Chapter 322 – Vol. 5 –

With Sinneah by her side, Ash rushed in. Her hands gripping her sword tightly, she gritted her teeth and charged forward. The Wrath Nightmare saw her approaching and swung its greatsword in a massive horizontal arc. Ash’s momentum was such that dodging the attack would be impossible, so, she braced herself and raised her sword vertically. 

Their weapons clashed and the impact sent ripples all throughout Ash’s body, but her arms held steady. 

Come on, keep going!  She tried to tell herself. She continued her advance before the Nightmare could adjust its position, and looked to slash through the enemy’s only remaining arm. Before she could, though, that Gluttony demon’s tongue made an unwelcome return and it lashed the back of Ash’s torso, stinging her before Sinneah went in between them. She kicked the Gluttony demon away, and both parties put distance between each other, waiting once more. 

“Well… That just about confirms it,” Ash muttered. “It’s trying to protect the Wrath Nightmare.”

Understanding that they were going to have to approach this battle as a duo, Ash readied herself for the coming fight.

She only had this one exchange with the high-level Nightmare so far, but already she noticed a difference between today and the day she engaged it in Onyx. 

Last time I fought this thing, I couldn’t even block without feeling like my arms were going to break,  Ash thought.  This time, it still hurt, but I managed to do it. 

“What do you suggest?” Sinneah asked. 

“We go in at the same time,” Ash replied. “If you can keep that other Nightmare from interrupting me, we’ll see what I can do.” 

Ash waited for a response but didn’t get one. She glanced over at Sinneah and found a concentrated, but distant expression on the draconic woman’s face. 

“Sin?” Ash asked. 

“Yes, I heard you,” Sinneah replied with a nod, never taking her eyes off of the Nightmares ahead. 

“Alright.” 

So, taking a deep breath, Ash prepared herself for the next exchange. 

This is the single strongest enemy I’ve ever encountered,  she thought.  I can’t fuck around here. I need to pull out every stop. Use every spell and weapon I have. Even then, it might not be enough. 

By now, the spells she had in her arsenal had reached a high enough number to where Ash needed to sort out a plan. She wanted to be efficient in terms of what she did, so, she went through the abilities at her disposal and began with  Pain Amplification. Now that she’d gotten her INT over 30, she finally had access to this ability. 

“Dagger,” she whispered, changing her  Lust  as the Nightmare began slowly approaching her, dragging its greatsword on the ground. Then, she tried to recall the incantation. 

Spell: Pain Amplification

Harm yourself with any nearby weapon as you speak the incantation for this

spell. Upon completion, all Dark magic will be enhanced, strengthening them

for 30 seconds (stacks with other enhancements). The more dire the wound,

the stronger the enhancement.

INT Required: 30

Mana Cost: 50

Incantation: May the blood I allow to fall be cursed, staining this world and

marking it with my hatred.

Ash took a deep breath and spoke it aloud, as she plunged her dagger into her left wrist. 

“May the blood I allow to fall be cursed, staining this world and marking it with my hatred,” she hissed, and suddenly, a violet aura began to overtake her body. 

Ash checked her mana. 

Level 81

MP: 200/330

Even though my spells have gotten better, they cost more. I need to keep that in mind.

The Nightmare, seeing that Ash was transforming in front of it, hurried its pace, and soon, it was running toward her. Ash responded by turning toward her ally. 

“Sin, go!” 

If that thing keeps interrupting me, I can’t win,  Ash thought. 

“Hm.” Sinneah nodded, and the woman ran straight into the Gluttony demon to the right. As they began their own fight, with Sinneah punching the creature’s body but seemingly doing very little damage, Ash and the Wrath Nightmare finally got to fight on their own. 

And, Ash began the encounter with the basic Dark spell that had served her so well throughout her journey. 

“Corruption spread, corruption launch!”

A black sphere shot out from her palms, but Ash noticed that the projectile had doubled in size from what it normally was. It launched out and struck the Nightmare’s chest, but the enemy seemed completely unfazed by the attack and responded by lifting its greatsword over its head with the intent of splitting Ash in half. The half-demon moved to the left, walking up and lifting her right hand into the air, as though beckoning for the sky’s power. 

With a thought, a beam made of divine light manifested in her right hand, and at point-blank range, she launched it into the Nightmare’s body, The blow pushed the creature back, but it countered quickly with a swing of its greatsword that struck Ash’s right side. The half-demon was pushed away, a deep gash in her torso, but her own ability appeared to have damaged the Nightmare. 

One spent,  Ash thought as she quickly muttered the incantation for  Burst Heal  and wiped the wound away.  I can do two more of those before I’m too tired to fight. I can also use the Primordial Dark spell, The Cost of Power. 

Spell: The Cost of Power

Sacrifice your own lifespan directly to momentarily boost all abilities. The

amount of physical health taken away depends on the boost the user desires.

Int Required: 0

Mana Cost: 100

Incantation: If I am to be cursed, then allow for my enemy to perish with me, so that we may both see oblivion together. 

I mean, she thought, If I’m going to die anyway, there’s no reason not to use it.If all else fails, I can use Magia’s Champion ability, but, because I can only use it for a minute a day, if Niven has any other tricks up his sleeve and I waste it here, I’ll probably lose later. It’s my last resort. 

On that note, she moved up again, and the battle continued. 

Ash quickly realized that her strength and speed were still far below that of the enemy, as before she’d only been able to fight the creature with the boost Kaori provided to her. But what she didn’t have in raw power, she was making up for in versatility. 

The Nightmare swung its greatsword with the recklessness of a person who had long since lost their wits, while Ash made an effort to avoid its swings whenever she could, but she could only dodge for so long. The Nightmare swung at her diagonally and its greatsword entered her body again, this time from her right shoulder, nearly chopping off her right arm entirely.

Ash screamed, but as the blade was buried in her body and Ash cried out, she placed her left hand on the creature’s chest. 

“Lesser being, give me your life,” she said, and as the creature took its greatsword out of her body, Ash found herself being healed back up quickly. 

“Corruption spread, corruption launch!” Ash said, feeling rage bubbling up inside of her as she sent out a black sphere aimed at the Nightmare’s head. Again, it barely had any effect, but it distracted the creature just long enough for Ash to move in with her  Lust. “Spear!” 

With her transformed Savior’s Weapon, she plunged the blade of her polearm deep into the Nightmare’s abdomen. Before Ash could celebrate the hit, It struck her in the head with the pommel of its sword in a back-handed swing, and the world went white for a moment as she was forced back. 

Her spear was still embedded in the monster, and the Nightmare disregarded that completely as it dashed toward her. 

Ash ran in, ducked under a horizontal slash, pulled her spear out of its abs, and transformed it. 

“Gauntlets!”  With these weapons, she got three slashes in before the Nightmare spun around with an attack, and Ash was forced back. 

She had no intentions of pausing, though. 

“Make this field unbearable to those who commit sin freely, let Lumina’s

judgment purge their consciousness.”

Using the spell  Sacred Ground,  Ash held her hands out and the area underneath the Nightmare flashed with brilliant divine light. The Nightmare gave out a pained groan as it searched under itself for whatever was causing this damage. Soon, it realized it needed to move away and it jumped somewhere else.

“Bow!” 

Taking the distance the Nightmare had created in kind, Ash shot as many arrows as she could toward it. A couple of them landed, striking the creature’s chest, but before Ash could continue a tongue wrapped itself around her leg. This time, however, she kept firm and pulled against the Gluttony demon that was trying to distract her, with anger fueling her strength. 

Sinneah was on the ground, apparently having been knocked down at some point and as Ash looked at her, she realized the woman had lost an arm. 

… What?  Ash wondered. 

The answer as to how that had happened came quickly. The Gluttony demon retreated its tongue, letting go of Ash, aimed its mouth up, and spat out a glob of green goo. Ash dodged the liquid and watched as the ground where the projectile landed began to sizzle and melt. 

Shaking her head, Ash shot a few arrows at the Gluttony demon, which was simply too big to avoid any of them, and as it was pushed back, Ash ran over to Sinneah. 

“This is the second time I’m having to do this, Sin, what the fuck is going on? Are you getting sloppy? This isn’t the same Sinneah I fought back at that mountain,” Ash muttered before casting Total Healing.  “Lumina’s caress, for those in need, let them feel the touch of pure kindness.” 

As Sinneah was brought back up to perfect health, Ash checked her mana. 

Level 81

MP: 40/330

… Crap,  Ash sighed. 

“I’m sorry,”  Sinneah replied. “I was… Never mind.” 

“Whatever,” Ash muttered as both Nightmares approached. She pulled Sinneah up to her feet and took long, lumbering breaths. 

… I’m already getting tired from using so much mana, Ash thought.  Shit, shit, shit. 

As she cursed in her mind, that violet aura around her was enhanced further, and Ash’s horns began to grow longer. 

As both parties stood in front of each other, waiting for the other to make a move, Ash’s eyes narrowed and her hands transformed into that of her enemies. 

Growling, Ash felt colder as she looked out at them.  I need to do something. That other Nightmare is being way too annoying, and it looks like Sin can’t take it out. 

Nodding to herself, Ash took a deep breath. 

… Fuck it. 

With that in mind, she ran toward the Gluttony demon as fast as she could. 

“Naginata!” Ash said, and her Savior’s Weapon transformed mid-stride. The Wrath Nightmare moved toward her, but the Savior disregarded it. Before she could do anything to that one, she needed this Gluttony demon dead. 

Trying as hard as she could, she leaped into the air and went to stab straight through its head. 

The Gluttony Nightmare aimed its mouth up at her and, although Ash knew what was coming, she couldn’t avoid it. 

The glob of acidic spit that came out struck her in the stomach, but Ash made her attack before it could stop her. And so, her naginata’s blade slashed straight through the Gluttony Nightmare, right as the Wrath NIghtmare reached her. 

Sinneah came through here, though, and kicked the Nightmare in the head before it could take Ash out. The blow didn’t damage the creature much at all, but it gave Ash enough space to scream in pain on her lonesome. 

The screech that came out of Ash hurt her throat almost as much as the acid that hit her body hurt. 

“G-Guard… my soul against the dark’s reach,”  Ash muttered with trembling lips as she put her hands to her melting abdomen. Her body was quickly healed back up, but the pain still lingered. 

Sinneah moved away from the Nightmare and Ash stood up, trying to regain her bearings. 

Okay…  She tried to calm herself down and ignore the searing pain in her body.  It’s just that one now. It’s just… 

Suddenly, the Wrath Nightmare charged toward her again. 

This time, Sinneah was too far to step between them. Ash tried to react, but her position was too compromised. 

But, before the Nightmare could do what it wanted to do, a dragon made of flames hit it from the side. Ash’s eyes widened and she looked toward where it had come from. 

Satsuhiro stood there, with his hands outstretched and a calm expression on his face. 

Satsu!  Ash thought, her eyes widening.  No, focus. Take the opportunity he just gave you!  She stood and picked her Naginata back up, with the intent of slashing through her opponent, but the Nightmare retreated as it took in a new threat. 

Ash walked over to where Satsuhiro and Sinneah were, breathing heavily. 

Okay, okay,  she thought.  With him here, we can… 

“ASH!” She heard Keiko cry out, and, confused, Ash looked toward her. 

She had completely pushed that side of the fight out of her mind, but looking at it now, she could tell Keiko and Yumi were struggling as well. Yumi was severely injured if the bloodstains on her clothes were anything to go by, while Keiko barely had time to yell out for her before she had to fight her opponent again. 

And, still, Ash had not fallen to despair just yet. 

We can do this,  she thought, as the heat of anger burned well within her.  We can do this! Stay focused. Go!

With that going through her mind, she said: 

“Distract it!” And then, she ran for Yumi. As she did, Keiko and the Nightmare suddenly disappeared, but with Yumi in such a bad position, she tried to ignore that.

Satsuhiro shot out another Fire spell at the Wrath Nightmare as Sinneah ran up to it, and between the two of them, they gave Ash time to operate.

I don’t have much mana left, but I can at least… 

“Don’t bother,” Yumi told her as she approached. 

“What? I’ll do it fast, just…” 

“I’m cursed,” Yumi let her know and Ash froze. “Just focus on… Ah…” Yumi shook her head, as though she’d suddenly gotten tired. “Just focus on your own fight.” 

… What?  Ash thought.  She’s cursed?

That knowledge, coupled with the severe wound in Yumi’s body, made things much worse.

There was too much for the half-demon to keep track of. 

What do I do?  She asked herself.  This Nightmare is too strong. My mana’s spent. Yumi’s cursed. What do I…? 

And, as these questions piled up on top of each other, one answer came to Ash’s mind. 

Okay, now’s the time,  she realized. 

So, with a thought, she activated Magia’s Champion ability. 

The ensuing transformation was exactly as it always was. The sudden pour of raw lust into Ash’s mind was almost enough to break her, but she tried as hard as she could to stay focused. 

“Yumi,” she said, with a hoarse voice. “Stay still.” 

With trembling hands that didn’t care at all that Yumi was injured, Ash forced herself to remain sane enough to do what she thought of now. 

The Curse Removal Blessing should be made stronger by this. Maybe it can take the curse away faster.

Blessing: Curse Removal

Apply to a Cursed individual to remove the “Cursed” status effect. Effectiveness of all Blessings scales with connection to deities. 

MP Cost: 100

Incantation: Oh, divinity that watches over us. Let your power surge through the veins of the faithful. Let our piety become the flame that burns so brightly, all watch in awe. And when our time comes, let our strength become legend, for our belief brought us victory.

By now, her mana had nearly regenerated to where she could almost cast the ability. 

Level 81

MP: 80/330

“Yumi,” she said, looking away from her. “I need you to hold out for a few seconds. Then, I can take that curse off of you.” 

“I see… Understood,” Yumi replied with a weak voice. 

“Now…” Ash took a deep breath as power made itself felt inside of her.. “I have one minute. How do I do this?”