Aki

There was a weird irony in the fact we had to assault Ren's mom’s house to save Lilyth given that we originally wanted to rescue her so that she would help us in the attack. I would find it amusing if it wasn't for the fact that it was the woman I loved that I was thinking about. And that… no… I couldn't think what was likely happening to her right now. I had to focus on ensuring the fu… bastards paid for that. Best not to use that word in this context, nope.

‘I am still surprised the entrance to this place wasn’t guarded,’ Caei muttered, as we were traversing a tunnel that was meant as an escape route from the estate.

‘I wouldn't be so sure,’ Savri whispered back. ‘It’s just that one exit wasn’t guarded. The other likely is. If there were prisoners inside I would be more concerned about them getting out, rather than people getting in, given how well-hidden that entrance was. It’s an internal security risk too. If there are traitors within your organisation you wouldn't want them to know where the escape route exit is.’

‘I think you are giving Kojiro too much credit here,’ Ren countered. ‘He…’

‘It doesn't matter,’ Savri cut her off. ‘Good infiltration planning rule? Always plan for the worst-case scenario you can think of. Getting sloppy gets you killed.’

Or worse, I shuddered.

Though I suspected this was due to some mistake she had made, I had no intention of ever asking Lilyth about the details of her capture or what happened to her… during it. I brought this up with the rest while we walked to the tunnel and they heartily agreed. It didn't matter. No mistake ever warranted… that.

We mostly walked in silence. Savri walked first, her gun drawn and my [Abyssal Spark] lighting the way. We weren't terribly concerned with getting spotted down here, given how any likely watchmen would need to have sources of light as well. Of the mortal races only harpies possessed [Darksight] and, per Ren, it would be insanely hard for one to fit inside the tunnel due to their wings. I asked her:

‘What about your mom, then?’

‘Perhaps, I misspoke.’ she corrected herself. ‘A harpy can enter this place and move back and forth. But any sort of movement that would require agility is right out.’

I couldn't dispute that. The main reason Sav was leading us was that she could still easily fire her gun in there.

Eventually, we reached the exit of the tunnel. It was a door hidden inside an empty wine cask. I ended the spell and after a few tense seconds, Sav managed to get the handle to move and slowly pushed the false “bottom” open.

‘Clear!’ she whispered to us, and we all filed in.

I looked around but saw no light beaming in through the slight cracks in the wood.

Ren walked up to Savri and guided her hand to the bits she would need to press in order to open the entrance from the inside. After our new friend was safely back with us Savri began to follow her instructions when we heard voices of multiple men getting closer and a light of a torch became visible.

‘Maan, the ass on that elf,’ one of the men said. ‘I hope the boss will let us play with her a little more.’

‘You and me both…’ the other laughed. ‘Maybe we can get her as a regular service girl.’

They are talking about Lilyth, I realised and rage began building inside of me.

I wanted to burst out of the cask and shove those words down their throats along with my swords, but I was stopped by Caei’s trembling hand gripping my shoulder a bit too tight.

‘Eh…’ The first sighed. ‘It’s probably either the boss or Xyrus that gets her. Like the fucker got so many goes with her, while most of us only went once…’

‘He did catch her…’

By the gods…

Then Savri uttered the words that were the music to my ears.

‘Sorry, guys. Change of plans.’

Savri

It was her idea to go in quietly, as she wanted to avoid open confrontation, but hearing what she had just heard…

Every single one of them dies.

She cast [The Toughness of Rock], followed by [The Swiftness of the Wind] and [The Grace of Water].

‘What was that?’ the first dead man asked, likely noticing the cascade of brown, yellow and then blue light beaming out of the cask.

Eschewing any form of subtlety, Savri then kicked the false lid open, jumped out and with two clean shots took down the Red Masks.

She heard a sword get unsheathed behind her, but a bright flash of red light followed by screams of agony ended that problem.

Sav turned around and saw Aki just seething with rage looking down on a badly burned man writhing in pain on the ground. Sav, to the immense displeasure of them all put the man out of his misery.

‘The longer he screamed, the higher the chance people will hear him,’ she explained.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Aki, very reluctantly, nodded her assent and drew her falchions.

‘Let’s find the rest of them,’ she said through gritted teeth.

‘A moment!’ Savri said and quickly checked on her interface what they were dealing with.

Level 1 Red Mask has been slain.

You have received 100 experience points (200/13500 total experience points progress to level 27)

Level 2 Red Mask has been slain.

You have received 200 experience points (400/13500 total experience points progress to level 27)

Level 1 Red Mask has been slain.

You have received 50 experience points (450/13500 total experience points progress to level 27)

They were just grunts though. Gods only know what the officers are like.

They heard more voices coming from upstairs.

‘Get ready!’ she shouted.

Caeileera

The time since Lilyth went missing felt like a bad dream. What we just heard confirmed that it was a nightmare - one that she had to live through. This is why I felt absolutely no remorse as my [Blood Lance] pierced the throat of one of four men who rushed downstairs. Aki took one down with another [Lesser Abyssal Bolt] and Sav shot the third in the face.

The final one was surprised by what just happened long enough to allow Aki to descend on him with her falchions. She sunk them into his chest, then ripped out one of them and with a savage slash cut off the man’s head.

Good.

We ascended the stairs and looked around. We were at the ground floor landing of a staircase.

‘Let’s split up,’ Savri said. ‘You guys check the upper floor, Ren and I will search this one.’

‘Shouldn’t we stick together?’ I asked.

‘No. This will allow us to cover more ground. And we don’t have all that much time, I think. Lilyth may be durable, but I am afraid…’

She didn't need to finish. Lilyth could be in a critical condition.

‘Gotcha. That way we have at least one healer in each group.’

‘Indeed.’

We wished each other luck and ascended the stairs. Two more of the sons of bitches were headed our way. Another [Lesser Abyssal Bolt] and [Blood Lance] stopped them in their tracks. We began going through each room. Most of them didn't contain anything of note: bedrooms, the library Ren mentioned, and a dining room. In one of them… there were corpses of four people in nice-looking clothes, as well as three men in armour.

The guards.

None of the corpses looked like a harpy, or at least what I assumed to be one. So, hopefully, that meant Ren’s mom was alive. If we were lucky they were keeping both prisoners in the same place.

‘She’s not here,’ Aki said with some relief. ‘Let’s keep looking!

Hang in there Lilyth! We are coming!

Xyrus

What the fuck was happening? One moment he was relishing what happened to the elf bitch and the next the house was filled with sounds of fighting and the screams of dying men. His men.

‘And I believe our short acquaintance will soon come to an end, “Ser” Xyrus,’ the harpy bitch said in a mocking tone.

‘Don’t count on that, birdcunt!’ he shouted back to her as he drew his sword and faced the door.

‘Do you seriously think you and those two lackeys of yours can stand a chance against whoever just cut his way through the rest of your so-called “men”?’

‘Yes,’ he said curtly, which shut the whore up.

Xyrus did feel good about his chances. He was level seven and had [Power Strike] and [The Strength of a Giant] abilities. Those gave him a really good edge in close combat.

So when the blue-haired demonborn girl carrying two falchions and the three-horned pale woman with red hair burst into the room he assumed this would be a piece of cake. Then the demonborn shot a red firebolt out of her metallic red hand which impacted Girlen’s head causing it to explode in a spray of boiling blood and tissue. Moments later a crimson lance thrown by the pale woman pierced Dirwi’s chest.

Spellcasters, he realised as blood drained from his face.

‘Ah… you must be the poor elf’s friends,’ the harpy said with satisfaction in her voice. ‘That’s Xyrus. He brought her here.’

The expression of pure hatred and rage on the women’s faces made him empty his bladder.

They know, he realised, but that only strengthened his resolve.

He gripped his sword tighter and moved to lunge.

Maybe he could just knock them out, bring them b-

Xyrus didn't get to finish that thought, as the demonborn girl shot out another red fireball, which hit him in the right shoulder, blowing the arm clean off and cauterising the wound.

What…

Before he could react, the girl tackled him to the ground ramming her blades into his stomach and sticking one of her knees into his crotch. As intense pain started spreading throughout his body, the last thing Xyrus saw in the mortal world was the fist of the demonborn’s metal hand descending on his face. Then there was a crunch and he found himself standing on a white disk floating in the infinite nothing.

What happened? Am I dead?

Xyrus examined himself and saw that all of his wounds were gone. Even his arm was back.

Did I dream about losing it?

He recalled the pain he felt.

No. I don’t think I did.

Xyrus looked around, but there was no one around to answer his questions. Then the air in front of him shimmered and a tall and pale white-haired woman materialised. There was nothing but contempt in her blue eyes. With some dread, he realised she wore a dark blue greatcoat and indigo pants.

The same clothes the elf wore before we undressed her… but how…

‘Hello there, Xyrus,’ the woman seethed, interrupting his line of thought. ‘Let’s have a chat.’

‘W-who… who are you?’

‘We’ll get to that. When, a few hours ago you were speaking with Lilyth in the tavern, she told you that you never knew who you met on the road. That wasn’t just an “I don’t trust strangers” message. It was a warning. You see… Lilyth is a dangerous woman. And what is worse for you… she has very, and I do mean very, dangerous friends. And I am not talking about the girls who delivered you here.’

Xyrus wanted to respond but the woman approached him, gripped him by the throat, effortlessly lifted him with one hand and began squeezing.

‘Now that we have established this, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ereshkigal. The woman you have kidnapped and raped is my paladin and, boy, I am going to have so much fun with you.’