The water felt good against Maria’s parched throat. It slid in easily and the filled passage of her throat opened up to let the water in. It brought a sigh of relief to Maria as she felt oxygen fill up her throat.

It should have been weird to feel relaxed by being able to breathe in the water, but somehow it felt right. Everything around Maria slid into place as soon as she had touched the water.

Her body was changing but Maria’s brain felt detached from the motion her body was going through. It felt like her limbs were changing shape and Maria could no longer feel her legs.

She waited for the alarm to come and force Maria to realize the danger she was in. She also waited for Nao or Suna to pull her up but nothing happened. The change took place and so did the weird magic.

Did Maria say that she felt drunk? It was some high-level drug shit as well and Maria would know. Her treatment before death had some of the heaviest drugs involved that either left her too tired or too high.

Maria tried to move in the water but it was impossible without legs. Her arms moved but her lower leg mobility was as good as gone.

“Maria, come out here this instant” Nao’s voice traveled through the water and Maria felt herself obey without any thought. Her mind was too busy to make something out of the floaty feeling she had found itself in.

Maria felt a tugging motion and her attention was diverted toward the new sensation.

[Warning: Soul intruder detected. Initiating protocol cleaning in next 5 minutes]

The shadow behind Maria’s mind morphed into a male shape with a scaly face and webbed hands. Maria vaguely recognized it as a fish demon of some kind and the shadow lunged ahead to grab Maria.

Maria propelled her tail by instinct and tried to get away from the shape. She needed to find the surface. Maybe climbing outside the water would help. Her hand reached out to get a hold of something and drag her body out.

“I can’t. I can’t pull my tail up the river since it’s heavy” Maria cried out but her voice refused to cooperate with her mood. The shadow had a grip on her tail and it dragged her back inside.

Maria swiped lazily with her claws at the shadow figure and felt it recoil in fear and surprise. Maria took this time to swim up again to the surface.

“Look and behold, I now have a fishtail. I guess that makes me a mermaid” Terror filled Maria’s being as the shadow advanced on her but oddly enough, Maria’s voice was cheerful and lacked any urgency. Maria hated magic officially now.

The shadow figure followed but Maria could not see any surprise on her friend’s face. Did they not see the abomination right in front of them? Or was Maria going mad?

[Preparations complete. Getting ready for a soul purge] Maria felt her magic lash out at the figure and it let out an anguished cry of pain. Maria just knew that the monster’s soul no longer existed.

‘Did that thing try to take over me?’ Maria asked as she felt the magic’s hold on her body lessen every second.

[Congratulations user for breaking the first part of the curse. To break the second part of the curse, kindly head to the curse core and destroy it]

Maria felt her headache and then threatened to slip in half as magic assaulted her senses. It was bad enough to make her cry out in pain. Now that the influence of magic was gone, Maria felt her energy being drained away by something.

The feeling felt like her chains when they decided to swipe Maria’s life force in exchange for a lot of power. The sensation sent a jolt of fear and heat through Maria’s body. The same kind she knew and had felt at the start of her curse.

“Maria, is everything ok?” Suna’s voice sounded worried but Maria was in no condition to pay attention. All her mind sought was a relief and cool water to wash away her aches. She wanted to bask in the coolness of the water for a little longer.

“I-It’s the curse. T-Taking away life f-force” Maria ducked her head out of the water and groaned as the moonlight hit her. She found herself between a rock and a hard place.

“Shit! Fuck! Crap! Nao gives me a cloak and be quick. We cannot let Maria be exposed to the moonlight. It can cause her to go in heat” it can what now?

Seriously, did everything in this world have to turn erotic? Could it not allow Maria to have a single week without throwing such things her way? Just one week? Maria was not asking for much.

“Here. I saw a small cave nearby. Let’s head there for now. Maria, can you swim, or do we need to carry you?” Nao asked and Maria tried hard to answer. But words failed her and her mouth went dry.

Maria tried to move her tail but it only splashed around uselessly. The slit on her tail was also wet and leaking sticky juices. It felt different than humans and much more vicious.

The fact that Maria could feel it despite all the water surrounding her spoke volumes for the kind of situation she was in. Also, how did sex even work with someone having a fishtail? Was it normal or did it involve anything special?

“She’s agitated and likely not completely out of the curse’s influence. Suna, bind her up with a rope and gets ready to drag her. I will stay on guard and scout the root ahead” Suna did not argue with Nao over the topic since she was already trying to pick Maria up.

But the added weight of the tail made her heavier and left Suna without a way to defend herself. Maria also cried out in pain every time she was dragged out of the water. It made it far more difficult to be able to handle her.

They somehow managed to drag Maria into the small cave Nao led them to. It had a small opening on the top to let the moonlight in and the river flowed directly into the small pond in the middle.

They deposited Maria into that pond and temporarily decided to seal the pond’s connection with the river.

“So, do we need to help her out? She would die without life essence in her” Suna tried to not sound eager but she was. The last experience she had with the pair had left her wanting so she could not help but want more

“No other choice” Nao replied as she cast a spell. Hopefully, they would not be interrupted for some time.