Day 6 / Fracture

"Nyug… Water…"

"Is this going to be a regular thing for you, Annika? Am I going to have to tend to you every morning?"

The long night of drinking had apparently hit Annika hard, leaving her very hungover – something Garret was enjoying teasing her about.

"Maybe… Ow." She winced and hid back under the covers, hiding from the light streaming in through their room's slit window. "How do you do it, Garret… You drank more than me!"

That question elicited a smile from him. "It takes a surprising amount to get me drunk, Annika." His tolerance for alcohol was something he was slightly proud of. Though he wasn't an extremely muscular or heavyset person, he could handle his alcohol much better than most. The reason for that was a mystery to him, however. Apparently, his resistance didn't stop at just alcohol, though. The one time when he was assigned to a long-range patrol back in Northreach, the group's rations had unknowingly spoiled. They had to return home with only half their route done when everyone in the patrol got food poisoning. Well, everyone except Garret. Somehow, he had managed just fine.

"I'll get you some water, just wait here." He patted her on the shoulder and then grabbed a water bucket on his way out.

Outside the barracks, Garret was first blinded by the sunlight, then startled by a shout of "Look out!" Quickly stepping back indoors, a trowel landed on the ground in front of him. "You alright?" When his eyes adjusted, Garret noticed the source of the falling tool. A ladder was propped beside the door, and a craftsman at its top was spreading some mortar or some other paste over a crack in the bricks.

"I'm fine." Garret curtly responded, before ducking to pick it up. When the man began to climb down to retrieve the tool, he handed it to him, half way. "Thanks. Sorry 'bout that, I lost my grip."

"I thought this was a new building. Why does it need repairs already?"

The craftsman shrugged. "Don't know. Maybe the foundation wasn't quite as good as the builders thought it was and something caused it to shift. No matter, it's a fair-sized crack but so long as we fix it up and don't just leave it alone, the building should be fine."

Garret nodded, wished the man well, and then began his walk down one of the wide cobblestone streets. He didn't know his way around the city yet, but he could have sworn he saw a communal well in one of the squares when he first arrived.

Sure enough, there it was. A couple blocks away from the barracks, he found the well and joined the line of people waiting to fill their buckets. As horses trotted by and civilians scurried about their lives, he took a few minutes to watch the goings on while he waited for the line to move. Come to think of it, Catherine's house was nearby, wasn't it? He should swing by it to return her crystal after getting the water. A commotion at the front of the line suddenly alerted him to the fact that that might not actually be necessary. He hadn't paid much attention to the people around him before, but apparently Catherine herself had actually been at the front of the line. The commotion was caused by her stumbling and spilling a bunch of her water over herself and one of the men beside her.

"S-Sorry! Sorry!" She quickly apologized as she began to hurry away.

"Catherine!" Garret called out to her and left the line trying to intercept her.

Catherine looked back for a moment, blushing, wet, and very haphazardly dressed. It almost looked like she had just rolled out of bed, and from the discoordination in her movements, there was a significant chance of that.

"I-I-I've got to do something, Garret. Talk to you later!" Before he could stop her, she hurried away and pushed through the crowd, barely keeping the water in her bucket as she moved.

Odd… She was acting strangely today, though maybe that was the alcohol still affecting her. She did drink a lot last night. Maybe he should check on her later.

After he had filled his bucket, half way back to the barracks, Garret was suddenly stopped by a female ranger. The woman ran up to him, sweaty and out of breath. It looked like she'd been sprinting around for a while.

"Excuse me, you're…" She paused to calm her breathing and regain her composure. "You were one of the mages on yesterdays mission, right?"

Her sudden appearance and questions had Garret taken aback, but he managed to keep enough presence of mind to nod in confirmation.

"Oh good. Listen, could you do me a huge favour? My partner is too hungover to fight, but the officers want me to lead a few new recruits on a scouting mission. They want us to check out that path we found. Would you mind working with me for this mission? Please~?" The brown-haired girl batted her (rather pretty) green eyes at him, not knowing that Garret already had a partner and flirting wasn't going to get her anywhere.

"Uh, wouldn't another ranger be a better choice?"

The girl just shook her head, an annoyed look crawling across her face. "Most of them are too hung over… The ranger corps all went drinking together to celebrate, and only a few are upright." She let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't drink, so I was the one who got stuck with the mission. The rangers are drunk, the soldiers are still exhausted, and anyone left in fighting shape has been put on guard duty on the walls. You're the first free person I've found!"

Somehow Garrett suspected that not everyone was busy and were more likely just using the excuse to get a day off after the battle, an excuse he could also use. It wasn't like a ranger would know what the wizards and sorcerers were assigned. …But someone had to help her. Might as well be him…

"Alright." He nodded, causing the girl to grin. "I need to tend to my own hung-over partner first, but I'll meet you at the gate."

"Excellent! I'll see you there." She turned and was about to leave before remembering something. "I'm Rin." She said as she extended her hand.

"Garret." He replied, shaking it.

"Feeling any better, Annika?" Garret slowly eased the door to his room open.

"… Not really…" She still wasn't moving, and he could only smirk at the pitiful scene laid out before him.

"I brought some water. Here." He dipped a mug from their mess kit into it and handed it to her when she managed to prop herself up. "Damn, you really do look like hell…"

He sat down on the bed beside her. Annika was covered in sweat, had dark circles under her eyes, and a bunch of terribly frazzled hair. She did not look like she was going anywhere anytime soon.

"Thanks…" She took the mug and began to sip.

"Are you going to be ok if I leave you for a bit? A scouting party needs a mage, and I'm the only one who's free."

"Yeah… Yeah, I'll be fine… Just be careful, Garret."

"Yes, dear~" Garret threw an arm around her and gave a quick peck on the cheek before standing up and heading for the door. "Take it easy, ok? I'll be back soon."

"Draw! Strike! Left! Right! Block!"

At the city gate, Rin was running through a weapon drill with two pairs of young soldiers, no doubt taking advantage of the time they had while waiting for Garret to sneak in a bit of extra training. The two men… if you could even call them that, for they barely looked 18, and one of the women were cutting the air in front of them with their longswords. The other girl, an archer who couldn't practice without a target, was simply watching. As Garret approached them, Rin waved and then called their practice to an end.

"Good of you to join us, Garret. This is Robert, Jack, Anna and Kayla. Everyone, this is Garret. He's a veteran magician, so listen to what he has to say!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Rin quickly ran through introductions at way too fast of a pace. He had his doubts he would remember any of the group's names by the time they arrived at the trail.

A short while down the road, one of the new guys worked up the courage to ask a question, despite Garret trying to look as unapproachable as possible.

"Uh… Garret. You're a wizard, right? What do you do?"

"Sorcerer." He corrected. It seemed Natonian bloodlines didn't produce many of them, else he wouldn't have had to clarify this so many times.

"I work flame magic. Explosions, flaming spears, very basic combat spells."

That seemed to satisfy them for a bit, but it didn't take long before he was getting plied with more questions and requests for parlour tricks. Much to his displeasure (and Rin's amusement), Garret quickly ended up becoming the center of attention and the group's defacto entertainment as they marched. This only came to an end when they reached the wagon, and Rin hushed everyone.

"Recruits! Quiet! We don't know what's around here."

Everyone dutifully shut up as Rin surveyed the abandoned wagon from a distance and then motioned for them to creep forward. Nothing about the wagon had changed since yesterday, though maybe the path was a bit wider? Or maybe he was just imagining things…

"Column formation, two by three. Jack, Anna, you two take point. Garret and I will be in the middle. Robert, Kayla, you bring up the rear."

Rin apparently had a bit of experience commanding a team, and quickly got them organized, protecting the more vulnerable archers and magician with the armoured soldiers. Once they were in formation, she motioned in the direction of the path.

"Alright. Squad, advance. Quietly. And keep an eye out for anything unusual."

After the initial stretch of overgrown plants, the underbrush thinned enough for the group to walk comfortably. What began as brambles and bushes slowly gave way to less unpleasant undergrowth, and eventually, small collections of flowing plants. The blossoms, rare at first, but growing in number as they progressed, filled the air with a pleasant fragrance and did wonders for boosting moral. The pleasant scent was a double-edged sword, though. While it was much nicer than getting scraped by thorns and branches, it lulled them into complacency. Garret found himself drifting into daydreams and having to force himself to focus multiple times as they walked.

Eventually, the disarming fragrance shifted to something far more dangerous. The scent got stronger, and with it, so did its effect on the group. What was at first disarming was rapidly becoming alluring, and without realizing it, the men in the group had quickened their pace, marching towards the source of that wonderful smell. Once they began to near jogging speed, Rin clued in to what was happening.

"Squad halt!" She came to a stop, only to have the male soldier behind her ignore the order and push past her.

The soldier in the front kept marching as well, only the women and Garret stopped. The women, because the scent hadn't affected them like it had the men, and Garret because he thought he heard something. Did Rin say something? He looked at her quizzically, then turned back to the trail. The other men were still marching, it must have been his imagination…

"Don't just stand there, stop them!"

She ran up to Garret, spun him around, and then delivered a stinging slap across his face. That woke him up. The other women scrambled after their partners, stopping them with similar tactics, though the soldier-girl was a little rougher. She grabbed her partner, and quite literally threw him to the ground, tossing him over her hip. Once the other men had been startled out of their trance, they were dragged over to Rin by their respective partners. She, in turn, looked over at Garret, expectantly.

"You know what this is, right Garret?"

He nodded in response. They weren't too active in the far north (the long winters kept them in hibernation), but plant monsters did exist. "Alraune… Plant mamono. Their scent entrances men and is used to lure prey."

Rin nodded in satisfaction. "Exactly. Listen up, here's the plan. We need to finish this before their smell affects you any longer." She gestured to the men of the group. "We're going to move quickly. When you see the alraune, if there's only a few, charge. They'll try to grab you with their vines, but if you can run them through, that'll disorient them enough for you to finish the job. Try to sever their legs. Despite what they look like, they don't have the same internal organs we do, but cutting their connection to the roots should kill them. Any questions?" She didn't even wait for them to answer. "Good. For the men, bite your tongues, pinch your cheek, cut yourself, I don't care, but do something to keep focused. Can't have you entranced again. Now, let's go! Double time!"

With that, the group hustled through the forest, weapons drawn and ready for combat. They didn't have time for stealth when every minute spent in the alraune's fragrance sapped the men's willpower and muddied their consciousness.

After getting favorable battlefields in his last two fights, Garret was almost expecting that this one would take place in another clearing, but unfortunately that was not the case. At the end of the path, five alraune were scattered amongst the trees, flowering shrubs, and hanging vines. Also, unlike the previous fights, these ones looked like they were ready for them. They were all facing the direction the group approached from, waiting with open arms. When he saw that, he should have realized the fight was over before it started, but with the fragrance in the air making it hard to think, Garret could only follow his orders the best that he could.

The three soldiers charged a pair of alraune, but a myriad of vines exploded out of the grass and bushes, reaching to grab them. The two men were caught, but surprisingly, the female soldier managed to cut her way through, slicing at the vines that grabbed for her, before leaping at the closest alraune and impaling it with her sword. Just according to plan, some of the vines slackened as the plant mamono writhed in pain. With a powerful blow, she severed its legs, killing it. Garret made his own contributions by throwing gouts of fire at the vines, incinerating some and freeing one of the bound soldiers. Once he was down, the man immediately began to cut the vines that had caught the other, freeing him as well, and allowing them to continue the fight. While this was going on, Rin and the other archer girl were peppering the alraune with arrows. They didn't do as much damage as a sword, and many of them got swatted out of the air by supernaturally fast-moving vines, but their distraction let the group of swordsmen fight to and cut through a second alraune. Two down, three to go. Despite the rough start, it the battle seemed to have turned around.

That notion was quickly corrected when Garret heard something rustle the grass in front of him. He took a step back, startled, then dropped when vines shot out of the grass, grabbing for him. The vines barely missed him as he fell, and after losing their original target, immediately changed directions and headed for one of the female archers. She noticed them too late and was caught, getting dragged away kicking and screaming.

"Shit! Garret, keep burning things, I'm going to get her back!" Rin dropped her bow and drew an arming sword, then ran after the girl and the retreating vines.

With no more arrows keeping the other alraune busy, Garret was forced to cast faster and faster to protect the soldiers. Even so, he couldn't do much more than stop them from being overwhelmed. Without the arrows, the group had stopped moving, forced into a defensive fight when the alraune began to bring all of their vines to bear. As the struggle went on, the exertion started to rapidly wear him down. This wasn't a battle of attrition he could win, he needed to do something big to break the stalemate. He had just enough energy left… maybe if he conjured a pillar of flames, he could incinerate the vines and injure one of the alraune - open a path for the soldiers.

He reached out a hand and moved it in a swirling motion, using the gesture to help him focus his magic, as he prepared to summon a grand conflagration. Suddenly, something clamped down on his arm, holding it in place. Another vine?! Garret tried to look down but found he couldn't move his head either. His legs were likewise rooted in place. With his senses dulled as they were, it took a moment to understand exactly what had happened. A paralysis spell!

"Sorry, darling, but I can't let you vandalize my garden any further." A seductive voice spoke from behind him, no doubt the source of the spell. "Though I must say, I'm impressed. I didn't think a wizard would be able to concentrate in this haze. Maybe there's something special about you… No matter. If you can't move, you can't cast, right~?"

Wrong! But he couldn't risk it. What ever paralyzed him thought he was a wizard (who did need to gesture to cast), that was his trump card. He couldn't reveal the truth until he knew what he was fighting.

Without his fire, it didn't take long for the trio of soldiers to be overwhelmed and captured by the vines.

"Garret, what are you doing!?"

Rin, who had managed to cut down and rescue the archer, was busy fighting off vines as the two retreated. When she looked to determine why the magic stopped, she froze, then instinctively reached for where she would have sheathed her bow, had she not dropped it. That pause was enough for the vines to grab her and recapture the other. With that, the fight was over. Everyone had been captured.

"Hmm… You killed two of my alraune, not bad… but you brought three women! That's a profit!"

The source of the voice finally presented itself as a stunning, golden haired youko stepped into Garret's view. With her voluptuous body, fine red dress, and six fluffy tails, her beauty was nearly unmatched. She likely could have any man she wanted, had their species not been at war.

Six tails… six… Garret didn't know much about youko, but he did know that the number of tails indicated magical power. Around her, the air crackled with magic. Wards, no doubt to protect her if someone managed to get free of her 'garden'. He was doomed… there was no way he could fight someone that powerful head on, even if he could get free.

The fox woman brushed past Garret, running a hand over his shoulder as she did, and headed towards the alraune to inspect their catches. Already the vines had disrobed them and held them out for her to inspect.

"Let go of us, you bitch! This isn't a place for you!" One of the swordsmen struggled against the vines binding him, eliciting a giggle from the alraune and youko alike.

"Oh I intend to change that! And you're going to help me do it. Once this garden gets big enough, we'll have our own little demon realm all to ourselves."

Then it was Rin's turn to speak. She had seemingly given up struggling and was glaring daggers at the woman in front of them.

"You're not going to get away with this, you know. When we don't return, they'll send more soldiers looking for us. Your 'garden'-" She spit the word out with distaste. "-is going to burn either way."

The youko smiled when she heard this and began to walk towards Rin. The alraune holding her retracted some of their vines, exposing her breasts and groin as they sensed what she intended to do. Without saying a word, the fox woman reached up and began to fondle Rin's breasts with one hand and traced her other's fingers over her dripping slit for a moment before plunging them in. At first Rin tried to maintain her composure, blushing furiously and glaring at her assailant, but eventually the woman's ministrations got the better of her. As she worked her fingers, the pleasure, intensified by her demonic energy, started to overwhelm Rin, who began to unconsciously moan and eventually buck her hips against the fingers violating her. After she had been reduced to a sweaty, panting mess, the youko stepped away, her previous, pleasant smile having twisted into a mischievous smirk.

"I think I'll be able to handle a few soldiers… but never mind that, don't you have more important things to worry about now?"

The youko turned and motioned for Garret to come to her. As she did, Garret felt his body moving on its own, obeying her commands. Being able to command an effect like that nearly effortlessly… He quickly realized that this wasn't a garden variety paralysis spell… this was something far stronger.

She met him in a relatively clear spot on where all the alraune were in view, then sat down and commanded him to join her. Again, his body dutifully obeyed, stepping in front of her, sitting down between her legs, and leaning back into her waiting embrace. Garret stiffened at her touch. It was the only form of resistance he could give.

"Aww, don't be scared, Mr. Wizard. It's ok to stay like this…" She gently pulled him backwards, letting him rest against her soft breasts as she wrapped her tails around him. "Just relax… Aren't I warm? Aren't my tails comfortable? Just lean back and enjoy. We have a show to watch…"

As much as he hated to admit it, Garret had to agree. Her luxuriously soft tails made him feel right at home. Safe, sound, warm and almost sleepy… though he quickly became aware of a heat rising within himself as her demonic energy soaked into him, causing his erection to stiffen as he slowly grew more and more horny.

"Garret, you bastard! Did you betray us?! Do something!"

As the alraune began to drag the women towards their bulbs, Rin shouted at him, unaware of the spell that had caused his apparent complacency. No… No he didn't… But even though Garret wanted to protest this with all his heart, the youko's spell wouldn't let him. Nor could he cast to free them without her interfering… All he could do was watch helplessly as the women were dropped into the alraune blossoms.

"You'll burn for this, you know! No mercy for traitors!"

She had it all wrong, but the words still stung… Rin looked like she was about to shout again, but the alraune beside her twisted her head and planted a long, sloppy kiss on her lips, force feeding her mouthfuls of nectar. When the plant girl released her, Rin fell back, blushing, panting and desperate to get more. The alraune was all too happy to oblige and reached down, scooping another handful of nectar to smear across her partner's body and mouth. The aphrodisiac in the nectar stoked Rin's arousal and soon the two were grinding against each other as vines massaged them both.

"Where is that bravado from before? She gave in just as quickly as the rest of them…", the youko whispered in Garret's ear.

A proud soldier of The Order laid low and reduced to a horny wet mess, grinding away on what should have been her mortal enemy… The sight hurt to watch. After several minutes of kissing, grinding and fingering each other, Rin began to change. Slowly, a green tint crept up her legs as her feet fused together into the roots that would soon sustain a new flower. Her brown hair began to shift to a dark shade of green as well, and a small flower bud sprouted from the side of her head. Her breasts, originally small, began to swell rapidly, enlarging by several cup sizes and leaking nectar as they did. Though he didn't have much of a choice, Garret made sure to watch and pay attention to the whole scene, documenting the last moments of his comrade in his mind. It was the only thing he could do, remember who she was, how she lived and how she 'died'. At least so long as he was alive, her story wouldn't be completely forgotten.

When the alraune sensed Rin's transformation was nearly completed, she intensified her movements, fingering her with a renewed intensity and passionately kissing her again. Rin began to tremble as orgasm after orgasm rocked her body, the mind-shattering pleasure overwhelming her. As she did, the flower in her hair unfurled into a beautiful red blossom, and the remainder of her natural skin colour quickly faded to green. That was the end of her. The alraune smiled as the monster that had been Rin slumped against her shoulder, exhausted from the ordeal. She hugged her 'sister' and stroked her hair for a moment before using her vines to lift the girl up and move her to a nearby patch of fertile soil. When her 'legs' touched the ground, the roots at Rin's feet quickly burrowed into the dirt, fastening her in place. Around the clearing, similar things were happening to the other female soldiers, and before long, three new alraune had been planted and began to grow.

"Beautiful, isn't it? My garden has grown once more."

Even if he could, Garret didn't feel like answering. He was demoralized from being forced to witness what he considered to be the deaths of more humans, and angered that he was helpless to do anything about it. When the alraune started to reel in the males to consummate their 'marriages', the youko released Garret, had him stand, and motioned for him to follow her as she led him to a more secluded part of the forest. Again, his body obeyed her commands and rejected his own.

Once they had gotten a little privacy, she began to strip Garret, pausing occasionally to admire or run a hand across his muscles.

"Mhmm, you're surprisingly muscular for a mage… I'm impressed. Every wizard I've met until now looked like they could barely lift a sword, but you… you look like you'd fit right in as a soldier."

When he was fully naked, the last thing she took was the crystal that hung around his neck.

"What's this? A spell focus?" She grinned and tossed it aside. "Well don't worry, I'll let you have it back once I'm done with you, but we can't have any enchantments getting in our way here, now can we~"

Then it was her turn to strip. While Garret stood there naked, she made a show of slowly undoing the ties holding up her dress, gyrating and twirling as she removed her chest bindings, and bending over to display her naked breasts as she slipped out of her loin cloth, occasionally brushing a tail against him as she did. The display was devastatingly erotic, eating away at Garret's willpower. Why should he try to escape when he could stay with this beautiful fox-woman and enjoy the pleasures she no doubt had in store…?

"I've been looking for a husband for quite some time, you know…" She slowly pushed Garret to the ground as she spoke. "But I wanted a spellcaster… not just any spellcaster, mind you, but someone strong of will and spirit. You saw the girl, yelling at you because she didn't understand what was happening. I could never be happy with someone who couldn't do the sort of things I can…"

She cuddled with him on the ground for a time, pressing her breasts against Garret's chest and occasionally stroking his face or running fingers through his hair.

"But I'd never found one with the willpower to cast when that much miasma was in the air… until you." She gave him a quick peck on the lips, before sitting up and preparing to mount him. "I think we'll have a wonderful life together, don't you?"

It didn't sound like he had much of a choice in the matter.

With a smile, the youko impaled herself on Garret's shaft, moaning as she pumped up and down in his lap. The exquisite pleasure, coupled with the immense amount of demonic energy her tails were scattering around and the lust enhancing effects of the alraune scent, soon brought Garret to his limit. An orgasm so powerful it made his vision flicker rocked through him as he shot his load deep within her. Immediately after, he felt a sudden rush as demonic energy from her flowed into him, replacing the spirit energy that had been released. It began to eat away at him, eroding his willpower and causing his spirit energy production to kick into overdrive as his erection grew once more. On top of him, his unwanted partner moaned as she came with him.

"Ooooh… oh yes… Yes, I made a very good choice…. You'll do nicely…"

She reached down and brought his hands up to cup her breasts, releasing just enough of the spell that bound him to allow him to grope and squeeze freely. As his hands passed through her wards, they tingled a bit but entered harmlessly. She leaned in close again for another kiss, and then released the part of the spell binding his head and mouth.

"Tell me your name, lover. I can't call you family if I don't even know your name."

This was his chance! Garret began to focus, trying to ignore the soft breasts in his hands or her folds wrapped around his manhood as he began to formulate a spell.

"Garret."

The youko smiled and nodded. "A nice name. I think we'll make a very good pair, Garret. My name is Izumi. I can't wait to see what a wizard will be able to do when we work together~"

She paused, likely waiting for a reply, but Garret was busy. He strained his mind, channeling every last bit of his willpower to try and command his magic.

"I'm… I'm not... I'm not…"

A bemused expression crossed Izumi's face as she watched Garret's brow furrow with concentration and sweat start to bead on his forehead.

"Are you trying to resist me, Garret? Come now, give it up. A wizard without his focus can't cast, so you won't be able to get away. Why don't you just accept your new life and relax? I can show you pleasures and magic you could never dream of…"

Suddenly, something clicked in his head and he felt the connection to his magic strengthen. He only had control for a brief moment, but that was all that was necessary.

"Because I'm… Not… A… Wizard!"

With a shout, a pair of flaming spears erupted from his hands. Izumi's face froze in shock as the spears pierced her breasts, her heart and lung, before exiting out of her back. The remainder of the spell controlling Garret's body immediately ceased and, with a mighty push, he shoved her off of him. The spears vanished as she fell and Garret's focus was lost once again, distracted by her movements, but the damage was done.

"No… How…" She choked out as she slumped to the ground, the light in her eyes fading. She was dead, and would threaten the people of this country no more...

… But it wasn't over yet! The alraune were still out there. Garret staggered to his feet and retrieved his robes and crystal. He quickly dressed himself and then began to run. He had to get out of here. He had to warn The Order! They were less of a threat without the youko guarding them, but six alraune were still a danger to the area... and he had to get purified. The youko's demonic energy had saturated him. He could feel it moving within him, eating away at his soul. As he ran, his thoughts kept wandering. Alraune were certainly beautiful and he and Rin had been partners briefly… maybe he should turn back and give himself to her… she would need a husband in her new form…

No! Stop it! Get out of my head! Garret ignited a hand and reached through his robes to press it against his chest. The burning sensation and pain helped him to focus and push those unwanted thoughts away. Even so, he didn't have long. He felt… strange… it was only a matter of time before he started to change. To save his soul, Garret ran like a bat out of hell back towards the city.

By the time the city walls were in sight, Garret was exhausted, his pace having drained every reserve of energy he had. His torture had been rewarded, however. His exertions meant that he had returned in record time, even if the final stretch was composed of him shuffling, stumbling and occasionally falling when his legs gave out. The gate guards spotted him quickly, being the only one travelling the road in the evening sun, and one ran out to help him. When he approached, Garret frantically waved the man away.

"Get away! Stay back!" The guard paused, confused, so he elaborated further. "I'm unclean! I need a priest. Quickly! I need to be purified before this taint does anything permanent to me!"

That got the message across. The guard nodded in understanding before hurrying back to his post. He spoke briefly with his comrade there, who leveled a crossbow at Garret in case he tried to run, then disappeared into the City. Garret raised his hands, then collapsed to the ground to rest and pray that he had made it in time. He wasn't going anywhere.

The guard returned a couple minutes later with a pair of priests in tow, who began to examine him and perform the rites of cleansing.

"Don't worry, Mr. Fax, you're in bad shape but we've saved people in worse conditions before."

Garret weakly nodded as he let the men do their work and their holy light wash over him. Gradually the darkness and lust burning within him began to recede.

The purification ritual took about an hour as the priests tried to safely expunge the demonic energy corrupting his body. Then, he was guided to some of The Order's officers to make his report about the mission and, as its sole survivor, explain how he had managed to escape while the others did not. Though they had the tact to not ask it outright, Garret couldn't help but feel like they were trying to determine if he had truly escaped, had betrayed the group, or if he simply fled out of cowardice while the battle was still ongoing. After learning what they could, they dismissed him and began planning another mission to slay the remaining alraune – this time, with many more men.

Garret trudged back to the barracks slowly. Now that he was safe and wasn't fighting for his life, several unpleasant thoughts started to surface. Rin screaming at him, the helplessness of the soldiers as they were dragged to their fates, the blank look on a woman's face after she had been transformed and planted… He kept trying to convince himself he was fine. This was war, people died and there was no avoiding it. There was nothing he could have done, so he shouldn't be feeling guilty, but even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that if he had been stronger or faster everyone might have made it out alive.

Annika was waiting outside the barracks when he arrived. Apparently, she'd recovered from her hangover and was passing the time by watching the goings on in the training field.

"Hey Annika. How are you feeling?" A smile of relief lit up on her face when she saw that he had returned unharmed.

"Much better, thank you. How was your mission?"

By some miracle, Garret managed to keep a straight face when she asked that. "Fine. It went fine." Talking about that was the last thing he wanted to do right now…

Fortunately Annika seemed pleased and didn't press him for details. "Time to eat, then?"

He nodded, and the two began to make their way to the mess tents, arm in arm.

Half way there, Annika noticed that his behavior was more distant than normal. He wasn't teasing or chatting as lively as he had been in the morning.

"Are ya alright, Garret? Something wrong?"

He nodded and brushed off her question. He didn't need or want her worrying about him.

"Yeah… I'm fine." Annika didn't seem to even slightly believe that, so he elaborated on his lie. "Really, I'm just tired. I'll feel better tomorrow. Just used a little too much energy on that patrol. I'm fine,… I'm fine."

Maybe if he said that enough it would eventually become true…

Author's note: Ok so that wasn't 'early april'… I give up haha. There's no way I'll be able to keep a reliable schedule with all these shifting school projects popping up at random, updates will come as they may. I've still got plans for where I want to take this story, though, it's just a matter of having the time to sit down and write. Now! On to my random musings about the chapter.

- I like the idea of magical wards being like… a shell or something. A forcefield surrounding the mage, deflecting spells and swords, but if you manage to somehow get past it, the caster is defenseless. This interpretation still lets people have some sort of 'armour' against spells, while still having logical ways to get around it. It helps things make a bit more physical sense (well, as much physics as you can apply to magic).

- The behavior of Izumi the youko was really fun to write for. I looked up the monster's disposition in the MGE and saw 'egotistical' under it, which lends itself way too well to the whole magical femdom thing. As a fan of both magical femdom and fox girls, I probably would have been hers the minute she whispered, "It's ok to stay like this". Fortunately, Garret is not me, otherwise we would have reached a rather abrupt conclusion this chapter. … Though I am sort of curious what kind of life he would have lived if he had taken her up on her offer and become her husband. If I get a sudden abundance of spare time, maybe I'll write a spinoff chapter or something exploring this in an 'alternate timeline'.

- The problem with most monsters in the MGE is that they are explicitly labeled as being irresistible because of their beauty, pheromones, demonic energy, etc. This is… not good when you want a character to survive more than a single encounter with them. I didn't want to make Garret some sort of overpowered hero with titanic willpower, so I was inspired by one of my friends who is nearly immune to anesthetic and painkillers. They barely affect him at all, and likewise, most of their side effects also don't affect him. That got me thinking that, if a person could have a resistance to that in our world, it would make sense that someone like that would exist in the world of the MGE. In this case, I decided to give Garret the inexplicable resistance (but not immunity) to poisons, which covers alcohol, spoiled food, and even monster girl toxins/pheromones. It seemed like the best way to give him an edge and explain why he could fight and escape monster girls with more success than his peers without making him too powerful.

Once again, all reviews, messages, views, etc. are greatly appreciated. I'm glad so many people are enjoying my fanfic.

Until next time, Sayonara!