Chapter 12a: Lescatie's Retaliation
Monoghon
Adrian stared at the window where the hero had entered and exited. Rushing over, he peered down at where he had landed. He saw him running frantically towards the outer walls of the prison. Strangely, no mamono took an interest in him as he disappeared into the city. More worrying, were his last words before he had left.
"What have we gotten ourselves into…?" Adrian asked Saralyn and Sinclair.
"What have you two gotten yourselves into, you mean. He didn't seem to care about me, just you and Saralyn. You were the ones who freed Azurith. Perhaps he's holding a grudge?" The dark elf replied to Adrian's question.
"I don't know. But, we should be careful from now on. He didn't seem like the type of person to not keep his promise." Saralyn responded, the dhampir staring out the window at where the hero had jumped out.
"Like we haven't been being careful all this time?" Sinclair scoffed.
"You know what I mean. In the meantime, we need to take the mamono prisoners out of this prison."
"About that. Now that the Order's lost whatever leverage they had over us, and Lescatie is invading with their main military, they seem like they want revenge on Monoghon. They don't want to leave, they want to get the husbands they were denied."
"Huh… I guess we should have expected that much when it comes to mamono." Adrian remarked. He appreciated the effort.
The three of them advanced down the hallways. A few disorganized Order soldiers and prison guards remained in the hallways, and were immediately cut down by Saralyn's guns or a throwing knife to the head from Sinclair. The few mamono wandering the halls of the prison eagerly jumped on the fallen soldiers, tearing off whatever armor and clothes they wore for an impromptu mating session. It reminded him of something he had been meaning to ask.
"Hey. Sinclair. Question, are you married?" Adrian asked.
"Nope. What, are you a harem guy now? I'm not some two-horned black horse." Sinclair quickly responded.
"Just asking… I came across some Order soldiers on our exams that seemed like disguised masochists. They got off from being stabbed with realm-silver. Perfect for a dark elf, don't you think?"
Sinclair stared at Adrian, a look of annoyance on her face. "To be honest, I never got into the whole 'dominatrix' bullshit that dark elves are usually into. When I was around nineteen years old, the dark elf husbands in my village just seemed so servile and passive. Quite literally, whipped into shape. It annoyed me."
"I see. High standards?"
"I guess that's one way of saying that."
Getting closer to the low-security cell blocks, the three of them came across an unusual sight. A Salamander, sitting against the wall with her legs mounted on some Order soldier and surrounded by more unconscious Order soldiers, looking very upset and grumbling about "the lack of worthy opponents". Saralyn whistled out to her.
"You there. You want a husband, come with us." Saralyn offered.
The salamander got up from the floor and stood up. She picked up her weapon of choice, a massive glaive leaning against a wall.
"Fine, I'll come with you. There's gotta be someone else out here that can give me a challenge in combat. The only person who was able to fight me had places to be and ran away, and I couldn't find him!" The salamander ranted.
"There's plenty where that came from. Have you ever heard of gray incubi?" Saralyn asked the salamander.
"Hm. Azurith said something about them when we invaded. I think I came across one of them. Stabbed me in the back and gagged me. How devoid of honor!" The salamander continued ranting.
"Yeah…" Saralyn didn't have the heart to tell her that backstabs were the first thing Peacekeepers were taught how to do.
The four of them finally reached the low-security blocks of the prison. It consisted of three floors lined with cells, with catwalks and staircases connecting each one with each other. At the bottom floor, a large group of about thirty mamono were gathered. Hellhounds, other salamanders and lizardmen, dullahans, kunoichis and manticores. It was hard to believe that these mamono hadn't been able to take over Monoghon. Adrian had been briefed on why the takeover failed; a combination of impulsive decision making on their side and technological advancements from the enemy.
"This seems familiar, doesn't it?" Saralyn said, looking down at the mamono gathered.
"Yeah. Black Forest Prison? Four months ago now. Time flies."
"Amazing how far we've come in such a short period of time." The dhampir smiled at him.
"We can thank Meryl for that…" Adrian said, thinking about the brutal training he had endured at her hands. Despite its harshness, it had worked wonders for his body. Being an incubus also helped.
"You're Sinclair's friends, right? Adrian and Saralyn?" A lizardman nearby asked him and Saralyn.
"Yes, that's us." Both of them responded at once. They looked over each other in surprise.
The entire cell block stood up and saluted him and Saralyn. The salamanders and lizardmen held their swords up in the air and cheered, while everyone else clapped their hands, paws, or claws, shouting his praises. Adrian and Saralyn looked at the crowd, a look of confusion on their faces. They turned to Sinclair for an explanation.
"You're confused? Seriously? Do you know who you rescued?" Sinclair asked them.
"Azurith?" Saralyn replied.
"Yes, Azurith! She was a beloved member of the mamono extremists! Everyone cheers for her when she walks into the streets. She's the role model every mamono daughter looks up to. She's helped thousands of mamono get their husbands. She's even Druella's childhood friend!" The dark elf exclaimed. "You people need to spend less time training and more time in the city with the common folk."
"I see. We're saviors now?"
"Yeah, and I also told them about the prison you liberated. You're getting some fame of your own, as well."
Adrian and Saralyn looked at the mamono gathered around. In the time that they were there, they had all gotten themselves into an organized formation befitting of the Lescatian military. Almost none of them had armor and only some of them had weapons, but regardless, they looked ready to fight.
The sound of shattered glass came from above. Everyone looked up and saw Ava dropping down from a skylight, knives in hand. She put them away when she saw that the room was clear of Order soldiers. She stared at Adrian and Saralyn, looking for a certain someone.
"Where is Lerina?" She asked, her voice muffled by her mask.
"She's a traitor. She's not even an elf, she's a valkyrie. And her name isn't even Lerina, it's Raniel." Saralyn explained to Ava. The kunoichi looked at all three of them, an "I told you so" look in her eyes.
"I warned you. She was suspicious from the start." Ava shook her head in disappointment.
"At least we learned something. She's part of Aperia. The Order wants to keep Azurith alive, Aperia wants to kill her, for some reason. I thought Aperia generally liked to keep out of things related to Lescatie?" Adrian told her.
"Plenty of Monoghon's citizens wanted Azurith dead, from what I heard. Maybe Aperia thought they could just kill her and blame it on the Order?" Sinclair responded.
"Most likely. We can figure it out once we get out of this prison. Which way is the exit?" Saralyn looked around. Everyone pointed towards a large pair of double doors leading to the lobby.
"Let's go, then."
The formation of organized mamono watched as Saralyn and the others opened the double doors, following dutifully behind them. Coming to the lobby, it was clear that the Order had abandoned the prison once they figured out the mamono prisoners of war were loose. Discarded bits of armor and weaponry were strung around on the floors and on tables, a welcome gift for those who were unarmed. Some mamono argued about using lethal weaponry, but Adrian assured them that they would be able to get realm-silver weapons once they linked up with outside forces.
Adrian opened the doors leading to the outside of the prison. It was complete anarchy. A massive hole had been blown in the walls that they had climbed to get into the prison, a large, wide path of trampled grass leading to the prison doors. Mamono and humans dotted the areas outside of the prison, going at it like animals. Up above, aerial mamono like griffons, wyverns, harpies, and the occasional dragon soared around the city, some of them carrying men in their claws. All throughout the city, moans and grunts of pleasure could be heard intermixed with the sounds of fighting.
"What a mess." Adrian said as he looked around.
"A beautiful mess, Adrian." Sinclair corrected him.
Their small army of mamono made comments about how they were getting their revenge. Clearly, Lescatie hadn't taken nicely to being blackmailed. They began to advance out of the prison and into the city streets. The fighting had mostly stopped in the area around the prison, the number of mamono and humans having sex increasing greatly. Eventually, they reached some sort of barrier.
A strong-looking succubus wearing a jacket made of lilim cloth stood behind the barrier, shouting orders to the mamono around it. She looked over at Adrian, a look of excitement in her eyes.
"Hey! You're Walker, right? Everyone was talking about you and your deeds at the prison. You've earned quite a reputation amongst Lescatie's military in the past few hours. My name is Lilian, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. Azurith must have been quite the popular public figure in Lescatie."
Sinclair was right, he needed to spend less time training and spend more time in the main city.
"Mind if we get in on your popularity too? It's not like you did everything on your own." The dark elf grumbled, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"You and your entire team deserve credit." Lilian added on. "Anyways, we've aiming to make a push towards the castle city of Peraghon, north of here. It's sort of like Salvarision. The last of the Order and their heroes are holed up there, and they aren't making it easy for us at all. They've got some sort of enormous magic barrier around the castle and it isn't going down."
"Have you tried burrowing under the barrier?" Adrian asked.
"The wurms and giant ants tried. The barrier extends underground as well. What sort of mage could create a forcefield that big?"
"Gray incubi." Saralyn answered. "That's who."
"Hm. That's what I was afraid of. They seem to have a natural resistance to nymphomancy. Our soldiers are going to have to rely on their combat skills for once. Druella's gift isn't going to be helpful." Lilian looked over at the freed prisoners.
"Fine army you have there. Do you want to keep leading them, or should I take over?"
"You can take over. I've never had much experience as a leader." Adrian shook his head.
Lilian gestured for Adrian, Saralyn and Sinclair to stand aside. She stepped in front of the organized formation that the mamono prisoners had formed. She looked around, surprised, and turned back to Adrian.
"Not much experience as a leader? How did you get these ladies into formation, then?" Lilian asked him.
"They did that themselves. My popularity does wonders, apparently."
"I wish I had that sort of charisma. Alright, everyone. Stay in position. We're going to be marching to Peraghon. Anyone who finds a husband on the way is free to leave, but I implore you to hold off until we capture Peraghon. We'll have plenty of men for you to choose from once we pull this off. Do all of you understand?" Lilian shouted.
"Yes, Ma'am!"
"Good. Onward!"
Their small army began marching towards Peraghon. Lilian led the group, with Adrian, Saralyn and Sinclair at her side. Looking around the city, it had changed drastically since they had first arrived. Adrian looked up and saw that the skies had gone from dark gray to a dark shade of purple. The moon, while still shining white, had begun to take on a reddish hue. The land of Monoghon was slowly turning into a mamono realm. Even the soil was beginning to look darker than usual.
Their army came across clusters of monsterized soldiers and civilians having sex with their newly acquired husbands. Adrian guessed that these were evacuation efforts. He felt a small amount of guilt for them, but he knew that things would mostly work out in the end. Mamono would do everything in their power to make their husbands happy, despite the abrupt marriage.
"Look alive, Adrian. We've arrived." Saralyn snapped him out of his thoughts and pointed at something.
Adrian turned to where she was pointing. A couple miles away, sat a large castle city, not unlike Salvarision in Lescatie. The walls were in perfect condition, unlike the rest of the city. Adrian caught glimpses of soldiers running back and forth on the battlements, glaring at the mamono surrounding them. But above all else, there was a massive shimmering white barrier stopping them from entering the castle.
"Shit. How are we going to get past that?" Adrian gasped.
"We don't know. It's nearly impenetrable. We managed to make a crack in it, but it healed itself almost immediately. The mages that are maintaining the barrier are way too far away for us to use spell break on them, and the barrier extends underground." Lilian explained.
"What are they trying to do? Sinclair asked.
"My guess is that they're holding out and waiting for reinforcements." Lilian speculated
"What if we just waited?"
Adrian, Sinclair and Lilian all turned around and stared at Saralyn. It was an idea so simple that none of them had considered it.
"Think about it. They can't keep it up forever. And even if their reinforcements do come, the mamono realm will have fully matured. Essence corrosion is going to weaken them when they try to travel through it. Even if they do reach Monoghon, we've got an entire army of mamono waiting for them."
"Huh." Lilian considered it for a second.
"She's got a point." Sinclair agreed.
"Sounds better than wasting mana trying to destroy it." Adrian remarked. "When do you think they'll run out of energy?"
"Not for a while. We should get comfortable." Lilian looked back at the army. "Let's set up camp here. Everyone, make as much noise as possible to demoralize them." Lilian's order was met with a mixture of laughs and cheers.
Day One
"Saralyn, let go of me. I need to go check on the barrier." Adrian politely requested Saralyn, who was hugging him tightly and pulling him back to their cot.
"We missed our nightly sex because of this mission. You know what we agreed on when that happens." The dhampir said.
"Three times longer sex the next day…"
"You're not opposed to it, are you?"
"What? No, of course not! I just want to see if the barrier has weakened." Adrian quickly responded.
"About that. The baphomets and their witches estimated that we have about a week before the barriers go down." Saralyn told him with a smile on her face.
"I see."
"There's no getting out of our lovemaking now, Adrian."
"Damn it." Adrian said, although his smile told Saralyn that he wasn't serious. "Wouldn't have it any other way. I love you, Saralyn."
"I love you too."
Day Three
Sinclair put the finishing touches on her little project to pass the time. She stepped back, admiring her work. A large wooden board with the words "We are coming for you" written in block capitals with a crude drawing of an order knight having sex with a succubus next to it. The dark elf planned to put it facing the main gate of Peraghon, so that the Order would have to look at it every time they passed by the gate.
"Really?" A voice came from behind her.
Sinclair turned and looked around, but didn't see anything. Looking slightly upwards, she saw a leanan sidhe, a type of fairy that specialized in all sorts of art, looking at the picture of the knight and the succubus having sex with an expression of disgust.
"I've seen wurms that can draw better than you!" The fairy spoke in a high pitched voice. Before Sinclair could say anything in response, the fairy began redrawing the picture. About thirty minutes later, it was finished. A highly detailed and colored recreation of the picture, with the succubus on top of the knight holding hands with him.
"What do you think?" The leanan sidhe asked Sinclair.
"Eh… I liked mine better." Sinclair shrugged.
"No appreciation for art…" The leanan sidhe grumbled as Sinclair dragged the wooden board outside.
"Whatever, I'm going to go show the others."
Day Five
Lilian woke Adrian and Saralyn up. Saralyn irritatedly swatted at the succubus's hand, mumbling about how she was having such a nice dream. Adrian opened his eyes, blinking at the light coming from outside.
"You have a visitor. Three visitors, actually." Adrian quickly sat up from his cot and looked at the succubus.
"Who?"
"They go by Naira and Jordan Leighton, and Meryl Tanner. Do you know them?" Adrian sighed in relief. They had survived the valkyrie. Now he hoped that they had gotten Azurith out alive.
"Want me to bring them here?"
"Yes, please."
The succubus left to go get Naira, Jordan and Meryl. Adrian and Saralyn quickly got out of bed and put on their clothing as soon as the wyvern, her rider and her commander entered the room. Adrian was the first to speak.
"Is Azurith-"
"Yes, Azurith is okay. We've got quite the story to tell you. That valkyrie you encountered at the prison? Complete psychopath." Meryl explained.
"Tell me everything."
Azurith, Naira and Jordan all traversed the sewers of Monoghon, looking for their safezone. The sounds of battle echoed from above, clearly indicating that the Order had lost whatever leverage they had over Lescatie. It was a welcome ambience, a reminder of Lescatie's power.
"Shit, shit, shit, where are we again?" Naira asked Jordan.
"I don't know. We could be going around in circles, but I wouldn't know that because every tunnel in this damn city looks exactly the same. Plus, the smell of this sewer is beginning to drive me insane."
Azurith looked nervously around the sewers, staying as close as she could to Naira and Jordan. These had been the worst days of her life. First she failed her country by making an impulsive decision, putting the lives of thousands in danger, then she got captured and imprisoned, and now an angry valkyrie wanted to kill her for some reason.
Azurith's paranoia was at its peak. Everytime she turned around, she thought she saw a glowing white figure following her. She tried to focus, listening for anything that could indicate help, or the valkyrie coming to kill them. Eventually, she heard faint talking from up ahead.
"Do you guys hear that?"
"The talking?"
"Y-yeah… Maybe we should go back, what if it's the valkyrie?"
"It could also be the others. We've got a teleportation circle set up here, so once we find someone, they can lead us back to our safezone and you can go back to Lescatie. Druella must be biting her nails thinking about you, so the sooner we get you out of here, the better."
The three of them trudged through the horrid smelling waters of the sewer for several more hours. Wherever they had plowed through the street, it was not close to where they had set up camp at all. Finally, Naira spotted something that indicated that they might be close to the teleportation circle.
"An arrow…" Naira pointed a claw at a crudely scratched out arrow on the walls of the tunnel, pointing towards an intersection. It looked like it had been carved with an sai, a weapon commonly carried by kunoichis.
"Finally! We can leave this sewer!" Azurith rejoiced. More arrows kept leading them towards what they hoped was their safezone. On their fifth arrow, they came across a welcome sight. An elf and a mantis, both wearing Lescatie's uniform, climbing up a ladder leading to the city above. The elf noticed them at the last second before leaving the sewer, telling the mantis to go on ahead without her.
"Is that Azurith?!" The elf asked, weirdly excited.
"Yes, it's me." The demon replied, tired.
"You were the one who monsterized me! I never thought I would see you again! You have no idea how thankful I am for your help, I would've never found my husband if I kept on being a reclusive and prudish-"
"You're welcome. Anyways, where is the safezone? There's a valkyrie hunting us down here." Naira cut off the elf's run-on speech.
"Oh. Uh, it's right this way, follow me." The elf responded, sounding dejected. The three of them followed the elf down the tunnel. The sight of their safezone where the Peacekeepers had first entered the sewers filled them with a sense of relief, especially Azurith. Mamono had cleared out some of the sewage and made the place into a temporary camp. In the center, a dullahan was giving out orders to Lescatie's military. She turned around and saw the three of them. Immediately dropping what she was doing, she ran over to greet them.
"Azurith! Thank Maou you're safe, get in the teleportation circle quickly. We'll have you out of here as soon as we can. Druella must be worried out of her mind." Meryl led Azurith by the hand to a large circle they had drawn on the ground. A dark mage began chanting, the teleportation circle lighting up slowly. As the circle began to glow brighter, Azurith vanished.
"Glad that's over with." Meryl sighed in relief. "The two of you, follow her. Druella asked that she see the people who saved Azurith."
The wyvern and her rider looked at each other, then stepped into the teleportation circle.
Chapter 12b: Downfall
Raniel had had a very, very unpleasant evening. First she caused a massive commotion by destroying an entire city block and nearly jeopardizing her entire mission, then she wasted her time creating a disguise just for some annoying flying lizard and her rider to stop her at the last moment. She was going to kill that demon and leave. To hell with trying to convert Kovalt Marshall. She thought to herself.
Observing the area around her, she had landed in the middle of a three way intersection in the sewers. Not knowing which way Azurith had been taken, she decided the forward was a good direction to travel in. Walking normally as opposed to hovering above the sewage to save energy, Raniel cringed as the edges of her normally pristine clothing were dirtied. But while looking down, she saw something. Looking closely through the sewage, she saw four small holes in the ground in a triangular formation.
"Claw marks." Raniel grinned. She was going in the right direction. Casting a spell of enhanced vision on herself to see through the sewage, she began to follow the claw marks through the sewers. After a bit of walking, she began to hear voices. Female voices.
"Figures…Looks like this is where they've been hiding this entire time." Peering around a corner, she saw two monsters. A girtablilu and a succubus, heading towards her position. Staying back, she began to wait for the right time to strike.
The two monsters passed her position. Raniel sprung into action. She grabbed the girtablilu by the tail and slammed her into the succubus, both of them falling to the ground. The succubus tried to get up, but Raniel planted a foot into her back, pinning her down. The girtablilu tried to poke her with her tail, but the valkyrie casted a strong sleep spell on the scorpion woman, knocking her unconscious immediately.
The succubus twisted her head, trying to look at her assailant, but Raniel didn't allow it, keeping her grounded.
"Tell me where you're keeping the demon. Now."
"W-who?"
"Azurith! Where is she?!"
"She's gone! We teleported her away!" Raniel stepped back, letting the succubus get up.
Dread filled Raniel. Azurith had gotten away. She would tell Druella everything. She would set her sights on Aperia, and tear apart everything they had worked for. Raniel's mind quickly went into damage control mode, and began formulating a plan to ensure Aperia's survival. She had killed both the king and the queen, so her mission hadn't been a complete failure. All Raniel hoped was that Ophelia would understand.
"Get out of my sight." Raniel told the succubus. The succubus scooped the girtablilu over her back and began to run as fast as she could away from the valkyrie. Once she was out of sight, she leaned down and gathered her magic, attempting to telepathically contact Ophelia. Several seconds passed, and she heard her voice in her head.
"Raniel, what is the status of your missio-" Ophelia spoke before she was cut off.
"Matriarch, it's all gone to hell! The extremists are here. Azurith escaped, she's out our reach!" Raniel rambled.
"I see." Ophelia's tone remained calm.
"What do we do?! She's going to tell Druella everything!"
"Raniel, calm down. There are plenty of valkyries in Monoghon. They won't know it was you. Druella has no real evidence besides her friend's word that we tried to kill her. If she tries to confront us, all we need to do is choose our words carefully and she should back off."
"You're not angry?" Raniel was both relieved and surprised.
"Raniel, we have been through thick and thin together. One failure from you means nothing as long as you still live. You are a celestial being that is capable of living for thousands of years. You will have plenty of time to make up." Ophelia reassured the shocked valkyrie.
"Thank you, Matriarch. Any further orders?"
"Return to Aperia. You've done all you can do. The longer you stay there, the more you run the risk of being corrupted." Ophelia ordered.
"Right away!"
Raniel stood up. Searching around a little more, she found a ladder leading to the surface. Once she got to the surface, the strong stench of sex filled the air. Looking around, she spotted several mamono having sex with their husbands, completely oblivious to her presence. Raniel hoped it would stay that way.
Ophelia was right, she had to get out of Monoghon before it was transformed into a mamono realm. Spreading her wings, she jumped into the air and began to fly off, away from the doomed city.
Kari Marshall was scared. She was just reading her book when she started hearing shouting coming from outside. She assumed it was just people having an argument in the streets, so she ignored it. But the shouts turned into screams, then into moans. Out of curiosity, Kari peaked out of the curtains.
She wished she hadn't. Swarms of werewolves, werecats, succubi, and other terrifying looking monsters that she didn't recognize crowded the streets. They rushed at the men, laughing maniacally as they pushed them down on the ground and climbed on top of them. Kari's heart dropped as she saw her caretaker, who had gone outside momentarily to get some fresh air, being attacked by a succubus. Kari immediately shut the curtains. She began hyperventilating. How did the monsters get into Monoghon?! Her mind raced. She tried to calm down, taking several deep breaths.
Kari had been prepared for this, however. Her father had trained her for this type of situation, no doubt scared of a repeat of what happened with her mother. The monsters seemed preoccupied with attacking the men and women in the streets, rather than breaking into their house. If she just did what her father asked, she would be okay. Her father would come to pick her up. He would save the city, just like he did last time.
Dashing down the stairs, she ran to the kitchen, and stopped near the fireplace. Reaching above the firewood, Kari grabbed a small metal object in a divot in the wall. A key to their panic room. Her father had installed it five years ago, shortly after her mother had been monsterized.
"If Monoghon ever gets invaded, get the key from the fireplace and HIDE. Do you understand?" Her father had told her, over and over again. Kari never thought she would have to use it. The Order had increased security in every single city they controlled ever since Lescatie fell.
Dashing down the stairs to the basement, she came to a large metal door. Inserting the key into the keyhole and twisting, she pushed the large door open with all her might. Quickly getting into the room and closing the door behind her, she locked the door and took a deep breath.
Their panic room was simple. Two beds, separated by a wooden partition facing towards the doorway. On the left wall, barrels of food, kept well stocked by their servants. On the right, a small basin of water.
Kari walked over to one of the beds, and sat down, facing the door. She could still hear the sounds of chaos coming from outside. She couldn't sleep out of fear that she would be discovered and monsterized in her sleep. After about an hour of not being discovered, the sounds from outside slowly quieted down. Still scared out of her mind, she hid underneath the covers of her bed.
Her heart practically skipped a beat when she heard knocking coming from the other side of the door. Kari squeezed her eyes shut and stayed as quiet as she possibly could. She hoped that whatever monster had come across the panic room would think that nobody was home and give up trying to get in. But there was a possibility that it was her father, coming to pick her up.
"Kari, dear? It's your mother, Catalina. I'm alive. Please, open the door. It's safe, I promise."
Kari's heart began beating faster and faster. They were mimicking her mother's voice to try and lure her out. She didn't dare answer.
"I know you're scared. But the things your father told you about monsters are false. They won't hurt you, and they don't take over your mind either. I'm the same person I was five years ago."
Kari knew she was lying. Her father had told her that Catalina began to grow fur, claws, and a tail before she had to be put down. Later, she learned that she would've become a monster known as a werewolf.
"I know you're in there, Kari. All monsters are capable of knowing where their loved ones are at all times."
Kari refused to answer.
"Please Kari, I miss you. It's been five years. Open the door."
Kari still refused to answer the voice.
"Kari, I'm not what you think I am. I am your mother, not some imitator. I remember everything we did together. I remember you getting a toy boat as a birthday present for your fourth birthday. I remember you saying 'mama' as your first word. I know your favorite type of candy is chocolate."
The pleading tone of the voice sounded completely genuine, and it was getting to Kari. It sounded just like her mother. Just a couple words. Kari reasoned to herself.
"Father told me you died." Kari spoke in a barely audible voice.
"I didn't, Kari. I managed to escape the city. Outside of the Order's control, I learned so much about monsters. They aren't evil, they just want to show their love for us. Every monster that finds a human man ends up happy together." Catalina's voice sounded more excited.
"But what about the monsters outside attacking innocent people? What about the werewolves that attacked you? Why did they do that? " Kari asked.
"I'll admit, they're rather zealous. But things will work out in the end for both the man and the monster. Besides, I don't even associate with them. I just took advantage of their invasion to see you. As for the werewolves, I'm better off now because of them." Catalina explained.
"Are you going to try and transform me?" Kari replied.
"Only if you want me to."
Kari made her choice. She stood up on shaky legs, slowly walked over to the door. She stopped right in front of it, looking at the doorknob.
"I-I'm going t-to let you in now." Kari's hands were shaking as she reached for the door and unlocked it.
"Thank you, Kari." Catalina's voice was filled with gratitude.
Kari slowly opened the door, and looked at her mother for the first time in five years. Dark gray fur covered most of Catalina's arms and legs, her hands and feet ending with sharp looking claws. Her ears had become triangular and furry, and a bushy tail poked out from between her legs. On her mostly exposed stomach, was a fist shaped burn mark. But Kari knew it was her. She had her face, and even had the ring her father had given her when they had gotten married.
Catalina kneeled down, holding her arms out for a hug. Kari hugged her back, the ten year old's mind a whirlwind of activity. Everything her father taught her about monsters seemed incorrect now.
"Let's sit down for now. We have so much to catch up on."
Kovalt cursed over and over again as he bolted as fast as he could towards his family's house. If he couldn't save Monoghon, at least he could save his daughter. If she had followed his instructions, she could still be okay. They could get out of the city. He didn't know where they would go after that, but anywhere was better than here in his opinion.
The trip to his house from the prison was mercifully uneventful. Any monsters he passed by were too busy having sex, and the single monsters were mostly dissuaded once they sensed that he was married. Any that tried to attack him were swiftly repelled.
Kovalt thought about Adrian, and Saralyn. He knew the two of them were heroes. All heroes were capable of sensing when another hero was nearby. Filthy traitors. Once his daughter was safe, maybe he'd go back and teach the two of them a lesson. Both of them were the reason the entire city had gone to hell.
Quickly dodging past some more monsters, he arrived at his house. Unlocking and opening the door, it was deathly quiet. Searching the upstairs and the downstairs, there was no sign of forced entry anywhere in the house. Kari was nowhere to be seen.
Kovalt looked into the fireplace. The key in the wall above the firewood was gone, which meant Kari had listened to his instructions. Walking to the basement, he came to the panic room. The door was open.
Kovalt's heart dropped. He didn't want to see what was in that room, but he had to know what had happened to Kari. Slowly walking over to the room, he pulled the door open. What was inside, shocked him to his very core.
A werewolf was sitting on one of the beds, Kari sitting next to her, still human. The two of them turned towards him, both of them smiling happily.
"KARI! GET AWAY FROM THE MONSTER!" He yelled.
"Kovalt. Husband. I'm so happy to see you again." The werewolf said, standing up and allowing Kovalt to get a good look at her face. It was unmistakably Catalina.
"No. No, no, no, it can't be you, I thought you died!" Kovalt yelled.
"No, Kovalt. I'm alive and well. Those werewolves did me a favor, now that I think about it. We don't have to live with the Order anymore. No more worshiping a god that spreads lies to us and doesn't care about her own followers. No more nobles constantly harassing you for their own benefit. We can be free from their lies."
"Bullshit. I'm an asset to the Order. And besides, the Chief God cares about us." Kovalt retorted.
"If she cared, why did she let her second biggest state fall? Thousands of people prayed to her everyday, yet when their supposed enemy attacked, she didn't do anything." Catalina asked.
"...They were corrupt."
"Exactly. I don't side with the extremists but what they did to Lescatie was necessary. Monsters care about us, more than the Order does. Kovalt, think for yourself and not for the Order for once! You don't have to let them exploit you!"
"You're telling to side with a species that sees human women as something to corrupt and human men as breeding tools. A species with no boundaries, no rules, no sense of shame. How about YOU think about how you ended up this way. A group of rabid werewolves looking for another member of their pack and a man to use as a breeding tool. You were begging for me to make it stop!" Kovalt argued with his transformed wife.
"We don't have to be like them! I admit, I was scared at the time. I didn't know what was happening to me. But I've changed for the better!" The werewolf shouted back.
"That's the mana speaking. Not your rational mind."
"Why can't you just believe me?! All I want is to be happy with you! Don't you want Kari to grow up without being fed the Order's lies in school?!"
Kovalt had had enough. He unsheathed his sword, and in a flash he had it pointed at Catalina's throat. The werewolf put her paws in the air and backed into the wall.
"Daddy, stop!" Kari shouted at him.
"Kari… Back away from the werewolf. Get behind me. Monoghon is slowly turning into a demon realm. We need to get out of the city as soon as possible.
"No." Kari said in a shockingly stern voice. She remained at her mother's side.
"Kari, please." Kari refused to follow his instructions.
"You're still human. We can get out of here before it's too late." His daughter remained silent, a defiant look on her face. Catalina held the girl in her paws, blocking Kovalt from reaching her.
"Think about your dau-" Catalina tried to speak, but Kovalt pushed the tip of his sword closer to Catalina's throat.
"I refuse to betray the Order. I will stay loyal to the Chief God until my dying breath." Kovalt said. He had lost everything. Everything except his allegiance to the Order.
"How many times do I have to say this?! They don't care-" Kovalt refused to hear her out. He turned around and ran as fast as he could. Casting the strongest speed spell he could on himself, he charged out of the house and onto the streets. Catalina and Kari tried to follow him, but he was too fast.
He ran out of their neighborhood. He ran out of the city, and past the walls. He ran until he felt like his legs were going to give out. Stopping near a small pond, he sat down to rest.
He held his head in his hands, and wept.