly popping open oozing some sort of muck, a fleshy bear-belly with several eyes, and lipless teeth instead of shoulders… The Glutton lands right next to them before…

…before being torn to shreds by ribbons invading from walls of the flesh cavern. A tornado that selectively sucks up Asphys muddies its form as breathable air is pumped into the cavern. The domain dissipates with the stranger still knocked out and Shen regaining the strength that had left his body.

“So you’re Sunny and Selen?” she, a girl in her late teens, asks them with a Z atop her shoulder. Nikolay already believed Schmidt to be more powerful than him. This girl he believes to be Railgun is likely even stronger than Schmidt possibly just as powerful as the Magi. “You’re the ones that wanted to meet me, right?”