Chapter 9
Blight Town
Beta: Old man of the mountain/Darklord331
After a night's rest Naruto proceeded back to the shrine and Andre to trade up some material he found and some equipment and material he didn't need. There he earned some souls and traded them for increasing his abilities before leaving for Blight Town. But he ultimately learned nothing new at this point while in the town other than occasionally he heard that the priestess was gone to the catacombs now and he wondered how she was doing. The Fire user did tell him that the golden knight wasn't moving and not to worry he would keep an eye on him but does ask him to stay safe. Warning him about the horrors of Blight town and Naruto thanked him for the heads up.
He also got access to something called Purple Moss and he was warned that it would be useful in the case of this place. Stating there is something in Blight Town that is unusual when it comes to poisoning and infection.
Naruto was curious about this and while he is not a doctor per se, he was wondering if his Senjutsu could figure out why it was happening in the first place.
Arriving back at the entrance to Blight Town he saw that he was required to maneuver himself across a circular edge until arriving at a ladder. Proceeding down the ladder he saw that it was leading to some rickety bridges and scaffoldings. Another ladder and he eventually landed on another rampart path. Walking down the path he could barely make out a large figure lumbering their way to him. He saw they were carrying a club in their hand and Naruto narrowed his eyes until they widened.
The man was covered in something. His eyes were red and his entire body was covered in something he couldn't make out. It looked like a puss kind of infection but it was covering his body and seemed to give his body an almost slimy look.
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he lumbered to him. Due to the narrow spacing Naruto had to patiently wait for him to swing his club.
When the swing came, Naruto sliced off his hand with ease but saw something spewing out of his wound and he quickly dashed around him and slammed his blade through the back of his neck.
There Naruto watches as he collapses to the ground.
Seeing the being turned to dust he then turns to move on.
But he didn't wonder for long as he soon heard more moaning and saw another one of the lumbering monsters rushing to him.
Using a similar strategy he slashed off his hand holding his club and this time slammed his blade into its back while kicking it off the ledge sending it falling to the hole below. Naruto didn't hear anything but he knew that as far down as the hole was going more than likely it was dead from the fall.
Proceeding further another one of the monsters showed up and Naruto simply waited for the downward swing, then reacted. He jumped on the monster's wrist pinning it to the ground.
Opening its mouth he slammed his sword through and out the back of his mouth.
The creature moaned from the sudden move and fell to the ground in a heap while he just ripped his blade upward through its skull. It soon disappeared in a cloud of dust but soon he had to leap back when another being jumped out of the shadows. Naruto narrowed his eyes at this one as it was fairly different to his heavy counterpart. It had a smaller, thinner frame, was carrying a knife in his hand, and had more of a purplish pink skin tone with yellow eyes. Naruto had to admit this one was faster than his counterpart and when he leapt into the air he saw he was trying to grab him.
Seeing this he quickly dashed to the side and slashed at it but the creature jumped back and growled.
Naruto frowned seeing the monster now raising both weapons and rushing at him.
He countered this with a quick slash at the chest level of the monster and managed to cut a gash along its chest. The substance in his chest spilled out signaling something else was in his body other than blood.
Taking the opening he slashed it through the creature's neck leaving its head to fall to the ground.
After vanquishing the monster he proceeded down the walkway and saw how old and imbalanced the walkway was and it worried him that it might just lead to him falling through a hole to his death.
So, he slowly stepped across the boards with another one of the skinny monsters rushing at him waving his weapon wildly. The weapon this time being a spear but he soon saw something fly by his head and saw in the dark another creature in the distance and it was seemingly firing something at him. He quickly rolled under the strike but saw the monster standing above him at the end of his roll and slammed down his spear.
Naruto kicked the knee of the monster causing the spear to miss him by just a hair but he saw a scratch appear on his face and feeling a bit woozy.
'Shit it must have been coated in poison or something.' Naruto rolled on the ground slashing through the creature's neck. Leading to him seeing it disappear.
"Naruto eat that purple moss that they gave you."
'Okay I hope it at least tastes good.' Naruto took out some of that moss and ate it but started gagging. 'Fuck it taste like shit!'
"MOVE NARUTO!"
Hearing his voice he heard the soft sounds of the whistling on the wind meaning something was flying through the air. So rolling again, he managed to hide behind a wooden wall that was haphazardly made.
Naruto sighed before rushing around the wall and quickly slamming his sword through the chest of the dagger wielding infected being and throwing him to the side. Naruto quickly rolled under the dart fired at him again. This time however he vaguely saw the creature firing it wearing some kind of makeshift helmet from what looked like a bucket. Naruto quickly pushed the creature off the rampart and down to the ground below. But hearing shuffling behind him he saw another one of the dagger creatures coming up behind him and leaping into the air.
Lowering his blade he quickly sidesteps the jump and after the creature lands he brutally kicks him off the ledge.
Another three of the dagger creatures and one with a club appeared and Naruto took a quick breath before holding his sword with both hands and smiling.
"You guys gonna try or do I need a book?"
The creatures roared and charged him but Naruto evaded all their attacks and jumps before rolling around them and smiling.
He quickly darted down the rampart leading to them rushing after him.
Naruto put his foot underneath the spear and kicked it up into his free hand and without hesitation threw the spear with all of his might impaling one of the monsters through the neck. It flew back a few feet before lodging itself in another monster's neck.
They both choked on the blood and bile before vanishing in a burst.
Before long he saw the last two of the monsters rushing at him and once the one with the dagger came forward swinging he sidestepped and kicked him into a wall. The creature roared but the one with the club quickly jumped into the air.
Naruto then threw his metal fist out and grabbed him by the throat stopping his jump and then slammed him into the ground with a vicious thud.
Naruto swung his fist and slammed it into the jaw of the dagger creature sending it sprawling.
Naruto slammed his sword through the neck of the club wielder and picked up his club and swung it around hitting the dagger one forcing a sickening crack and it collapsing down dead.
Huffing he took a few sharp deep breaths and sighed,
'Man what the hell were those things?'
"The infected. Sadly they are byproducts of the Witch's failure. Blight Town was a town that was built next to the city and the depths as a form of banishment. For those that live here they were miners mostly or barbarians that were outcasted here due to their rowdy nature. Sadly, the case remained where even the Depths or the people residing there didn't want anything to do with them so they built that gate. Which is why I think the Gaping Dragon had the key, it is not only a means to protect the path to the bell but also to prevent people from Blight Town from getting through. If there are any survivors which I doubt."
'Yeah makes sense.' Naruto sighed before looking around and noticing how dark everything is and how dreary it is. 'But that still doesn't explain their looks and how they are acting.'
"That would be an infection. I heard a rumor before I left the capital that there was some kind of byproduct form the Witch's attempt of recreating the First Flame that not only affected the capital but Blight Town as well brining a poisonous curse with it. I know there are those that are pryomancers loyal to the Witch's family that reside in the swamplands and seek out the witch's family from time to time. But sadly due to the lost of the capital, there is no way to find them or those that managed to scatter before everything fell apart."
'Wait isn't pyromancy the same thing as magic?'
"Yes and no. They both use mana but pyromancy is not the same category as magic which has its own origins."
'I don't follow.'
"Naruto as much as a history lesson would be fun for me and you I think you should focus on the task in front of us."
'Right ringing the bell.'
Naruto marched through the rampway after clearing the path and continued down the path to see his path to the bell.
Walking down the ramparts Naruto saw an opening that lead to him going one way or another but both would require him to jump. So looking to his left he took a few steps back and rushed over the ledge and jumped just landing on the platform below him. There he found a corpse with an interesting weapon on it. Picking it up he sent it away into his magical space before proceeding down the right of the platform and finding a bonfire not too far from his location. There he lights it in case he needs rest and starts looking around a bit.
From here, Naruto saw that he could go to the left or right but conveying wisdom made him head to the right where he walked up a ladder and ran into two more of the dagger enemies. Naruto quickly cut through them and found some stuff lying around the area.
Mostly it was just more souls that he could use but when turning around and crossing a narrow bridge he saw one of the club guys jumping out of the shadows above him. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the creature and when it landed he waited for him to jump again.
Naruto dashed to the side and this time kicked him off the ledge. Another one charged but he quickly rolled under the swing of his knife, slammed his sword into its back, and then kicked him too off the edge.
Turning from the ledge, Naruto walked and eventually climbed to the top of a nearby ladder and after looking around the area for a bit before finding an opening behind the makeshift wall. Walking around, he soon arrived at the ledge leading down to a nearby platform with a corpse.
Sliding down he quickly took the clothes off the body but decided to examine them later as he didn't really have time to look at them.
Falling down some platforms Naruto arrived at the edge of another platform, he jumped over the ledge leading to him landing on the outer rim once more.
There, he proceeded to walk across the ledge but found another dark flung at him and two more of the knife wielders appearing behind him but they had some kind of red rat creatures with them.
Seeing himself in a precarious situation Naruto changed fronts and quickly rushed past them and the rats back down the rampart to the bond fire hopefully to avoid the shooter and to get some of the group to break up.
It worked with the rats reaching him first and without hesitation the minute they jumped, he grabbed one with his metal hand and threw it over the edge and punched the other one over the other side. One rat went deeper into the depths of Blight town while one just went over the rampart heading in the direction of the wall.
Soon the two dagger monsters showed up and rushed him but Naruto killed them in quick succession with one just being kicked over the edge.
Going back, Naruto rolled out of the way of the shooter while slashing the head off of one of the monsters that came out of the wooden buildings.
Naruto quickly steamrolled his way through the rest of the area, slaughtering more of the monsters on his way while arriving at a new area after climbing up a few ladders to an upper floor. After clearing one more monster he found himself going in a circular motion until he saw a stone rampart that he was sure was meant for water or something leading downward. Following the path he saw some kind of red monster sitting on the entrance to the rampart and frowned.
'Great this is new.'
"Kit, use that big ass sword of yours. I think it could clear the way easily if you just rush it with the blade."
'Maybe but if it goes off the edge and the sword is stuck then it is gone for good.'
"Maybe but it is the quickest solution."
Naruto sighed and knew his friend was right but he didn't want to risk it. But he quickly summoned the Dragon Slayer sword and aiming it at the creature he roared with a mighty thrust. The creature screeched as it was impaled through by the blade, but Naruto didn't hesitate and quickly ripped the blade upward cutting more and more of the creature as he did.
After reaching the ceiling the creature's body started to pull away and Naruto withdrew his blade from the monster's body and saw it disappear in a cloud of dust.
But in its wake he saw it drop a red book of some sort.
Naruto picked it up and saw an emblem for fire on it and was confused.
"Naruto that is a pyromancer's tome. It will be useful if we can find someone that can help you use pyromancy."
'Okay so store that for later then.' Naruto unsummoned the Dragon Slayer and sent the tome into his storage before sighing and turning to his left seeing more of the ugly bastards waiting for him.
'Great more monsters, how lovely.'
Naruto quickly cut his way through the monsters with minimum exploration. He managed to make it into another stone area where he found another piece of unique armor and managed to make it back to the fog gate that was blocking his exploration.
He did encounter some kind of pyro empowered spiders that were spewing fire at him but he managed to just slice through them and even jump on top of some of them before making it back to the ladder leading to the gate.
After passing through the fog gate, Naruto found another bond fire and activated it before resting at the gate.
Going through his inventory he found that he had two new armor sets and a book for him to use while also having the souls that he collected while exploring a bit handled by Gwynevere.
It would seem that unlike the Butterfly and the Dragon and Gwynevere herself he can't see or read the memories of these souls in particular.
He thought of that as a blessing as he wasn't able to put together all the memories of the other ones just yet.
Ever since he attempted his Senjutsu and started using his mana through this method, he seemed to gain more insight of the beings that he killed or at least those with mighty souls.
There he looked at the book and had to admit that pyromancy would be something interesting to learn and it might help in some of his battles for the future. So he made plans to find a teacher and see what he can learn from them.
Magical spells however, he wasn't sure as he didn't like the idea of having to learn a completely different style of fighting with his method already working. He might buy the tomes for those down the line but for now, he was comfortable learning some pyromancy to help offset his swordsmanship.
He thought about the pyromancy and that one guy he met and had a favor from seemed to carry himself differently so it wouldn't hurt to see if he could help him with the pyromancy. Especially since Gwynevere mentioned that he had the look of someone from the swamp lands.
Walking away from the bonfire Naruto explored a bit of the system that he was in and found what looked like a dragon scale hidden in a chest and decided to keep it knowing it must have importance.
Exiting out into what he could guess was a giant swamp area he saw one of the fire creatures from before and quickly swung a dagger he had summoned into his off hand through the hole. This caused the fire attack it was building up to miscalculate and explode causing the creature to die and turn to ash.
Naruto sighed but soon heard something in the distance. Turning his attention he saw something he didn't expect to see.
It was a naked woman. More a naked woman carrying one big ass knife and wearing a sack on her head.
"The fuck?"
The woman quickly rushed around the barricade when close enough leapt into the air and brought the blade down with authority.
Naruto quickly sidestepped the attack pulling his sword out.
"Hey chill out!"
"DIE! GIVE ME YOUR HUMANITY AND SOULS!"
Naruto narrowed his eyes and sighed,
"What a waste."
Naruto quickly rolls out of the way of the attack again and when she swings side to side with the knife, he just pushed back. The swings miss and right after he saw her pause after one of her swings, he acted.
First summoning another dagger into his hand and throwing it at her knee. She screamed as the blade pierced her flesh.
"BASTARD GIVE ME YOUR HUMANITY!"
Naruto summoned another dagger and flung it into her shoulder making her fall over in pain.
Naruto rushed over but had to jump back at a quick swing of the blade forced a cut on his cheek.
'Shit that was close.'
She roared again , quickly removed the dagger from her knees and shoulder, and rushed again. This time thrusting the blade forward.
Naruto sidestepped and swung for her head.
She ducks under the attack and rolls her wrist to bring the blade up in a crescent movement to uppercut.
Naruto backs away from her attack.
Another dagger is flung and this time into her elbow of her off hand she grunts and tries to stand but Naruto throws another dagger into one of her feet. This stops her from moving and Naruto grabs some dirt on the ground and charges at her.
Seeing him coming, she screams while swinging the blade upward, but the dust soon hits her face and she slams the blade back down and soon feels a cut on her neck. Looking down slightly she sees her neck opening up and blood spurting onto the ground.
"N-n-no my souls, my humanities I can't lose-"
Naruto jams his dagger into her head and she collapses disappearing into a burst of dust.
"I know the kind of person you are and the world is better off without you."
Naruto sighs before picking up all his used daggers with one that is no longer usable due to the crack it had and thus tossed it at a flying bug.
For the next two hours Naruto explored the area finding all kinds of loots, metals, and other important artifacts and clothing. Due to the exploration, he found a path that leads out of the swamp and out to a place that he heard was called Valley of the Drakes. He didn't know what a drake was but he was sure he would find out.
Naruto found an open gate to a tower and after going through the tower and onto the lift he found himself back at Fire Link. Seeing himself there and needing repairs he rushed over to Andre to have his weapons repaired, used the time to upgrade his weapons, and used the dragon scale on one of his unique weapons he picked up not knowing if someone might find this weapon useful. Mostly he was focusing on upgrading his swords and daggers that he had on hand and also repairing all of his gear.
There, he walked back to the shrine and conversed with the pyromancer.
"I don't think I ever gave you my name young one?"
"No, I do know that you're a pyromancer since you look like the one's I heard about from the rumors. Your from the swamps no?"
"Yes indeed, your very insightful. My name is Laurentius of the Great Swamp. I came to this land due to becoming undead and I seek to find my own glory in using pyromancy. What is your opinion on pyromancy as many look down on us for the greater studies of magic and sorcery. More so now that our founder and the source of our power the Witch of Izaleith has become the source of demons appearing in the land and think it is because of her power over fire."
"Well everything has its uses. Magic is magic, pyromancy is pyromancy, at the end of the day how you use it determines the kind of person and how your power is interpreted."
"Ha well spoken child indeed you have the right metal for how pyromancy is seen."
Naruto nodded and summoned a book into his hand.
"I happen to stumble upon a pyromancy book while I was traveling through Blight Town recently I wondered if you could translate for me and maybe teach me a little."
The man took the book and his eyes widened and started reading the book with astounding speed.
"This is Power Within it is considered a lost pyromancy spell. Where exactly did you find it?"
"Off of a giant red spider monster in the caves."
"….. You're joking."
"No I'm not."
"I see." The man closed the book, "Since this is your book I can help you learn this spell for free but as for the spells I know I will require some payment of souls for them."
Naruto sighed figuring the case but he figured with all the monsters and souls he encountered he could at least dull some out to get them.
"First take this," He forms a small ball of fire and hands it to Naruto which takes up his right hand. His metal arm starts to heat up due to the flames but he could tell it wasn't melting the armor on his hand.
"This is the Pyromancer's flame, you will need this if you plan to use pyromancy. Come to me when you want to fine tune the pyromancy flame and I shall help adjust it for higher level of impact and power."
Naruto nodded and soon started experimenting with controlling the ball of fire.
Surprisingly it didn't take him long to get the hang of it. He managed to control the ball in his hand within a few hours and then started learning how to use Power Within. It was a buffering spell which increased his attack power and his stamina for a duration of he estimated a 100 seconds; so 1 minute and 40 seconds. But the problem with this spell it burned his body and it slowly was draining his health.
Naruto recognized if he could get gear to offset it, then it would help in the long run but he figured if that is the case then it would be better finding either something else to boost his strength without the same risk or only using it in pinches during a battle and having the resources on hand to survive.
Next he learned the spells that Laurentius knew. He first taught him how to make a basic fireball. This spell forms a ball of flame and when he throws it, the ball explodes on impact damaging things within a certain distance of the explosion. He got this technique down thanks to his own knowledge of fireballs given that he had quite a few slung at him over the years.
After this spell he learned Combustion which itself was just a similar principle only that it creates a flame that spreads out from his hand for a short duration.
He learned Fire Orb, same thing as the fire ball only… bigger.
Iron flesh and Flash Sweat were defensive means he learned as well from the swamp master, learning that Iron is better used against physical attacks rather than lighting. Stating it just increases the amount of damage he will take on. There he learns that it also makes him harder to hurt and stagger so he knew that would be useful. Flash Sweat made him more immune to flames for a period of time, more accurately he took less damage from flames that were sent his way.
Overall he had mastered most of the basic spells required for pyromancy and was somewhat proficient with them to be usable in battle. Naruto knew putting them into practice was the most important thing now but he would take his time. He also had some extra souls left over and spent on having his flame expanded on and thus increasing the overall power of his flame hand. He estimated at least five times his hand upgraded as Gwynevere told him that he had run low on souls and can't do more yet.
Before heading back to Blight Town, he went to the fire keeper and offered up another fire keeper soul he found while exploring the town's lower level and had his estu's flasks upgraded once again.
Now that he was sure he completed everything he needed to he wondered back into Lower Blight Town where he found himself confronting some of the monsters he had slain before but was able to cut through them quickly.
While looking back, he found a sorcery book, a new armor set, and some other collectible.
Arriving back at the previous bonfire he rested there for a few minutes before heading out into the swamp once more. There he saw a path he had not taken which was just a giant spider web or at least spider silk area. He hadn't seen this place before but he figured that is probably the path he needs to take for the bell.
So climbing through he saw two men looking creatures with giant balls on their backs having their hands together in some kind of prayer and mumbling something. Naruto saw they weren't making a move at him or anything so he decided it best to leave them alone and head to the fog door.
Upon arriving he took a deep breath and passed through the door.
Inside he saw cocoons all over the place with nothing but some stone flooring being the only sign of being a building of some sorts.
That is when he saw something emerging from the far side; it cracked and crackled in the distance but soon he got a good look of a creature emerging from what looked like a stair case.
The creature was a giant fire spider of sorts with a hardened head, its back completely covered in flames, and some of its tendons covered in flames.
The most shocking thing was the woman situated on the creature's head and back. It was a woman with long black hair and black eyes. She had a glow about her and a small smile on her face but what he was trying to do is not stare at her chest. She was bearing it all to see and he admitted that while Gwynevere beat her out in sheer size they were still pretty good. The creature slowly started walking toward him and she raised a flaming sword in her hand aiming at him.
Naruto frowned,
'Something is off; her power. It is higher than most of the creatures I have encountered up to this point but for some reason it feels off. Like something isn't fully right with her. Maybe she is not as powerful as the dragon we encountered?'
"No this one is stronger I can sense it too. Her power is easily greater than those but for some reason she has a human female on top of her head."
"Boys that is one of the daughters of the Witch."
'Seriously?'
"Yes I remember her, when the witch visited from time to time she would bring her children with her, I think this one's name is Quelaag, the Chaos Witch. I heard that some of them managed to escape the capital after it started to fall to ruin but it looks like they couldn't escape the flames she created."
'These flames, did they gain a will of their own or something? You keep talking about it like it is sentient.'
"In a sense it is, the creature you see before you is born from this affliction. When the witch tried to recreate the First Flame, she created something else. Whatever this flame is, whatever it is called is irrelevant. What matters is dealing with this one."
'Yeah but something just doesn't feel right about this situation. She had more than ample time to escape this place or even move further away, so why is she still here?'
Naruto didn't get a response as now the chaos witch was on him. He quickly ducked to right side as the spider started spewing fire from its mouth.
Slashing at the creature's side it raised its legs and pushed back to get some distance from him. Naruto pushed forward with great speed but soon saw her raising her flaming sword and rolled underneath the attack. The wide swing released a torrent flames on the end of her strike and he could see the heat burning the floor.
'Geez she makes the swamp master look like a child playing with a match in comparison.'
Naruto quickly rolled to the left side and threw his sword into its stomach and this made the creature roar out once more.
Naruto pulled his blade out and slashed at it a few more times but soon saw a bright yellow light forming in its belly.
Sensing danger he rushed away from the spider and was glad he did when it released a powerful explosion of pure fire.
'So she doesn't like it when I get close or I'm not in front of her huh? Better keep the strategy up.'
The woman again swung her sword to hit him but Naruto rolled under the attack again and soon was at her side and continuing his slashing.
She screamed in rage and soon held her sword in the air and soon the air grew thicker. Naruto's eyes widened as she took the blade and screamed.
The blade sunk into the spider's back and he saw it glowing brighter and brighter with each second.
'Shit got to move!'
Naruto rushed away from the spider demon.
A massive explosion came, the flames burst from its bodies melting even the stone floor and causing the cocoons to melt from the heat's intensity.
Quelaag collapsed to the floor, the flames on its body disappearing and its sword turning a black charcoal.
Naruto on the other hand managed to make it to the edge of the arena but found that his leg was badly burnt and that his body was drained from the intensity of his movement and the attack.
Taking out the flask he took a big sip and felt the wounds on his leg healing.
After taking a few seconds to ensure he was okay, he headed to the witch.
He saw the woman panting and groaning. Her human body tried to lift the sword but failed and it fell to the ground with a thud.
Naruto frowned at the woman and raised his blade up to bring down in a downward slash.
But the eyes, he could see her eyes. Something wasn't right and he just felt it in his chest.
Lowering his sword, Naruto stabbed it into the ground before he reached out with his good hand and touched her forehead. She reached up to scratch his arm but soon stopped when she sensed something coming off of him.
Naruto activated his Senjutsu and peered into the demonic witch and sensed it. Something chaotic, something untethered by anything. It just twists and convulses all over the place.
This thing, it was becoming more chaotic by the minute and it seemed to be harming the woman in question.
He wasn't sure what it was exactly but he knew that whatever it was, it what she was afflicted with.
"Kit I know what your thinking and don't. We have no idea if the process is the same as if we were doing it with chakra instead of mana. I mean come on kid! Reading their souls is one thing but the thing your thinking about! There is no telling-"
'I'm doing it Kurama so shut up.'
The fox was shocked by his bluntess, it had been a while since he just outright told him to shut up. But he knew when the block head is like this he is going to do it and no matter of arguing was going to stop him.
Gwynevere was worried tremendously, more so with how this is going to affect his mind and body. She knew that the flame inside of this woman was dangerous but there was not guarantee that doing this won't mess up his mind or cause him to go into a frenzy himself. It was no guarantee that she would actually survive the process or return to normal.
But she could see he was going to do it either way; not because he had to. But because he wanted to, he wanted to give her a chance and that is more than enough.
She had never seen someone so selfless before, it was actually astonishing.
It reminded her of him. So courageous and willing to face opposition no matter what for what they think was right.
That is something she knew they had in common.
But with Naruto, he quickly started pulling on the dark flame inside of her, he could feel the voices of the flames screaming in his head, lingering, whispering, and taunting him. They took the form and shape of the people he knew, of the village, of Kurama before his time, and even his father and mother. He could hear them shouting at their shame, their guilt of having him, and how he abandoned their home.
He ignored it all.
He pushed the flame out, pushed it into his opposite hand and soon it formed into a ball of flame. One contorted into a dark orange and yellow glow. The whole thing was haunting and he was not sure what to make of this horrid encounter.
But he knew he had to finish quick.
Pulling more of the flame out he could hear the witch screaming and writhing in pain. The spider beneath her was screaming and writhing as well. He could fell them pulling apart, the pain, the irritation, and the hope.
It was all there and Naruto pushed more.
After several minutes he finally gathered all of the flame into an orb in his hand and with a mighty swing thrusted it against the wall making it explode. The flame quickly dispersed and Naruto collapsed to the ground on his ass looking at what he had done.
The woman in question was standing there, she was looking her hands over, her face, and feeling her legs. She was smiling and crying and Naruto could only smile back while coughing hard.
The woman heard this noise and quickly rushed over to him. She touched his head and saw he was hot.
"I'll be fine give me the estus flask please."
The woman nodded and quickly handed him the flask and allowed him to take several drinks.
'The damage is still there.'
"Of course this is going to take longer than just some drinks from your estus flask to heal. Your plan worked but the flames went out of their way to leave their mark on you."
'Any permanent damage?'
"No thankfully but you should rest, sleep it off. Because if you strain yourself now you might die."
Naruto frowned and nodded.
"Hey." The woman looked at him, "Would you mind taking me to safe spot so I can rest. I'm afraid that due to the damage of removing that flame I'm unable to move around a lot."
The woman nodded her head but soon glared. Turning her head she saw the flaming spider growling at them and now slowly approaching.
"Great just what I needed." Naruto struggled to his feet but the woman stood up and held her hand out.
"You dare stand before me," her voice was smooth as silk, "Know your place filthy creature." With her hand held out, the creature screeched and rushed.
A torrent of great flames appeared where it was charging to and soon the spider was caught up in the flames and screaming an screeching at the pain it was in. After a few seconds she snapped her fingers, revealing nothing but scorch marks remaining.
"How pathetic you were only powerful thanks to me." Turning her head she smiled, "Thank you my savior. Please I shall carry you to a safe location."
Naruto looked at her and noticed that the carpet matches the drapes.
"Right how about some clothes though?"
She shook her head,
"No time, more demons might come and we need to get you to safety." Picking him up on her shoulders she slowly started walking into the direction of the staircase and fog gate.
But the pain he was in, the exhaustion of exploring the town, and also dealing with the weird flames he encountered, it was all too much.
Naruto's body slumped and soon he fell asleep.
The woman smiled and quickened her pace,
"Please I hope you can help her like you helped me, my savior."
Gwynevere and Kurama could only frown hoping Naruto knew what he was doing saving this woman's life.