Gods, Demons, with a few extra side shenanigans? I mean, as long as I can have continue access to the buffet, I don't see a problem with fighting creatures out of this world.
One Hell of a Bizarre Adventure(Celestial Forge, SMT: Strange Journey)
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Chapter 1: Rocky Start
[A/N: Ground rules before I start. Rolls happen every 2k words, and I can only grab perks that are 400 CP or below. Though, the restriction will be lifted every fourth roll, and only then. And, I've also tried to make this fic as newbie friendly as possible. With that being said, enjoy.]
Filipe Corazon
The best of the best, the cream of the crop. All that humanity had to offer, separated into four crews and sent to the artic, journeying without a care in the world. Honestly, the idea seemed utterly confusing at first, but I soon warmed up to it after some time in their top-notch facilities, with all the amenities anyone could ask for.
Of course, it came at the cost of my services, but, there was no such thing as a free lunch, and I was certainly more than willing to do as they asked, as long as it meant the continuation of my pleasure. No way I was going back to the irradiated streets, that shithole was cancer, literally in most cases.
But, that's besides the point. Today was our time for departure, and the good times were at their end, as my group filed into our ship, the Gigantic. It was quite large, as the name implied, being about the length of a grand manor, and several stories in height, the UN didn't seem to have spared any expense when making it, going all in for our trip into the unknown barrier ahead of us.
Heading to the deck, I strapped myself to the wall just like everyone else and waited for the mission to commence. "Welcome to the Schwarzwelt Investigation Team. I am the command unit 'Isaac'. I will be supporting you by coordinating our systems with those other ships to devise a strategy." A mechanical voice rung through the speakers, my brain tuning out most of it.
"To think humans have to follow the orders of an AI. It feels weird to just hand the whims of your life over to a mere machine like this…" A blond-haired fellow across from me solemnly sighed, turning to look towards his right at a burly-looking Asian man. "Hey, you think so, right?"
His features became sharp, like a scene straight out of those block-buster movies, as though there were a camera in his face, it was humorous, to me at least. "I don't think so, as long as they're somewhat competent, then I don't care who I serve under."
The blond looked at him for a moment, adopting a thoughtful look as his eyes keenly examined the person at his side. "Hold on, you… are you perhaps Japanese?"
"Yes, I'm Japanese, and what of it, American?" He replied, his tone slightly irked but still relatively calm.
"Didn't mean to offend or anything like that, my bad. I just heard there was only one other Japanese person in this whole operation, just kinda weird in my opinion with the number of Americans and Europeans on board, that's all." The other conceded, waving his hands to try and cool the situation before it blew up in his face.
"Then why don't you apologize to the other guy instead of me? Wouldn't it make more sense that way?"
"Well, he's on the Red Sprite, and with how we're quite literally separated, it would be hard to do that without going up to him directly. Besides, it was just a question, no need to get aggressive over it. Here, the name's Ash, hope we can get along on this bizarre journey, yeah?"
The dark-haired man hummed, looking at the hand her was offered. "I'm Jin, let's get along."
"And what about you?" Ash turned to me, a joking smirk on his face. "You've been staring at us for the past few minutes or so, got a problem with how we look or something?"
Shaking my head, I blinked more than a few times, my mind racing to come up with an answer. "No, not at al-" The vehicle shook, alongside everyone inside of it, rocking up even with the straps "comfortably" locking in place. It was instant, without any warning as to what exactly was going on outside.
"What the hell!?" At least somebody put my thoughts into words, a random woman further up ahead shouted, my eyes drawing thin as I looked towards her direction. The door to the main hall was opened, if only slightly. From the figures I could make out, there were droves of people running from one section to another, immense urgency filling their actions as my eyes watered, my vision blurring and my head spinning.
Waves of dizziness washed over me like a flood, my body flying against the wall in a particularly violent quake, the back of my head bashing against the smooth surface. My vision gradually closed shut, my eyes having trouble keeping themselves up. All before a flash of bright light overtook my sight, blinding me to its incandescence.
The scenery changed, morphing from one place to another, as though a magic show was taking place right in front of me. It was… a weird sight, but one that swiftly halted as it stopped on an office like atmosphere. The walls around me were made of wood, and the floor; marble. And just a little bit ahead, was a blond adult woman, who held a tea cup in her left hand, and in the right, a stack of papers.
"Peculiar. You humans dare tamper with the laws foreign to you? As curiosity killed the cat, so shall you, and all those associated with this damned organization. Do they truly know who they're dealing with here? And to bring a tampered soul along with them… sheer and utter hubris." She sighed, shaking her head.
Turning towards me, an imposing aura emanated off her, my left foot moving backwards unknowingly as her approaching figure stood leagues above even the tallest of basket ball players. "You… whatever shall I do with you." The lady emphasized, my heart beating in my ears. "I wonder, I really do. How will you fair against this dark and scary land? To face up against foes beyond mortal comprehension? Your name, give it to me. So that I may remember it, the one who has entered my realm."
"F-Filipe Corazon." I answered nervously, a bead of sweat trailing down my face as she got even closer, my shoulders slumping as though the weight of the world rested on them.
"Is that so? Very well them, Filipe, go out into this dreary world and show me the spark you humans always love to fantasize. But first, you must fall. Fall and suffer, under the denizens that inhabit this world. Then, and only then will you-"
She would have continued her words, something interrupted her, an irritated look adorning her face as she turned to look down upon me, huffing a white cloud of air as she waved her hand, clicking her mouth.
"Corazon! Hey, wake up!" A familiar voice shouted, only there wasn't anyone else here. My ears twitched at the sudden noise, my head twisting and turning to find out who it was. The world around me distorted, warping like liquid metal as it drooped, melting away to return me back…into reality. "Good, almost thought we lost you."
Coming back to my sense, I was greeted by a gruff-looking man with a relieved expression on his face. "Look alive, Filip, we're going out to investigate the outside shortly. Get into your Demonica and I'll give you the run down while you do that." The leader of my squad, Orhan, instructed, walking by my side with my arm over his shoulder to support me.
"What happened, anyway?" I murmured, my head still reeling from the pain. "All I remember was shit went sideways, real fast. This whole thing doesn't make any sense."
"Because it doesn't, it was never supposed to." He responded, placing me down on a seat, which just so happened to be near my suit. "Apparently, we've lost contact with the outside, or everyone for that matter. No Red Spite, Elve, or Blue Jet, all of them whisked away by this place. Then again, it's practically a whole nother world out there, place doesn't even look like Antarctica at this point."
"That," I took time to process his words, the information slowly funneling into my brain. "doesn't seem like a good thing."
"You think? Stuck in an alien world, with practically no way to get out. Yeah, sounds pretty shitty if you ask me. But, I'm sure if the engineers can just fix up the damage caused to the ship, we can sail our asses back into the safe arms of the UN." An eerie feeling crawled up and down my spine, shivers tickling it as I put on the chest piece, then, the helmet, it's face plate lifting to show my face.
"Fits like a glove." I idly commented, eyes darting from one detail to the next as my HUD gradually came into view. This suit was… magic to say the least. Able to adapt from one situation to the next, an-. A program was being installed into my suit's system? What was this shit? Apple's new OS?
Symbols flashed throughout the screen, blinding lights that my eyes fixated on, unable to close shut. 'Demon Summoning Program has been installed. Peaceful days have died. Live, adapt, and survive.' A mechanical voice notified me, my eyebrows furrowing. That certainly wasn't supposed to happen, and by the look of things, everyone got it as well. Peering to my right, I grabbed the syringe full of medicine and stabbed it into my leg, its effects immediately taking place as I looked to the ceiling, a calm look on my face.
"You ready to head out?"
"Yeah, but." I hesitated for a moment, remembering what had transpired. "What about that app-"
"We can deal with that later. For now, let's head outside, maybe grab some supplies that might prove useful in the plasma shield's repairs. Otherwise, stay safe. Meet me and the rest at the docking bay in five minutes."
That man had always been like a father, worrying over his underlings like that. I would be a liar if it didn't annoy me more than once, but, I understood why he did the things he did. A smile curved on my lips, slotting a pair of combat knives into their selective slots on my thighs.
Right, I was now ready. Should anything await me on the other side… I can only hope to survive whatever attack comes my way.
…
Entering the room, I spotted a few of my would be companions standing around, waiting for the rest, as a hand grasped at my shoulders. "What's up, Filipe? Heard you got your shit knocked around. Say, was it a fun experience?" A feminine voice joked, turning around revealed it to be Roxanne with her standard colgate-grade smirk.
"And what have I done now to receive your ire? One of my straps is a millimeter too loose?"
"What? Of course not." The brunet denied, waving it off. "Just seeing if you're ready to finally put that experience, you so proudly proclaim, to good use. You know what I mean?" Peeking over my shoulder, everyone else seemed to have arrived just as we did so, the locks on the massive door coming to life, several loud gears turning.
It was then that Orhan enter the fray once more, his face place in the lowered position. "One last check before we enter into the field. Have all of you put your suits on properly? Remember, we're entering unknown territory, the environment, or perhaps even creatures that inhabit this zone, are all potentially dangerous. We can't be for certain, so it's best if you all tread on the side of caution, lest all of you die immediately."
Everything seemed to be fine on my part… well, except a flap on one of my ammo holders apparently. "Seems like you missed a spot." Roxanne teased, a sly grin on her face as she poised her gun on her shoulder. Well, at least you how some sense of spatial awareness, more than most of the folks here.
The door finally cracked all the way through, a dim light making its way into the ship. A cursory glance at the scenery no doubt suggested we were no longer on the poles, no, far from it. Rocks, as far as the eye could see. We were in a cave system of sorts, with spooky ambiance setting the stage as well…. This was going to be a horror movie, wasn't it?
"Let's get a move on. The quicker we get this thing fixed, the sooner we can get back home." Everyone rallied to his call, the idea of living a grandiose life filling my head as I walked into the new world.
A chill ran down my spine immediately after entering, the feeling of being watched stalking the hairs on my back as I looked to see who was spying on us, my hands gripping tighter on my rifle. "Stay together and don't separate from the group, splitting up will only get us killed." Our fearless leader warned as we formed a defensive formation, with our group's medic in the center.
The landscape reminded me of a desolate canyon. However, it felt ever more dead than those places. The land was drier than a desert, and movement became more and more troublesome as time went on. Was this armor always this heavy? Questions shot through my mind at rapid pace, my thoughts trailing. The sound of a liquid pelting the ground from a height boomed in my ears, and in my moment of hesitation, something jumped at us from the side, completely cleaving through one of my squad mates without much effort.
Blood spurted out like a geyser, coating everyone in a crimson hue. There was no time to react, fight, flight, or… freeze. A weight pressed down on my back, my body frozen solid as I couldn't help but stare at the creature, a scanning pop up appearing on my Demonica's feed. It had the head of a monkey, the arms and legs of a tiger, a furry body, and a snake as its tail.
What kind of gangbang chimera amalgamation did this thing's mother fuck to get these results!? A tug on my arm had me being dragged over to behind a boulder, the beast looking away from me as it closed in on a nearby teammate. "Wake up! We have to do something, anything, or else that beast will kill us all!" Roxanne shouted at me, snapping me out of my haze as a flurry of rounds shot out of her gun.
This however, only irritated the beast, its ugly head rearing towards us, bearing its gleaming claws. My breathing spike, composure returning to me as the fate of my life teetered ever so closely to death.
Holding my rifle at the hip, I peppered the chimera while my legs moved on their own, attempting to divert its attention from the rest of the group so that they could recover, if only slightly. Fishing a grenade from one of my back pockets, I chucked it at the beast, its figure barreling towards me faster than an Olympic runner.
My heart raced, eyes watching as the object flew through the air, my gun following its tracks keenly as it passed by the monster, my finger squeezing on the trigger without another thought.
Two bullets shot out, piercing through the grenade as it exploded, right at the enemy's face. A wave of triumph washed over me, my breathing returning to a somewhat relaxed pace as I stared. But, something didn't feel right. There was something at the back of my mind that just said otherwise. A gut feeling, and one that didn't want to go away.
Coming up to my side, Roxanne jogged towards me, all the while she muttered something under her breath, my gun lowering at the sight. "What was that thing? Seems like something straight out of myth, and yet, both Robert and Micah are now dead because of it."
"Yeah." I replied simply, taking a look at my surroundings. "Let's regroup with everyone else, make sure they're safe."
"Right-" My breathing stopped once more, my eyes stunned as the woman I was talking to vanished without so much as a trace, a lump forming in my throat as the urge to vomit grew, more and more. Blood spewed like a geyser, staining my face plate vermillion. Everything… it just happened so fast.
The HUD on my suit lit up like fireworks, having fully scanned the creature as it tore pieces out of Roxanne, literally ripping the expression from her face as it turned to me, a bloodthirsty grin adorning its face. "wOE iS YoU!" My blood ran cold, the grip on my gun tightening as I raised it up to my face, relentlessly spraying a torrent of rounds, the rumbling recoil numbing my shoulder as one of my shots pierced through its eye, its massive hands blocking my attacks.
Demon Name: Nue
Origin: Japan
Resistances: ?
Weaknesses: Gun, ?
A menu popped up on my feed, my eyes sparking with surprise. Gritting my teeth, I unloaded the rest of my magazine into the beast, my feet stepping back as the Nue prowled forward, its eyes squinting under the heavy fire.
*click* *click* *click*
Hitting the mag release, I booked it, loud and heavy footsteps following behind me as the rest of my group finally shot back, shooting suppressing fire as it roared mightily into the air, my ears ringing as it shifted its attention to them, as opposed to my own.
Lead rained through the air, as shots ricocheted from one corner to the next, most of them missing due to the eastern monster's sporadic movement dodging one after another. It didn't take long for me to reload, though, when I did, all of my former companions were gone in a snap, vanishing without a trace, all except one, whose flailing body could be heard flying high above me, held by the shoulders, courtesy of a demon.
The situation looked grim to say the least, my mind muddled by thoughts of despair, but there was no time for that. Clenching my weapon, I looked towards the gigantic beast, observing as it did the same to me, its claws crushing one of my former companion's skull with its bare hands, gray matter splattering against the gray floor.
Pulling out the last two grenades out of my pocket, I pulled the pin and counted to five. One, it rushed towards me, its tail hissing loudly. Two, a group of winged creatures circled us from above, looming over like vultures. Three, its body was getting dangerously close, my heart beat rising to an absurd degree. Four, clutching both of them in the same hand, I threw both at the Nue, my body rolling back to avoid its lunging claw.
The explosion ripped through the air, pieces of the item flying in all sorts of directions, but mostly at the monster, spraying another flurry of rounds, I played every card in my hand, firing even when there was no need to. And eventually, it was a success, the power of firearms proving themselves useful once more. But, I doubted it being the reason why we won.
It had effortlessly slaughtered through my fellow teammates, cleaving through even Roxanne as though she were butter. Strangely, it had a weakness for bullets, but I doubt it would have the same effect for the other creatures of these lands.
Descending from the sky, a trio of violet haired little girls appeared before me, their expression more so curious than anything. But still, they were demons like the Nue I had just killed, but, they seemed to be more reasonable compared to the former, one of them even approached me directly, much to my annoyance.
A scanning icon popped up just like earlier, and it actually was able to analyze the entity in front of me much faster than before. Though, with how close she was to me, it would be disappointing if it didn't.
Demon Name: Moh Shuvuu
Origin: Mongolia
Resistances: ?
Weaknesses: ?
They seemed to have originated from the real world, or not. These were beings of myth, that much I could gather. Asian as well, if these scans were to be taken literally and as fact. Skepticism tried to enter my mind, but I wouldn't let it. I had to trust these machines, whether I liked it or not. At least then, I had some semblance of information to obtain.
"Oh? This one seems interesting." The demon in little girl's clothing noted, my right-hand drifting over to my knife. She went closer, face to face with my helmet. "Hey, don't you think he looks like a jack frost? Ooh! I wonder if he can shoot metal balls instead of ice?"
My nerves calmed, if only slightly. I was still very much so on edge. "Hey there, little girl…" I regretfully greeted, a pin pricking my heart at how I said those words. "What are you doing here? I mean, I don't mind you lot taking the demon I killed, bu-" Words failed to leave my mouth, as the other two who had decided to ignore me dug into the chimera I had slain, their snow-white faces shining crimson, my heart beating up a storm.
"Mister seems nervous." She stated, a sigh leaving my mouth. "Do you humans feel the same way when you lose a friend?" That came… out of left field. But she continued, moving back a meter away from me. "Don't worry, sir, they'll just come back in a year or so, you don't have to worry about anything." Showing me a cheery smile, my heart sank, my mind finally having processed what happened, my shoulders slumping, and my knees falling to the ground.
Right, they were dead. And there was nothing I could do to reverse it. "That's not… how we work." I solemnly responded to the girl, the face plate on my helmet lifting. "For us, when we die, that's it. No redo, no coming back to life, no nothing. Just an eternal void."
"And what makes you so sure?" Posing this question, a gentle breeze passed by us, breaking the stagnant air. "Have you already died once before? But that wouldn't make sense, would it? You just said there's nothing but darkness, and yet, you stand here, before me today. What do you have to say for yourself then!" She was smug, a smirk on her face.
"No, I don't think I have." My mood brightened somewhat, my breathing changing to be calmer. "However, with that being said, I need to be somewhere else. I still have a job to do." Patting myself of any dust, I stood up, only for a hand to stop me.
"Take me with you." She urged, her tiny hands tugging on my left arm. "You don't seem half-bad, and with how you killed that Nue, it wouldn't be that hard to sustain myself off the demons you slay. Plus, I can help you using my magic."
"For the record, she was the one that ask first, and I'm not a pedophile." I stated to an imaginary entity, my words trailing as the girl looked at me, confused. "Fine, you can come along. I don't see why not." She happily cheered, spinning around in the air as another pop up appeared before me.
[Would you like to accept "Moh Shuuvu" as your demon?]
[Yes] [No]
'Yes' I mentally commanded, interacting with the systems interface. In the next instant, a circle appeared under her, a confused look adorning her face as she sporadically turned, twisting her head all sorts of ways.
"We're not under attack, are we?" She panicked, before disappearing, leaving without another trace.
"Shit!" I shouted, pressing the various buttons on my HUD, finding the Demon Summoning Program hidden under a multitude of folders. And lo and behold, there she was, as a small, animated icon. I didn't know how to react to this, it still felt weird.
To have my friends die right before my eyes, and to have nothing to show for it. In all reality, I was still shocked by the events prior, it just hadn't hit me yet. Staring into the rocky ceiling of the cave, a call from behind broke me out of my stupor.
"You there! -Ha~ Haaa~- What is your condition!" Orhan?
[A/N: New fic? Yes, kinda bored. I'll be cycling fics so I don't get bored of Firekeeper. That way, I don't burn out on a single fic, instead, I can get burnt out of writing. What fun. Copy and paste below.
Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.
Join discord server. I have one.: Join the balls Discord Server!
I also have a patreon at balls 1124 is creating stuff | Patreon. I'm not telling you to join it, but it would be nice.
With that being said, back to writing.]
Filipe Corazon
The best of the best, the cream of the crop. All that humanity had to offer, separated into four crews and sent to the artic, journeying without a care in the world. Honestly, the idea seemed utterly confusing at first, but I soon warmed up to it after some time in their top-notch facilities, with all the amenities anyone could ask for.
Of course, it came at the cost of my services, but, there was no such thing as a free lunch, and I was certainly more than willing to do as they asked, as long as it meant the continuation of my pleasure. No way I was going back to the irradiated streets, that shithole was cancer, literally in most cases.
But, that's besides the point. Today was our time for departure, and the good times were at their end, as my group filed into our ship, the Gigantic. It was quite large, as the name implied, being about the length of a grand manor, and several stories in height, the UN didn't seem to have spared any expense when making it, going all in for our trip into the unknown barrier ahead of us.
Heading to the deck, I strapped myself to the wall just like everyone else and waited for the mission to commence. "Welcome to the Schwarzwelt Investigation Team. I am the command unit 'Isaac'. I will be supporting you by coordinating our systems with those other ships to devise a strategy." A mechanical voice rung through the speakers, my brain tuning out most of it.
"To think humans have to follow the orders of an AI. It feels weird to just hand the whims of your life over to a mere machine like this…" A blond-haired fellow across from me solemnly sighed, turning to look towards his right at a burly-looking Asian man. "Hey, you think so, right?"
His features became sharp, like a scene straight out of those block-buster movies, as though there were a camera in his face, it was humorous, to me at least. "I don't think so, as long as they're somewhat competent, then I don't care who I serve under."
The blond looked at him for a moment, adopting a thoughtful look as his eyes keenly examined the person at his side. "Hold on, you… are you perhaps Japanese?"
"Yes, I'm Japanese, and what of it, American?" He replied, his tone slightly irked but still relatively calm.
"Didn't mean to offend or anything like that, my bad. I just heard there was only one other Japanese person in this whole operation, just kinda weird in my opinion with the number of Americans and Europeans on board, that's all." The other conceded, waving his hands to try and cool the situation before it blew up in his face.
"Then why don't you apologize to the other guy instead of me? Wouldn't it make more sense that way?"
"Well, he's on the Red Sprite, and with how we're quite literally separated, it would be hard to do that without going up to him directly. Besides, it was just a question, no need to get aggressive over it. Here, the name's Ash, hope we can get along on this bizarre journey, yeah?"
The dark-haired man hummed, looking at the hand her was offered. "I'm Jin, let's get along."
"And what about you?" Ash turned to me, a joking smirk on his face. "You've been staring at us for the past few minutes or so, got a problem with how we look or something?"
Shaking my head, I blinked more than a few times, my mind racing to come up with an answer. "No, not at al-" The vehicle shook, alongside everyone inside of it, rocking up even with the straps "comfortably" locking in place. It was instant, without any warning as to what exactly was going on outside.
"What the hell!?" At least somebody put my thoughts into words, a random woman further up ahead shouted, my eyes drawing thin as I looked towards her direction. The door to the main hall was opened, if only slightly. From the figures I could make out, there were droves of people running from one section to another, immense urgency filling their actions as my eyes watered, my vision blurring and my head spinning.
Waves of dizziness washed over me like a flood, my body flying against the wall in a particularly violent quake, the back of my head bashing against the smooth surface. My vision gradually closed shut, my eyes having trouble keeping themselves up. All before a flash of bright light overtook my sight, blinding me to its incandescence.
The scenery changed, morphing from one place to another, as though a magic show was taking place right in front of me. It was… a weird sight, but one that swiftly halted as it stopped on an office like atmosphere. The walls around me were made of wood, and the floor; marble. And just a little bit ahead, was a blond adult woman, who held a tea cup in her left hand, and in the right, a stack of papers.
"Peculiar. You humans dare tamper with the laws foreign to you? As curiosity killed the cat, so shall you, and all those associated with this damned organization. Do they truly know who they're dealing with here? And to bring a tampered soul along with them… sheer and utter hubris." She sighed, shaking her head.
Turning towards me, an imposing aura emanated off her, my left foot moving backwards unknowingly as her approaching figure stood leagues above even the tallest of basket ball players. "You… whatever shall I do with you." The lady emphasized, my heart beating in my ears. "I wonder, I really do. How will you fair against this dark and scary land? To face up against foes beyond mortal comprehension? Your name, give it to me. So that I may remember it, the one who has entered my realm."
"F-Filipe Corazon." I answered nervously, a bead of sweat trailing down my face as she got even closer, my shoulders slumping as though the weight of the world rested on them.
"Is that so? Very well them, Filipe, go out into this dreary world and show me the spark you humans always love to fantasize. But first, you must fall. Fall and suffer, under the denizens that inhabit this world. Then, and only then will you-"
She would have continued her words, something interrupted her, an irritated look adorning her face as she turned to look down upon me, huffing a white cloud of air as she waved her hand, clicking her mouth.
"Corazon! Hey, wake up!" A familiar voice shouted, only there wasn't anyone else here. My ears twitched at the sudden noise, my head twisting and turning to find out who it was. The world around me distorted, warping like liquid metal as it drooped, melting away to return me back…into reality. "Good, almost thought we lost you."
Coming back to my sense, I was greeted by a gruff-looking man with a relieved expression on his face. "Look alive, Filip, we're going out to investigate the outside shortly. Get into your Demonica and I'll give you the run down while you do that." The leader of my squad, Orhan, instructed, walking by my side with my arm over his shoulder to support me.
"What happened, anyway?" I murmured, my head still reeling from the pain. "All I remember was shit went sideways, real fast. This whole thing doesn't make any sense."
"Because it doesn't, it was never supposed to." He responded, placing me down on a seat, which just so happened to be near my suit. "Apparently, we've lost contact with the outside, or everyone for that matter. No Red Spite, Elve, or Blue Jet, all of them whisked away by this place. Then again, it's practically a whole nother world out there, place doesn't even look like Antarctica at this point."
"That," I took time to process his words, the information slowly funneling into my brain. "doesn't seem like a good thing."
"You think? Stuck in an alien world, with practically no way to get out. Yeah, sounds pretty shitty if you ask me. But, I'm sure if the engineers can just fix up the damage caused to the ship, we can sail our asses back into the safe arms of the UN." An eerie feeling crawled up and down my spine, shivers tickling it as I put on the chest piece, then, the helmet, it's face plate lifting to show my face.
"Fits like a glove." I idly commented, eyes darting from one detail to the next as my HUD gradually came into view. This suit was… magic to say the least. Able to adapt from one situation to the next, an-. A program was being installed into my suit's system? What was this shit? Apple's new OS?
Symbols flashed throughout the screen, blinding lights that my eyes fixated on, unable to close shut. 'Demon Summoning Program has been installed. Peaceful days have died. Live, adapt, and survive.' A mechanical voice notified me, my eyebrows furrowing. That certainly wasn't supposed to happen, and by the look of things, everyone got it as well. Peering to my right, I grabbed the syringe full of medicine and stabbed it into my leg, its effects immediately taking place as I looked to the ceiling, a calm look on my face.
"You ready to head out?"
"Yeah, but." I hesitated for a moment, remembering what had transpired. "What about that app-"
"We can deal with that later. For now, let's head outside, maybe grab some supplies that might prove useful in the plasma shield's repairs. Otherwise, stay safe. Meet me and the rest at the docking bay in five minutes."
That man had always been like a father, worrying over his underlings like that. I would be a liar if it didn't annoy me more than once, but, I understood why he did the things he did. A smile curved on my lips, slotting a pair of combat knives into their selective slots on my thighs.
Right, I was now ready. Should anything await me on the other side… I can only hope to survive whatever attack comes my way.
…
Entering the room, I spotted a few of my would be companions standing around, waiting for the rest, as a hand grasped at my shoulders. "What's up, Filipe? Heard you got your shit knocked around. Say, was it a fun experience?" A feminine voice joked, turning around revealed it to be Roxanne with her standard colgate-grade smirk.
"And what have I done now to receive your ire? One of my straps is a millimeter too loose?"
"What? Of course not." The brunet denied, waving it off. "Just seeing if you're ready to finally put that experience, you so proudly proclaim, to good use. You know what I mean?" Peeking over my shoulder, everyone else seemed to have arrived just as we did so, the locks on the massive door coming to life, several loud gears turning.
It was then that Orhan enter the fray once more, his face place in the lowered position. "One last check before we enter into the field. Have all of you put your suits on properly? Remember, we're entering unknown territory, the environment, or perhaps even creatures that inhabit this zone, are all potentially dangerous. We can't be for certain, so it's best if you all tread on the side of caution, lest all of you die immediately."
Everything seemed to be fine on my part… well, except a flap on one of my ammo holders apparently. "Seems like you missed a spot." Roxanne teased, a sly grin on her face as she poised her gun on her shoulder. Well, at least you how some sense of spatial awareness, more than most of the folks here.
The door finally cracked all the way through, a dim light making its way into the ship. A cursory glance at the scenery no doubt suggested we were no longer on the poles, no, far from it. Rocks, as far as the eye could see. We were in a cave system of sorts, with spooky ambiance setting the stage as well…. This was going to be a horror movie, wasn't it?
-Magical Ore (Everyone Else is a Returnee) (100CP) Sufficient Balance, Perk Gained.
"Let's get a move on. The quicker we get this thing fixed, the sooner we can get back home." Everyone rallied to his call, the idea of living a grandiose life filling my head as I walked into the new world.
A chill ran down my spine immediately after entering, the feeling of being watched stalking the hairs on my back as I looked to see who was spying on us, my hands gripping tighter on my rifle. "Stay together and don't separate from the group, splitting up will only get us killed." Our fearless leader warned as we formed a defensive formation, with our group's medic in the center.
The landscape reminded me of a desolate canyon. However, it felt ever more dead than those places. The land was drier than a desert, and movement became more and more troublesome as time went on. Was this armor always this heavy? Questions shot through my mind at rapid pace, my thoughts trailing. The sound of a liquid pelting the ground from a height boomed in my ears, and in my moment of hesitation, something jumped at us from the side, completely cleaving through one of my squad mates without much effort.
Blood spurted out like a geyser, coating everyone in a crimson hue. There was no time to react, fight, flight, or… freeze. A weight pressed down on my back, my body frozen solid as I couldn't help but stare at the creature, a scanning pop up appearing on my Demonica's feed. It had the head of a monkey, the arms and legs of a tiger, a furry body, and a snake as its tail.
What kind of gangbang chimera amalgamation did this thing's mother fuck to get these results!? A tug on my arm had me being dragged over to behind a boulder, the beast looking away from me as it closed in on a nearby teammate. "Wake up! We have to do something, anything, or else that beast will kill us all!" Roxanne shouted at me, snapping me out of my haze as a flurry of rounds shot out of her gun.
This however, only irritated the beast, its ugly head rearing towards us, bearing its gleaming claws. My breathing spike, composure returning to me as the fate of my life teetered ever so closely to death.
Holding my rifle at the hip, I peppered the chimera while my legs moved on their own, attempting to divert its attention from the rest of the group so that they could recover, if only slightly. Fishing a grenade from one of my back pockets, I chucked it at the beast, its figure barreling towards me faster than an Olympic runner.
My heart raced, eyes watching as the object flew through the air, my gun following its tracks keenly as it passed by the monster, my finger squeezing on the trigger without another thought.
Two bullets shot out, piercing through the grenade as it exploded, right at the enemy's face. A wave of triumph washed over me, my breathing returning to a somewhat relaxed pace as I stared. But, something didn't feel right. There was something at the back of my mind that just said otherwise. A gut feeling, and one that didn't want to go away.
Coming up to my side, Roxanne jogged towards me, all the while she muttered something under her breath, my gun lowering at the sight. "What was that thing? Seems like something straight out of myth, and yet, both Robert and Micah are now dead because of it."
"Yeah." I replied simply, taking a look at my surroundings. "Let's regroup with everyone else, make sure they're safe."
"Right-" My breathing stopped once more, my eyes stunned as the woman I was talking to vanished without so much as a trace, a lump forming in my throat as the urge to vomit grew, more and more. Blood spewed like a geyser, staining my face plate vermillion. Everything… it just happened so fast.
The HUD on my suit lit up like fireworks, having fully scanned the creature as it tore pieces out of Roxanne, literally ripping the expression from her face as it turned to me, a bloodthirsty grin adorning its face. "wOE iS YoU!" My blood ran cold, the grip on my gun tightening as I raised it up to my face, relentlessly spraying a torrent of rounds, the rumbling recoil numbing my shoulder as one of my shots pierced through its eye, its massive hands blocking my attacks.
Scan Complete
Demon Name: Nue
Origin: Japan
Resistances: ?
Weaknesses: Gun, ?
A menu popped up on my feed, my eyes sparking with surprise. Gritting my teeth, I unloaded the rest of my magazine into the beast, my feet stepping back as the Nue prowled forward, its eyes squinting under the heavy fire.
*click* *click* *click*
Hitting the mag release, I booked it, loud and heavy footsteps following behind me as the rest of my group finally shot back, shooting suppressing fire as it roared mightily into the air, my ears ringing as it shifted its attention to them, as opposed to my own.
Lead rained through the air, as shots ricocheted from one corner to the next, most of them missing due to the eastern monster's sporadic movement dodging one after another. It didn't take long for me to reload, though, when I did, all of my former companions were gone in a snap, vanishing without a trace, all except one, whose flailing body could be heard flying high above me, held by the shoulders, courtesy of a demon.
The situation looked grim to say the least, my mind muddled by thoughts of despair, but there was no time for that. Clenching my weapon, I looked towards the gigantic beast, observing as it did the same to me, its claws crushing one of my former companion's skull with its bare hands, gray matter splattering against the gray floor.
Pulling out the last two grenades out of my pocket, I pulled the pin and counted to five. One, it rushed towards me, its tail hissing loudly. Two, a group of winged creatures circled us from above, looming over like vultures. Three, its body was getting dangerously close, my heart beat rising to an absurd degree. Four, clutching both of them in the same hand, I threw both at the Nue, my body rolling back to avoid its lunging claw.
The explosion ripped through the air, pieces of the item flying in all sorts of directions, but mostly at the monster, spraying another flurry of rounds, I played every card in my hand, firing even when there was no need to. And eventually, it was a success, the power of firearms proving themselves useful once more. But, I doubted it being the reason why we won.
It had effortlessly slaughtered through my fellow teammates, cleaving through even Roxanne as though she were butter. Strangely, it had a weakness for bullets, but I doubt it would have the same effect for the other creatures of these lands.
Descending from the sky, a trio of violet haired little girls appeared before me, their expression more so curious than anything. But still, they were demons like the Nue I had just killed, but, they seemed to be more reasonable compared to the former, one of them even approached me directly, much to my annoyance.
A scanning icon popped up just like earlier, and it actually was able to analyze the entity in front of me much faster than before. Though, with how close she was to me, it would be disappointing if it didn't.
Scan Complete
Demon Name: Moh Shuvuu
Origin: Mongolia
Resistances: ?
Weaknesses: ?
They seemed to have originated from the real world, or not. These were beings of myth, that much I could gather. Asian as well, if these scans were to be taken literally and as fact. Skepticism tried to enter my mind, but I wouldn't let it. I had to trust these machines, whether I liked it or not. At least then, I had some semblance of information to obtain.
"Oh? This one seems interesting." The demon in little girl's clothing noted, my right-hand drifting over to my knife. She went closer, face to face with my helmet. "Hey, don't you think he looks like a jack frost? Ooh! I wonder if he can shoot metal balls instead of ice?"
My nerves calmed, if only slightly. I was still very much so on edge. "Hey there, little girl…" I regretfully greeted, a pin pricking my heart at how I said those words. "What are you doing here? I mean, I don't mind you lot taking the demon I killed, bu-" Words failed to leave my mouth, as the other two who had decided to ignore me dug into the chimera I had slain, their snow-white faces shining crimson, my heart beating up a storm.
"Mister seems nervous." She stated, a sigh leaving my mouth. "Do you humans feel the same way when you lose a friend?" That came… out of left field. But she continued, moving back a meter away from me. "Don't worry, sir, they'll just come back in a year or so, you don't have to worry about anything." Showing me a cheery smile, my heart sank, my mind finally having processed what happened, my shoulders slumping, and my knees falling to the ground.
Right, they were dead. And there was nothing I could do to reverse it. "That's not… how we work." I solemnly responded to the girl, the face plate on my helmet lifting. "For us, when we die, that's it. No redo, no coming back to life, no nothing. Just an eternal void."
"And what makes you so sure?" Posing this question, a gentle breeze passed by us, breaking the stagnant air. "Have you already died once before? But that wouldn't make sense, would it? You just said there's nothing but darkness, and yet, you stand here, before me today. What do you have to say for yourself then!" She was smug, a smirk on her face.
"No, I don't think I have." My mood brightened somewhat, my breathing changing to be calmer. "However, with that being said, I need to be somewhere else. I still have a job to do." Patting myself of any dust, I stood up, only for a hand to stop me.
"Take me with you." She urged, her tiny hands tugging on my left arm. "You don't seem half-bad, and with how you killed that Nue, it wouldn't be that hard to sustain myself off the demons you slay. Plus, I can help you using my magic."
"For the record, she was the one that ask first, and I'm not a pedophile." I stated to an imaginary entity, my words trailing as the girl looked at me, confused. "Fine, you can come along. I don't see why not." She happily cheered, spinning around in the air as another pop up appeared before me.
[Would you like to accept "Moh Shuuvu" as your demon?]
[Yes] [No]
'Yes' I mentally commanded, interacting with the systems interface. In the next instant, a circle appeared under her, a confused look adorning her face as she sporadically turned, twisting her head all sorts of ways.
"We're not under attack, are we?" She panicked, before disappearing, leaving without another trace.
"Shit!" I shouted, pressing the various buttons on my HUD, finding the Demon Summoning Program hidden under a multitude of folders. And lo and behold, there she was, as a small, animated icon. I didn't know how to react to this, it still felt weird.
To have my friends die right before my eyes, and to have nothing to show for it. In all reality, I was still shocked by the events prior, it just hadn't hit me yet. Staring into the rocky ceiling of the cave, a call from behind broke me out of my stupor.
-Mauler (Command and Conquer: Tiberium Wars) (400CP) Insufficient Funds, Adding to Balance.
"You there! -Ha~ Haaa~- What is your condition!" Orhan?
[A/N: New fic? Yes, kinda bored. I'll be cycling fics so I don't get bored of Firekeeper. That way, I don't burn out on a single fic, instead, I can get burnt out of writing. What fun. Copy and paste below.
Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.
Join discord server. I have one.: Join the balls Discord Server!
I also have a patreon at balls 1124 is creating stuff | Patreon. I'm not telling you to join it, but it would be nice.
With that being said, back to writing.]
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Forge list of items
-Magical Ore (Everyone Else is a Returnee) (100CP)
What is a smith without some metal to work with? Equipment plays a large part in this world, and a craftsman can only do so much without good materials. Luckily you happen to have a large storage box filled with lumps of unrefined ores of many varieties. The rarity and valuability of these ores range from normal iron all the way to precious ores of heaven, with the quantity of the ores being inversely proportional to their value. As you travel to future jumps, this box will update to include for the various ores you encounter. I hope you have some way of refining and forging them. Each month, the box will refill.
Access Key (Personal Reality) Free:
This is a special key which lets you access your Personal Reality and its contents.
When inserted into any lock on any door, the door opens to reveal a gateway into your Reality at a predetermined location within it. You are the only person who can take the key from the lock, the gateway remains open as long as the key is in the lock, and if key is ever lost or stolen you will find it in your pocket a few minutes later. You cannot close the door as long as you are inside the Personal Reality.
Entrance Hall (Personal Reality) Free:
This is the room your Access Key opens a door to. It starts off as a 5 meter cube with blank white walls, floor, and ceiling, as some doors, one leading to the current Host Reality, the other into your Cosmic Warehouse, with additional doors leading to other extensions as these get added to your Personal Reality. Feel free to customize this Entrance Hall as you see fit. Additional Halls can, at your discretion, be linked only to certain keys or only to certain extensions. This allows you to have an entry hall just for skiing if you want.
note: I don't know what to do with the ones above, so I just placed them here for convenience
What is a smith without some metal to work with? Equipment plays a large part in this world, and a craftsman can only do so much without good materials. Luckily you happen to have a large storage box filled with lumps of unrefined ores of many varieties. The rarity and valuability of these ores range from normal iron all the way to precious ores of heaven, with the quantity of the ores being inversely proportional to their value. As you travel to future jumps, this box will update to include for the various ores you encounter. I hope you have some way of refining and forging them. Each month, the box will refill.
Access Key (Personal Reality) Free:
This is a special key which lets you access your Personal Reality and its contents.
When inserted into any lock on any door, the door opens to reveal a gateway into your Reality at a predetermined location within it. You are the only person who can take the key from the lock, the gateway remains open as long as the key is in the lock, and if key is ever lost or stolen you will find it in your pocket a few minutes later. You cannot close the door as long as you are inside the Personal Reality.
Entrance Hall (Personal Reality) Free:
This is the room your Access Key opens a door to. It starts off as a 5 meter cube with blank white walls, floor, and ceiling, as some doors, one leading to the current Host Reality, the other into your Cosmic Warehouse, with additional doors leading to other extensions as these get added to your Personal Reality. Feel free to customize this Entrance Hall as you see fit. Additional Halls can, at your discretion, be linked only to certain keys or only to certain extensions. This allows you to have an entry hall just for skiing if you want.
note: I don't know what to do with the ones above, so I just placed them here for convenience
-Legendary Craftsman (Modded Fallout) (200CP)
Remember all those unique prototype weapons with crazy awesome effects? The Legendary items in Fallout 4? The games have had their fair share of 'better than normal' items, and you know just how to make them. You have the ability to substantially improve whatever items you work on, needing at most enough components to build a second copy of the item in question. Whether it's dumping half your power cell into each shot a la Pew-Pew, making every bullet fired by your Minigun into an explosive round, or crafting armor that boosts your stats with no regard for how or why it works, you've got it all. Never again will you need to worry about being unable to find that Two-Shot or Instigating Gauss Rifle! You'll even be able to (slightly) fudge where those unique effects could be found, like making Power Armor with special effects or a Gatling Laser that does fire explosive rounds. Beams. Whatever.
Remember all those unique prototype weapons with crazy awesome effects? The Legendary items in Fallout 4? The games have had their fair share of 'better than normal' items, and you know just how to make them. You have the ability to substantially improve whatever items you work on, needing at most enough components to build a second copy of the item in question. Whether it's dumping half your power cell into each shot a la Pew-Pew, making every bullet fired by your Minigun into an explosive round, or crafting armor that boosts your stats with no regard for how or why it works, you've got it all. Never again will you need to worry about being unable to find that Two-Shot or Instigating Gauss Rifle! You'll even be able to (slightly) fudge where those unique effects could be found, like making Power Armor with special effects or a Gatling Laser that does fire explosive rounds. Beams. Whatever.
-Ride the Winds of Inspiration (World of Darkness - Genius the Transgression) (200CP)
Mania, a strange phenomenon. It is not generated by geniuses alone. Instead, all kinds of mortal thought can generate low amounts of Mania, with scientific or mathematical thought generating more, and the sort of thought one might call "revolutionary" (politically, scientifically, ethically, it doesn't seem matter) generating the most. In this world there is a phenomena known as 'Maniac Storms' and thanks to your outsider's perspective you've hit upon an idea. If there are 'storms' of Mania then there must be 'winds and currents' by applying this theory to your wonders you can create wonders that need no Mania to feed on, though they still will cause Havoc in the hands of a mere mortal. This technique does rely upon the winds of mania as a whole though so be careful, it could fail in lands where the local 'winds' aren't strong enough such as a rural backwater town or an amish village. In lands without proper technology you need to look for innovation, for it really is the thought that counts.
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only partially. the mc has bits of my personality, only some are dialed up to the extreme. so it's only a semi-si. Besides that, he's detached from me.
Happerry
Bat out of Hell
- Location
- Kanto
Huh, this looks interesting. SMT Strange Journey is a rare fish to find a fanfic of, and a Celestial Forge Fic as well? I'll be waiting to see how the hell the forge interacts with the setting's weirdness and if the story can survive the power creep, because if you can manage that this should be pretty damn good from what you've shown so far.
I think you think of TF, that is the tinker system that is usually used by SIs.CF has lots of stories with natives.
this is smt, power creep is non-existent. you either stomp everything and everyone, or you die. Chaos survival of the fittest and all that.
Chapter 2: Deal with a Harlot
Filipe Corazon
Turning to look at my squad's captain, I came to find out that he was completely drench in blood, his armor stained crimson by the liquid. His breathing was uneven, sporadic, tired. And his voice was rasp, strained, even. Lifting up the faceplate on my helmet, a sigh exited his mouth, his left hand reaching for my shoulder, using me to aid his balance.
Nothing about this seemed right, and from the way he was currently acting, my thoughts were only reinforced. Eventually, however, he regained his composure, his back straightening out, his figure standing tall, if a bit shaky.
"We were ambushed." I stated, his face regaining its usual seriousness. "It was something called a 'Nue'. According to the strange app, it's a creature from Asian myth. And as strange as it might have been, the monster was weak to bullets. But, even with that in mind, it was able to kill all those nearby me, I don't think anyone else survived the massacre."
My tone turned solemn, the last face of Roxanne etched into my mind, how that thing ate it without a second thought. My teeth gnashed against one another, my fist balling up. Orhan, on the other hand, didn't express any emotion outwardly, or better yet, he couldn't. Probably because he wasn't there to help in the chaos due to one reason or another.
Though, as if shocked by a bolt of electricity, his expression snapped, the fearless leader's fist rocketing towards the nearby stone boulder, the blow barely doing anything to the structure, but the message was clear. A multitude of grunts left his mouth, his face flaring. However, something about this felt…unnatural, somewhat at least. Then again, I could say the same of myself.
Pushing those thoughts aside, a chorus of approaching footsteps alerted me to something over in the distance. Shifting my sight to look at who it was, the grip on my gun tightened, a nervous sweat trailing down my neck. I had forgotten to reload, and after an ordeal like that… I could only hope I had half my magazine left, or else things could go terribly wrong for me.
Fortunately, my luck seemed to have flipped around, because from over the horizon came Another one of the Strike Teams Squads, looking far worse for wear than when they exited the gigantic, even missing a few members if memory served me right. Seemed like we weren't the only one to be attacked, and with the frequency of the demon sightings… it might not be the last either.
"Are you alright!?" The person up front called out, his head darting from one blood stain to another. "We're from Strike Team Group One, we came here as soon as we could." His face plate lifted, revealing that Jin guy from earlier, him staring at both me and my leader, squinting. "Don't tell me you're the only ones left. What happened to the other members?"
"Dead." I responded simply, the grip on my gun loosening. "Got here too late. The monster was fast, ambushed us without warning. Not only that, but there were more of them than we could handle, though, they all weren't on the same side."
Everyone else looked stunned for a second, some even taking a step back. However, one of them decided to speak up. "So it was the same for you as well? Shit, our chances of survival might as well be dropping by the second." It was Ash, the blond from earlier, and it appears that my guess was correct, a sigh escaping from his lips.
"Yeah, could say that again." I shook my head, the tension in my veins easing slightly. "Then again, what more can we realistically do? Think about it, we're the best of the best, and if we can barely handle these things, what more when they eventually spill onto the earth? The Schwarzwelt has been growing quite fast, and if things turn out the way I think they wil-"
A 'tch' resounded from one of the members in the background, the Japanese man returning to the forefront. "Save it for when we get back to the Gigantic, hard enough to deal with the situation without those types of thoughts clouding my mind." He stated, turning to Orhan, offering his hand up to the older man. "You too. I'm sure you are aware of the situation and our rapidly draining supplies. We should head back to the ship to resupply and regroup before heading out on another expedition."
"Hn." Orhan hummed in agreement, giving the former a firm shake. "You seem to be the leader around here. Say, after receiving that weird program, I suddenly gained the ability to see these monsters, what do you think about this? Because frankly, I thought it was a last-minute joke given to us by those big-wigs at the UN, a parting gift if you would."
"Huh… oh. I received it too." He replied, not missing a beat. "Everyone else has, and that likely extends to those still waiting at the Gigantic. Though, we were only able to see its appearance a minute after encountering the beast."
"Which means the program is able to visualize these things. And without it, we'd be practically fighting against ghosts, an enemy unseen, and also unheard." Another blond from the back stated, confusion washing over my mind, an eyebrow raising to attention. They couldn't see them immediately?
"'Demon'. Take a look at your screen. This program contains information about those monsters. In it, that bird-like creature was referred to as 'Gurr'." A black-haired brown woman from the back uttered, probably the monster they had to fight on their end. "I remember hearing it a long time ago back in my mother's home country of Sri Lanka. Scarily enough, its appearance even resembles that of its mythological counterpart, as if to give abstract concepts form."
"And that giant 'Unknown' from earlier," My body tensed up, a chill running up my spine, the eerie feeling of being watched gradually crawling up my back. "I guess we weren't able to analyze it in time. Demons, spirits… it all feels so surreal, almost like we've stepped into a fantasy world filled with monsters and the like."
"Apart from the imaginary beings, for now, let's just call them 'demons' for convenience's sake. Is everyone fine with that?" Orhan instructed, his voice commanding.
"Yeah, we'll go with that to prevent any confusion." Jun agreed, turning to look at all of us. "Demons… the circumstances may be unknown as of yet, but the battle assailing forces of nature was reality. We can clearly assume with our current circumstance that the Schwarzwelt is a world where demons exist. And we are complete and total strangers to these lands, fishes out of water, exposed to an unknown element."
"Enough talking, let's move. Our top priority now is returning to the Gigantic. The more time we waste, the higher the risk of it being in danger." My leader reminded us all, looking at the path we came from. "Quick, follow me."
Shrugging my shoulders, I did as I was told, a single goal in my mind. I needed to get the hell out of dodge as fast as possible, and through whatever means necessary. This place was somehow more cancerous than my old home, and I had only been in this single area for less than an hour. Sure, they might have been people stabbing one another out in the streets for a loaf of bread back where I came from. But at least you had a chance to survive! Whatever, I can't be bothered to think about that now.
Just a little bit more, then perhaps I can return to the lovely unlimited buffets back in the UN's facilities…if I can survive, that is.
…
"Hah… hah…" Tired and breathless, we all stared down the fallen beast. Its eyes were shot out, profusely bleeding, and its claws were mangled, torn to bits. Another one of those 'Nue' had struck us. Though, thankfully, we were able to put it down with no casualties.
"Phew, home sweet home." Jin idly commented, veering off to the side, where the looming shadow of the Gigantic could be seen off in the distance. "At last, our ship's in sight."
'Finally!' I internally mused, a smile etching itself onto my face, my arms moving to a more relaxed position.
"Wait!" Orhan shouted, our movement halting. "The gangway's still down. Something…" A trail of sweat crawled down my already sweaty face, breathing spiking in the skin tight suit. "doesn't feel right."
"Really?" Ash shouted, his eyes drawing thin as he stared into the far off distance, his eyes keenly staring in the same direction as our temporary leader's. "I can't even see it from this far out. Just how good is your eyesight?"
"Good enough to spot when something's off." The woman from before, Dahlia, shot back, shaking her head. "Hmph, if you really want to find out for sure, you should just shut up and keep walk- huh?"
Simultaneously, we all received a notification from the Demonica, alerting us that something had gone array. "This is Gigantic Command, do you read me!?" A feminine voice on the other side urgently asked, jittery in her tone.
"This is Orhan from Squad One, accompanied by Squad Two. We hear you loud and clear, over."
"The ship is under attack! The enemy's identity is unknown, but we're losing men at a rapid pace. Requesting all troops who can hear this to fallback immediately and deal with the issue before they make their way inside." My eyes widened at the news, hands briskly finding themselves busy as I reloaded my gun, a click echoing from my mouth as I took count of the remaining magazines left on my person.
…
One. There was one left. Fortunately, there was another, another which had barely any left in the tank, of course. My shoulders slouched, shoulders dropping as we all entered a jog, traversing the rocky landscape of this place.
I had to make all of my shots count, or else, I would be in range of those blood-thirsty monster! I don't want to… end up like the rest of my squad.
A grim reminder of their lives flashed before my eyes, their figures replacing those of the people I was following. Huh, I guess there was never going to be anywhere for me to hide when it eventually came back to haunt me, was there? My hand balled up into a fist, my teeth gritting against on another. 'There was only surviving now, and if I wanted to live, then I'd have to use every tool at my disposal, even if it meant risking my life by pulling her out.' My eyes drifted over my left forearm, glancing at the console jutting out of my suit.
Eventually, we were able to get close to the ship's entrance, an eerie feeling encroaching all over my body. This… this doesn't feel right…
The floors were stained red, as if someone had thrown a carton of chunky tomato juice, except, it wasn't tomato. A cruel reality had hit us, struck as from behind, like a predator slowly wrapping itself around its victim, their jaws grazing the skin of their prey. When some people said that humans had it too good for too long, I never expected them to be right in the end. Hehe, it's almost like God was playing a dirty trick on me from the very beginning.
Hell, pure, unbridled suffering brought into the real world. A cacophony of screams, moans, grunts, laughs, and all kinds of sounds, most of them chilling to the bone, and the other half sensual to the ears. It was a weird mix of pleasure and pain, my mind warping at the sensation. A liquid splashed at the steel ground before me, the entrail of my once former comrades flying in all sorts of directions, a demon playing with a man's entrails as though it were a jump rope.
Rainbow Notes (Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch) (300CP) Insufficient Funds, Adding to Balance.
A great haze fogged my vision, arms moving outward, as if to grab something, something over in the distance. The visage of the most delicious-looking woman I've ever seen in my life. My mind went blank, the lower half of my suit constricting around my legs, gradually shrinking around my thighs.
But, something stopped me before I could, my teeth gritting against one another, my left hand reaching down to my thigh. Only for every hint of emotion to just suddenly… halt, my mind clearer than it had ever been before. My eyes gained their usual clarity, as my index finger pulled itself towards the trigger, squeezing it with a tight grip.
My eyelids raised, the recoil had somehow gotten stronger, a massive oddity, but one I pushed to the side, as a barrage of feathers darted through the air, searching for a suitable target. Rolling backwards, I instead, took to firing from the hip, the sudden shift in weight making it straining for my arms to stay up, the constant imbalance kicking my entire body back.
Gritting through the pain, I paused momentarily, a sweat slithering down my neck, my breath hitching at the feeling of multiple eyes watching me like a piece of a5 wagyu steak. Blazing through the menus on my system, my eyes found themselves back on the Demon Summoning Program, selecting the cartoonish icon of the demon I had recruited just earlier, pain surging from my sides.
A gust of wind swept through the room, all those who could, turned to look at what happened, eyes gleaming with hunger at the sight of another victim. Swaying in the air, and striking a cutesy pose, my eyes twitched, the cycle of my breath hastening to an unreasonable degree.
"This is not the fucking time!" I chastised the little girl, her form deflating at the sound of my voice. "We can't afford that luxury now. Fight, so we both live. Live, so that we can fight another day. Or die, leaving not even a single trail of your existence." Directing my attention to my front, I fired off another set of rounds at a disheveled bird creature, its claws latched around a body. My eyes winced, while it took another into its maw, clamping down shut before my bullets could penetrate its boney wings.
Clicking my mouth once more, a burst of light green energy exploded out of nowhere, my body feeling as light as a feather. My eyes momentarily brightened before sharpening once more, fishing out my back-up knife and stashing it in my off-hand.
The table was set, and the game was ready to be played, however, nobody ever accounted for a cheating opponent, or more precisely, several of them. Spraying a torrent of bullets into another foe, my legs moved in a zig-zag pattern, weaving through a multitude of attacks, but concurring damage on others.
Calves, shoulders, knees, and parts of my abdomen. All of which were struck in rapid succession. My posture bent, shaken up by the attack, so much so, that it became a hinderance to move. Trudging through more of the pain, I shot back at whatever I could, pain became shock, and shock became adrenalin.
Rushing through my veins, the dopamine hit shortly thereafter, a grin adorning my face, my legs moving faster than they ever had before. In the snap of a finger, I closed the distances between another one of those Nue, its attacks now playing at a reasonable speed, a glint sparkling in my eye.
"Support, in any way you can." I instructed my demon, blasts of green energy flying out at the drop of a hat, homing in on the chimera. "Take this, you bastard!" Peppering it with the last few rounds in my magazine, I slung the weapon onto my back, shifting into melee range with swift stab, both of my knives dug into its arms, stealing the grin on my face, the hairs on my back rising.
"hEHEeee…" It creepily laughed, grabbing a hold of me with its other arm. "yOU Is LoOKiNG tASTYYYY!" My body shook, nerves firing off at random, my arms pulling back as I swing the weight of the lower half of my body, removing one of my weapons from its confines and jamming it straight back into its underbelly, a smooth slit rapidly pouring from the now open hole.
This… was but a flesh wound, however. Getting over my bearings, I climbed myself on top of the beast, the Nue doing whatever it could to get me off. But, it was all for naught, as a stab into his shoulder was enough for me to hang on for just a bit longer. My arms and legs weakened under the strain, grip loosening with each passing second. Worse yet, this bastard was desperate to get me off him. Gritting my teeth, I fished out the final grenade from my vest, removing the pin, and letting go of the release, a beat thundering in my ears.
My hands threatened to slip, the sounds now rumbling all throughout. Heaving a deep breath, I pushed myself even further, climbing on top of the monster and feeding it the live explosive, leaping off with little regard for my wellbeing, slamming into the hard walls of the gangway, the air in my lungs expelling instantly, my stomach contracting.
There wasn't any time to recover, however. This place was still an active battlefield, after all. Placing both hands on my knees, I pushed them outward, my stance straightening out, my eyes feasting on the carnage that awaited me. A substantial number of the demons had been eliminated. Still, the Nue from earlier lived despite my attempts to kill it. Remembering its weakness, I reloaded my magazine, Moh Shuvuu returning to my side, a trail of gun fire following her.
"Sorry boss, I wasn't quite fast enough to get here in time." The girl apologized, offering me a cutesy smile, her arm reaching out for me. "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you. Thankfully, I managed to save enough to help you, even if its only a little." What did she- "Dia!"
Uttering a single word, wind blew from her chest, whisps of green mist exiting out… flowing into my own. Instantly, my body became revitalized, a jolt to the system shocking me awake, the wounds I had incurred easing in their painfulness. A miracle had happened right before my eyes, medicine beyond anything the world has ever seen. A portable healing apparatus, better than any machine science could muster, and smaller than those created by the world's brightest minds.
Only for a hole to open up in my side, a warm feeling flooding my system, coldness enveloping me in its tight clutches. Looking downward, a red appendage had pierced straight through the left side of my abdomen, a golf ball-sized hole appeared where it once hadn't before.
Blood spurred from my mouth, the softening voice of my demon echoing in my mind, my face plate lifting for what felt like the last time. A single expression emoted on my face, a content, yet bitter smile, an object welling up in my eye, the world growing dark.
'…I feel… So fucking cold…'
…
The world had stood still. Even if it was but a moment, a bone chilling wave brought all those who were present to their knees, the presence of a demon stronger than anything they had faced up until that point making itself known. It was a red mass of faces and spiraling tentacles. And in its mouth, were the bodies of several of their comrades, despair filling their bodies as a crunch echoed from the demon's mouth, practically clarifying what had happened.
From the back of the room, a diminutive girl panicked, shaking the unconscious body of her master, eyes sporadic in movement, and her mouth rapidly moving, attempting to uncover something more with the healing magic that she had used. She knew, deep in her black heart, there were many of her kind that could perform spells the likes of which could very well be considered divine miracles, even in the eyes of some deities… So why couldn't she?
It frustrated her, in a time like this, where every second was of the essence, she wasted her time pacing back and forth instead of trying to fix the problem, worse yet, a legion had appeared out of nowhere, demolishing anything that even went near it. Balling up her small fists, the panicked girl clicked her mouth, pouring whatever left of her energy she could into the body, though, for how much longer could she delay the inevitable?
Dia was the weakest and least versatile of any healing magic, and it was the only one to be in her arsenal as of this moment. If only she had more influence over the world of humans, she needed more energy to just squeeze out a little bit more of her power. Then it hit her. The air around them, the screams of terror echoing in her ears, and the curses of pure vitriol flying through the air.
She could use them. Use them as fuel to keep her master aliv-
The spirit had other plans, however, its massive tendrils shooting out towards her at blinding speeds. Pulling her master out in time, she gritted her teeth, the weight of his humongous body burdening her more than she thought. Flapping her little wings, she flew, evading attack after attack, getting struck at least once during each onslaught. The toll of it was all growing a bit too much for the girl, tears leaping from her eyes, and pelting the ground not so far below.
To her surprise, it wasn't any of the demon's attacks that had hit her, but instead, one that came from a human, his gun clearly pointed towards her, leaving a hole on the better part of her right wing. Steering became a chore, and so did everything else, the control she once had slipping right before her eyes.
She had failed, and when the journey had just started. Falling to the cold metal floor, her cheek stained red, splashing into a puddle. Her vision darkened, legs stumbling towards her sleeping master, the girl raising her hand towards him, the ripe magatsuhi surrounding her flowing into her petite body. Raw, unfiltered, and uncontested power flowed into her, Moh Shuuvu's eyes shining with a radiant brilliance, her consciousness flowing directly out of her body, another taking her place.
Everything had shifted, flipping to its other side, as though it were wearing a disguise. A false world, shedding its skin to reveal its true colors. Behind the grime and muck, the visage of a provocative woman appeared before her, a haze separating the either of them from meeting, her mind turning into goop.
"One so innocent… What an interesting lot… I assume you are not here to simply talk, are you?" A chill ran down the weaker demon's spine, but she nodded nevertheless, almost forcefully. The presence of a stronger force compelling her to do so. "Then speakth thine desire, little one. Else, I'll have my dearest sweets over here take care of you." The sharp sound of jaws violently clamping down on one another entered her ears, awakeness returning to her sight, any stray thought deviating off course, out of sight, and out of mind. "I assume we have a deal, yes?"
She nodded again, more urgently than before. "Yes, of course…" She paused, her form confused as to what had happened. "Though, I don't know why I'm here."
"Aww~ You're so adorable~." The older woman fawned, her tone growing soft as several voices of protest wrought through the girl's ears, deafening in their volume and number. "Shut. It." She commanded firmly, the crack of a whip echoing shortly after. "You'll have your fun when it comes, and right now isn't your turn. Wait patiently or will force you into the dog house for the rest of your wretched existence."
Legendary Craftsman (Modded Fallout) (200CP) Restriction Lifted, Sufficient Balance, Perk Gained. Remaining bal: 300
The diminutive girl tilted her head, even though she was someone who could very well have annihilated her with little more than a thought. Rife with confusion, her thoughts drifted away from the conversation, the stronger demon talking to what she assumed to be her companion. "Returning to my previous point, I am guessing you aren't here for any of these charades, are you? Go on, say your wish, I won't judge. Just say it, and the object of your desire shall be yours~." The thin barrier of smoke vanished, granting her a glimpse of the person on the other side, a skeletal face scarily close to her own.
She wore extravagant clothing, fit for a royal, if the girl were to be honest. Gold, jewelry, the whole nine yards, and hovering right next to the woman, was a goblet, a goblet filled with a strong wine. "I-I-"
"Say it!"
Teeth clacked against one another, a chorus of giggles distracting the girl of her wish, her mind twisting at the sudden intruding figure, her mouth spurting out an answer, uncaring if it were even her true choice. "I wish to become stronger! I wish to be strong enough to continue staying with my master, to live longer than the time allot for me… To learn and experience what love is."
"I can fix that~." The woman stated, sultry in her tone. A nervous smile on the former's face, her body becoming jittery, her knees shivering ever so slightly. "Sip from mine chalice, and attain all that is within your grasp. Take the reigns back into your life, and ride it like a horse. And when you're done, leave it, and find another to play with." Pouring its contents over her head, the girl's vision was taken over by dark-purple, a haze wafting over her eyes, as the world spun.
The liquid was… pure, concentrated sin, completely filtered of any other emotion. There was no hope, no happiness, no sadness, no anger, no nothing. Simply despair and apathy. In this time, only a single thought populated in her mind, living as though it were an old friend. 'Huh, so this is the price of learning how to love...'
[A/N: Boys! And girl in the back. This might not be my most popular fic, but damn, is it fun to write. Sadly, SMT just isn't the fandom people read, so I can only thank those who are with me here. Thank you for reading my fic, and thank you for giving me enough motivation to continue writing this, each reply really means a lot to me. Copy and paste stuff below.
Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.
Join discord server. I have one.: Join the balls Discord Server!
I also have a patreon at balls 1124 is creating stuff | Patreon. I'm not telling you to join it, but it would be nice.
With that being said, back to writing.]
Turning to look at my squad's captain, I came to find out that he was completely drench in blood, his armor stained crimson by the liquid. His breathing was uneven, sporadic, tired. And his voice was rasp, strained, even. Lifting up the faceplate on my helmet, a sigh exited his mouth, his left hand reaching for my shoulder, using me to aid his balance.
Nothing about this seemed right, and from the way he was currently acting, my thoughts were only reinforced. Eventually, however, he regained his composure, his back straightening out, his figure standing tall, if a bit shaky.
"We were ambushed." I stated, his face regaining its usual seriousness. "It was something called a 'Nue'. According to the strange app, it's a creature from Asian myth. And as strange as it might have been, the monster was weak to bullets. But, even with that in mind, it was able to kill all those nearby me, I don't think anyone else survived the massacre."
My tone turned solemn, the last face of Roxanne etched into my mind, how that thing ate it without a second thought. My teeth gnashed against one another, my fist balling up. Orhan, on the other hand, didn't express any emotion outwardly, or better yet, he couldn't. Probably because he wasn't there to help in the chaos due to one reason or another.
Though, as if shocked by a bolt of electricity, his expression snapped, the fearless leader's fist rocketing towards the nearby stone boulder, the blow barely doing anything to the structure, but the message was clear. A multitude of grunts left his mouth, his face flaring. However, something about this felt…unnatural, somewhat at least. Then again, I could say the same of myself.
Pushing those thoughts aside, a chorus of approaching footsteps alerted me to something over in the distance. Shifting my sight to look at who it was, the grip on my gun tightened, a nervous sweat trailing down my neck. I had forgotten to reload, and after an ordeal like that… I could only hope I had half my magazine left, or else things could go terribly wrong for me.
Fortunately, my luck seemed to have flipped around, because from over the horizon came Another one of the Strike Teams Squads, looking far worse for wear than when they exited the gigantic, even missing a few members if memory served me right. Seemed like we weren't the only one to be attacked, and with the frequency of the demon sightings… it might not be the last either.
"Are you alright!?" The person up front called out, his head darting from one blood stain to another. "We're from Strike Team Group One, we came here as soon as we could." His face plate lifted, revealing that Jin guy from earlier, him staring at both me and my leader, squinting. "Don't tell me you're the only ones left. What happened to the other members?"
"Dead." I responded simply, the grip on my gun loosening. "Got here too late. The monster was fast, ambushed us without warning. Not only that, but there were more of them than we could handle, though, they all weren't on the same side."
Everyone else looked stunned for a second, some even taking a step back. However, one of them decided to speak up. "So it was the same for you as well? Shit, our chances of survival might as well be dropping by the second." It was Ash, the blond from earlier, and it appears that my guess was correct, a sigh escaping from his lips.
"Yeah, could say that again." I shook my head, the tension in my veins easing slightly. "Then again, what more can we realistically do? Think about it, we're the best of the best, and if we can barely handle these things, what more when they eventually spill onto the earth? The Schwarzwelt has been growing quite fast, and if things turn out the way I think they wil-"
A 'tch' resounded from one of the members in the background, the Japanese man returning to the forefront. "Save it for when we get back to the Gigantic, hard enough to deal with the situation without those types of thoughts clouding my mind." He stated, turning to Orhan, offering his hand up to the older man. "You too. I'm sure you are aware of the situation and our rapidly draining supplies. We should head back to the ship to resupply and regroup before heading out on another expedition."
"Hn." Orhan hummed in agreement, giving the former a firm shake. "You seem to be the leader around here. Say, after receiving that weird program, I suddenly gained the ability to see these monsters, what do you think about this? Because frankly, I thought it was a last-minute joke given to us by those big-wigs at the UN, a parting gift if you would."
"Huh… oh. I received it too." He replied, not missing a beat. "Everyone else has, and that likely extends to those still waiting at the Gigantic. Though, we were only able to see its appearance a minute after encountering the beast."
"Which means the program is able to visualize these things. And without it, we'd be practically fighting against ghosts, an enemy unseen, and also unheard." Another blond from the back stated, confusion washing over my mind, an eyebrow raising to attention. They couldn't see them immediately?
"'Demon'. Take a look at your screen. This program contains information about those monsters. In it, that bird-like creature was referred to as 'Gurr'." A black-haired brown woman from the back uttered, probably the monster they had to fight on their end. "I remember hearing it a long time ago back in my mother's home country of Sri Lanka. Scarily enough, its appearance even resembles that of its mythological counterpart, as if to give abstract concepts form."
"And that giant 'Unknown' from earlier," My body tensed up, a chill running up my spine, the eerie feeling of being watched gradually crawling up my back. "I guess we weren't able to analyze it in time. Demons, spirits… it all feels so surreal, almost like we've stepped into a fantasy world filled with monsters and the like."
"Apart from the imaginary beings, for now, let's just call them 'demons' for convenience's sake. Is everyone fine with that?" Orhan instructed, his voice commanding.
"Yeah, we'll go with that to prevent any confusion." Jun agreed, turning to look at all of us. "Demons… the circumstances may be unknown as of yet, but the battle assailing forces of nature was reality. We can clearly assume with our current circumstance that the Schwarzwelt is a world where demons exist. And we are complete and total strangers to these lands, fishes out of water, exposed to an unknown element."
"Enough talking, let's move. Our top priority now is returning to the Gigantic. The more time we waste, the higher the risk of it being in danger." My leader reminded us all, looking at the path we came from. "Quick, follow me."
Shrugging my shoulders, I did as I was told, a single goal in my mind. I needed to get the hell out of dodge as fast as possible, and through whatever means necessary. This place was somehow more cancerous than my old home, and I had only been in this single area for less than an hour. Sure, they might have been people stabbing one another out in the streets for a loaf of bread back where I came from. But at least you had a chance to survive! Whatever, I can't be bothered to think about that now.
Just a little bit more, then perhaps I can return to the lovely unlimited buffets back in the UN's facilities…if I can survive, that is.
…
"Hah… hah…" Tired and breathless, we all stared down the fallen beast. Its eyes were shot out, profusely bleeding, and its claws were mangled, torn to bits. Another one of those 'Nue' had struck us. Though, thankfully, we were able to put it down with no casualties.
"Phew, home sweet home." Jin idly commented, veering off to the side, where the looming shadow of the Gigantic could be seen off in the distance. "At last, our ship's in sight."
'Finally!' I internally mused, a smile etching itself onto my face, my arms moving to a more relaxed position.
"Wait!" Orhan shouted, our movement halting. "The gangway's still down. Something…" A trail of sweat crawled down my already sweaty face, breathing spiking in the skin tight suit. "doesn't feel right."
"Really?" Ash shouted, his eyes drawing thin as he stared into the far off distance, his eyes keenly staring in the same direction as our temporary leader's. "I can't even see it from this far out. Just how good is your eyesight?"
"Good enough to spot when something's off." The woman from before, Dahlia, shot back, shaking her head. "Hmph, if you really want to find out for sure, you should just shut up and keep walk- huh?"
Simultaneously, we all received a notification from the Demonica, alerting us that something had gone array. "This is Gigantic Command, do you read me!?" A feminine voice on the other side urgently asked, jittery in her tone.
"This is Orhan from Squad One, accompanied by Squad Two. We hear you loud and clear, over."
"The ship is under attack! The enemy's identity is unknown, but we're losing men at a rapid pace. Requesting all troops who can hear this to fallback immediately and deal with the issue before they make their way inside." My eyes widened at the news, hands briskly finding themselves busy as I reloaded my gun, a click echoing from my mouth as I took count of the remaining magazines left on my person.
…
One. There was one left. Fortunately, there was another, another which had barely any left in the tank, of course. My shoulders slouched, shoulders dropping as we all entered a jog, traversing the rocky landscape of this place.
I had to make all of my shots count, or else, I would be in range of those blood-thirsty monster! I don't want to… end up like the rest of my squad.
A grim reminder of their lives flashed before my eyes, their figures replacing those of the people I was following. Huh, I guess there was never going to be anywhere for me to hide when it eventually came back to haunt me, was there? My hand balled up into a fist, my teeth gritting against on another. 'There was only surviving now, and if I wanted to live, then I'd have to use every tool at my disposal, even if it meant risking my life by pulling her out.' My eyes drifted over my left forearm, glancing at the console jutting out of my suit.
Eventually, we were able to get close to the ship's entrance, an eerie feeling encroaching all over my body. This… this doesn't feel right…
The floors were stained red, as if someone had thrown a carton of chunky tomato juice, except, it wasn't tomato. A cruel reality had hit us, struck as from behind, like a predator slowly wrapping itself around its victim, their jaws grazing the skin of their prey. When some people said that humans had it too good for too long, I never expected them to be right in the end. Hehe, it's almost like God was playing a dirty trick on me from the very beginning.
Hell, pure, unbridled suffering brought into the real world. A cacophony of screams, moans, grunts, laughs, and all kinds of sounds, most of them chilling to the bone, and the other half sensual to the ears. It was a weird mix of pleasure and pain, my mind warping at the sensation. A liquid splashed at the steel ground before me, the entrail of my once former comrades flying in all sorts of directions, a demon playing with a man's entrails as though it were a jump rope.
Rainbow Notes (Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch) (300CP) Insufficient Funds, Adding to Balance.
A great haze fogged my vision, arms moving outward, as if to grab something, something over in the distance. The visage of the most delicious-looking woman I've ever seen in my life. My mind went blank, the lower half of my suit constricting around my legs, gradually shrinking around my thighs.
But, something stopped me before I could, my teeth gritting against one another, my left hand reaching down to my thigh. Only for every hint of emotion to just suddenly… halt, my mind clearer than it had ever been before. My eyes gained their usual clarity, as my index finger pulled itself towards the trigger, squeezing it with a tight grip.
My eyelids raised, the recoil had somehow gotten stronger, a massive oddity, but one I pushed to the side, as a barrage of feathers darted through the air, searching for a suitable target. Rolling backwards, I instead, took to firing from the hip, the sudden shift in weight making it straining for my arms to stay up, the constant imbalance kicking my entire body back.
Gritting through the pain, I paused momentarily, a sweat slithering down my neck, my breath hitching at the feeling of multiple eyes watching me like a piece of a5 wagyu steak. Blazing through the menus on my system, my eyes found themselves back on the Demon Summoning Program, selecting the cartoonish icon of the demon I had recruited just earlier, pain surging from my sides.
A gust of wind swept through the room, all those who could, turned to look at what happened, eyes gleaming with hunger at the sight of another victim. Swaying in the air, and striking a cutesy pose, my eyes twitched, the cycle of my breath hastening to an unreasonable degree.
"This is not the fucking time!" I chastised the little girl, her form deflating at the sound of my voice. "We can't afford that luxury now. Fight, so we both live. Live, so that we can fight another day. Or die, leaving not even a single trail of your existence." Directing my attention to my front, I fired off another set of rounds at a disheveled bird creature, its claws latched around a body. My eyes winced, while it took another into its maw, clamping down shut before my bullets could penetrate its boney wings.
Clicking my mouth once more, a burst of light green energy exploded out of nowhere, my body feeling as light as a feather. My eyes momentarily brightened before sharpening once more, fishing out my back-up knife and stashing it in my off-hand.
The table was set, and the game was ready to be played, however, nobody ever accounted for a cheating opponent, or more precisely, several of them. Spraying a torrent of bullets into another foe, my legs moved in a zig-zag pattern, weaving through a multitude of attacks, but concurring damage on others.
Calves, shoulders, knees, and parts of my abdomen. All of which were struck in rapid succession. My posture bent, shaken up by the attack, so much so, that it became a hinderance to move. Trudging through more of the pain, I shot back at whatever I could, pain became shock, and shock became adrenalin.
Rushing through my veins, the dopamine hit shortly thereafter, a grin adorning my face, my legs moving faster than they ever had before. In the snap of a finger, I closed the distances between another one of those Nue, its attacks now playing at a reasonable speed, a glint sparkling in my eye.
"Support, in any way you can." I instructed my demon, blasts of green energy flying out at the drop of a hat, homing in on the chimera. "Take this, you bastard!" Peppering it with the last few rounds in my magazine, I slung the weapon onto my back, shifting into melee range with swift stab, both of my knives dug into its arms, stealing the grin on my face, the hairs on my back rising.
"hEHEeee…" It creepily laughed, grabbing a hold of me with its other arm. "yOU Is LoOKiNG tASTYYYY!" My body shook, nerves firing off at random, my arms pulling back as I swing the weight of the lower half of my body, removing one of my weapons from its confines and jamming it straight back into its underbelly, a smooth slit rapidly pouring from the now open hole.
This… was but a flesh wound, however. Getting over my bearings, I climbed myself on top of the beast, the Nue doing whatever it could to get me off. But, it was all for naught, as a stab into his shoulder was enough for me to hang on for just a bit longer. My arms and legs weakened under the strain, grip loosening with each passing second. Worse yet, this bastard was desperate to get me off him. Gritting my teeth, I fished out the final grenade from my vest, removing the pin, and letting go of the release, a beat thundering in my ears.
My hands threatened to slip, the sounds now rumbling all throughout. Heaving a deep breath, I pushed myself even further, climbing on top of the monster and feeding it the live explosive, leaping off with little regard for my wellbeing, slamming into the hard walls of the gangway, the air in my lungs expelling instantly, my stomach contracting.
There wasn't any time to recover, however. This place was still an active battlefield, after all. Placing both hands on my knees, I pushed them outward, my stance straightening out, my eyes feasting on the carnage that awaited me. A substantial number of the demons had been eliminated. Still, the Nue from earlier lived despite my attempts to kill it. Remembering its weakness, I reloaded my magazine, Moh Shuvuu returning to my side, a trail of gun fire following her.
"Sorry boss, I wasn't quite fast enough to get here in time." The girl apologized, offering me a cutesy smile, her arm reaching out for me. "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you. Thankfully, I managed to save enough to help you, even if its only a little." What did she- "Dia!"
Uttering a single word, wind blew from her chest, whisps of green mist exiting out… flowing into my own. Instantly, my body became revitalized, a jolt to the system shocking me awake, the wounds I had incurred easing in their painfulness. A miracle had happened right before my eyes, medicine beyond anything the world has ever seen. A portable healing apparatus, better than any machine science could muster, and smaller than those created by the world's brightest minds.
Only for a hole to open up in my side, a warm feeling flooding my system, coldness enveloping me in its tight clutches. Looking downward, a red appendage had pierced straight through the left side of my abdomen, a golf ball-sized hole appeared where it once hadn't before.
Blood spurred from my mouth, the softening voice of my demon echoing in my mind, my face plate lifting for what felt like the last time. A single expression emoted on my face, a content, yet bitter smile, an object welling up in my eye, the world growing dark.
'…I feel… So fucking cold…'
…
The world had stood still. Even if it was but a moment, a bone chilling wave brought all those who were present to their knees, the presence of a demon stronger than anything they had faced up until that point making itself known. It was a red mass of faces and spiraling tentacles. And in its mouth, were the bodies of several of their comrades, despair filling their bodies as a crunch echoed from the demon's mouth, practically clarifying what had happened.
From the back of the room, a diminutive girl panicked, shaking the unconscious body of her master, eyes sporadic in movement, and her mouth rapidly moving, attempting to uncover something more with the healing magic that she had used. She knew, deep in her black heart, there were many of her kind that could perform spells the likes of which could very well be considered divine miracles, even in the eyes of some deities… So why couldn't she?
It frustrated her, in a time like this, where every second was of the essence, she wasted her time pacing back and forth instead of trying to fix the problem, worse yet, a legion had appeared out of nowhere, demolishing anything that even went near it. Balling up her small fists, the panicked girl clicked her mouth, pouring whatever left of her energy she could into the body, though, for how much longer could she delay the inevitable?
Dia was the weakest and least versatile of any healing magic, and it was the only one to be in her arsenal as of this moment. If only she had more influence over the world of humans, she needed more energy to just squeeze out a little bit more of her power. Then it hit her. The air around them, the screams of terror echoing in her ears, and the curses of pure vitriol flying through the air.
She could use them. Use them as fuel to keep her master aliv-
The spirit had other plans, however, its massive tendrils shooting out towards her at blinding speeds. Pulling her master out in time, she gritted her teeth, the weight of his humongous body burdening her more than she thought. Flapping her little wings, she flew, evading attack after attack, getting struck at least once during each onslaught. The toll of it was all growing a bit too much for the girl, tears leaping from her eyes, and pelting the ground not so far below.
To her surprise, it wasn't any of the demon's attacks that had hit her, but instead, one that came from a human, his gun clearly pointed towards her, leaving a hole on the better part of her right wing. Steering became a chore, and so did everything else, the control she once had slipping right before her eyes.
She had failed, and when the journey had just started. Falling to the cold metal floor, her cheek stained red, splashing into a puddle. Her vision darkened, legs stumbling towards her sleeping master, the girl raising her hand towards him, the ripe magatsuhi surrounding her flowing into her petite body. Raw, unfiltered, and uncontested power flowed into her, Moh Shuuvu's eyes shining with a radiant brilliance, her consciousness flowing directly out of her body, another taking her place.
Everything had shifted, flipping to its other side, as though it were wearing a disguise. A false world, shedding its skin to reveal its true colors. Behind the grime and muck, the visage of a provocative woman appeared before her, a haze separating the either of them from meeting, her mind turning into goop.
"One so innocent… What an interesting lot… I assume you are not here to simply talk, are you?" A chill ran down the weaker demon's spine, but she nodded nevertheless, almost forcefully. The presence of a stronger force compelling her to do so. "Then speakth thine desire, little one. Else, I'll have my dearest sweets over here take care of you." The sharp sound of jaws violently clamping down on one another entered her ears, awakeness returning to her sight, any stray thought deviating off course, out of sight, and out of mind. "I assume we have a deal, yes?"
She nodded again, more urgently than before. "Yes, of course…" She paused, her form confused as to what had happened. "Though, I don't know why I'm here."
"Aww~ You're so adorable~." The older woman fawned, her tone growing soft as several voices of protest wrought through the girl's ears, deafening in their volume and number. "Shut. It." She commanded firmly, the crack of a whip echoing shortly after. "You'll have your fun when it comes, and right now isn't your turn. Wait patiently or will force you into the dog house for the rest of your wretched existence."
Legendary Craftsman (Modded Fallout) (200CP) Restriction Lifted, Sufficient Balance, Perk Gained. Remaining bal: 300
The diminutive girl tilted her head, even though she was someone who could very well have annihilated her with little more than a thought. Rife with confusion, her thoughts drifted away from the conversation, the stronger demon talking to what she assumed to be her companion. "Returning to my previous point, I am guessing you aren't here for any of these charades, are you? Go on, say your wish, I won't judge. Just say it, and the object of your desire shall be yours~." The thin barrier of smoke vanished, granting her a glimpse of the person on the other side, a skeletal face scarily close to her own.
She wore extravagant clothing, fit for a royal, if the girl were to be honest. Gold, jewelry, the whole nine yards, and hovering right next to the woman, was a goblet, a goblet filled with a strong wine. "I-I-"
"Say it!"
Teeth clacked against one another, a chorus of giggles distracting the girl of her wish, her mind twisting at the sudden intruding figure, her mouth spurting out an answer, uncaring if it were even her true choice. "I wish to become stronger! I wish to be strong enough to continue staying with my master, to live longer than the time allot for me… To learn and experience what love is."
"I can fix that~." The woman stated, sultry in her tone. A nervous smile on the former's face, her body becoming jittery, her knees shivering ever so slightly. "Sip from mine chalice, and attain all that is within your grasp. Take the reigns back into your life, and ride it like a horse. And when you're done, leave it, and find another to play with." Pouring its contents over her head, the girl's vision was taken over by dark-purple, a haze wafting over her eyes, as the world spun.
The liquid was… pure, concentrated sin, completely filtered of any other emotion. There was no hope, no happiness, no sadness, no anger, no nothing. Simply despair and apathy. In this time, only a single thought populated in her mind, living as though it were an old friend. 'Huh, so this is the price of learning how to love...'
[A/N: Boys! And girl in the back. This might not be my most popular fic, but damn, is it fun to write. Sadly, SMT just isn't the fandom people read, so I can only thank those who are with me here. Thank you for reading my fic, and thank you for giving me enough motivation to continue writing this, each reply really means a lot to me. Copy and paste stuff below.
Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.
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he should take notice of it when he wakes up. seeing as that's the only ability that has an instant effect. And no, we won't be getting any idol demon girls, sadly. Though, that would be incredibly op, seeing as the power of music was what brought and repelled demons in devil survivor 1
Oh right, Idun. Though, she won't be appearing in this arc. Maybe a bit after, but that's to be seen. but thanks for reminding me of her, she's hands down the best waifu to come out of V. Cleopatra doesn't count since she came from 4, though if we ignore that, and simply focus on her unique skill, then she takes the cake.
In fairness, they still don't know that the demon summoning program can recruit demons, even if they did, it's hard to tell which one's your ally, and which isn't. still, that shot was deliberate.
- Location
- California
Yikes, at the rate he's going the MC is going to get deleted. Those rolls were not favorable, or necessarily immediately useful.
Then again, isnt that the point of strange journey? To fight the dangers in the darkness of the void and adapt to the situation. If some dude with a gun was able to kill a being capable of fucking with YHVH, then the MC can too. He just has to become the most cowardly coward to survive this hellhole
- Location
- California
I'll admit this brings me a smile, but between sharing his name with a being that knew one of the team has been modified and this sketchy deal with the demon has Filipe at a disadvantage.
Fair. But, smt is a series built upon sketchy deals with equally sketchy people. I mean, would you accept a massive string of wires and hardware given to you by a paraplegic man who you only knew from the backwater 80's internet?
pingas plight
-Most cunning scientific fuck-up in all of Mobius
Okay, good, this isn't dead. Thank god.
You know what, upon reading this, I take that back. The amount of tragedy that has occurred is....
Also, Moh Shovuu is gonna be to him what Pixie is to Demifiend, isn't she?
You know what, upon reading this, I take that back. The amount of tragedy that has occurred is....
Also, Moh Shovuu is gonna be to him what Pixie is to Demifiend, isn't she?
telling would be spoiling, but the trajectory of the relationship is obvious enough, isn't it?
Chapter 3
What… what happened here?
My eyes shot open, lungs deeply heaving a breath, taking in as much oxygen as they could. Exhaustion mounted on my shoulders as though it were a mountain, and pain ran without contest throughout my body, stricken with what seemed to be paralysis. Then, just to make things worse, my head buzzed with the full might of a million cicada, numbing all the barely audible gunshots to the point where they sounded like pop rocks in my mouth.
I couldn't process any of it. From my surroundings to the new happenings wreaking havoc without a care in the world. Shaking my head, my eye lid twitched violently, images flashing on my Demonica's helmet with no rhyme or reason. Deranged scribbles outlining Moh Shuvuu's figure, coating her in a red aura.
Quickly enough, a displayed popped up right next to her. Though, it did very little to help, only showing a variety of symbols and scrambled letters. Likely a type of cipher, but not one I was familiar with. Pushing those thoughts aside, I refocused my efforts on recuperating. Regulating my breathing and closing my eyes, a warm shock passed throughout my face, the pain easing bit by bit as I regained control over my body.
Observing my surroundings, it was clear that my fellow men didn't particularly like the demon that I had recruited, as they fired shot after shot trying to take it down, even though there was a bigger threat in the form of a red meatball-.
Which was nowhere to be found. It seemed as though they completely forgot about the demon attacking them and decided to open fire on my "demon". Cracking my neck, several pops echoed from my spine, relief wafting over my being as I carefully stood up, leg still shaky.
Shakily letting go of a breath, a deep grunt left my throat, the substantial effort it took to stand hitting me like a semi-truck. It was a monumental effort, like working on a new muscle or forgetting how to use it in the first place. A grimace contorting my face, confusing rife in my mind, a familiar yet entirely foreign sensation invading my every thought and movement.
Heaving for more air, I sucked in my gut and let it all out, using every fiber of my being to get up. Though, it didn't get much better once I did. My gun was completely dry, and my back-up knives were nowhere to be seen, worse yet, a three round burst shot near and around my hands and legs. The beat of my heart picked up, sight trailing up to find the bullet's source. But… why would it be him?
"You know, it's quite amusing to see each and every one of you act so wastefully with your limited ammunition. Some here may even find it insulting that you expend so much time and effort trying to kill a mere Moh Shuvuu." A feminine voice mocked from above us, coming from a voice that I haven't heard of before. Was it a demon? "Though I suppose you lot get some leeway. For one of her kind to have lasted so long with this many of you would take nothing short of a miracle."
My head seared with information, knowledge pouring out of my mind at a rapid pace. My eyes analyzing each and every part I could see. More specifically, what improvements I could make. But I didn't care for any of it right now. I just needed to get the hell away from the splash zone of whatever arrived here.
The weight of my legs dragged, as though one of them had weight a thousand kilos while the other wasn't much better either. Limping backward, my eyes shot from one corner of the bay to the next, swiftly spotting the exit as another shot grazed the air near me.
"If you all really wanted to die in this wretched pit, you should either just impale yourself on a spike or let that giant Wendigo eat you up. Whatever you are trying to do is useless. Especially since you're firing on your own men." Dropping to the ground with a gust of wind around her, the woman revealed herself to everyone, landing in front of Jin with her right wing blocking his barrel. "Voivre, at your service. And I would highly recommend that you cease this tomfoolery at once. Nothing you do will be enough to kill the little girl."
I paused, looking back at the scene that had unfolded. Each member of the strike team looked apprehensive, an uneasy look contorting their expressions. At the same time, the familiar winged girl returned to my si-. Something didn't feel right, as though the very air around her had shifted, the muscles in both my arms and legs tensing up.
Her skin was paler than usual, whiter than snow. The clothes on her back were still the same, yet, they were more visually striking, a contrast with her complexion. Lastly, she copiously smelled of expensive perfume, my nose wrinkling. I tried to greet her, if weakly. However, this tasked seemed far harder than it should've been. My body collapsing without so much as a warning.
Grabbing onto my arm, she hung it around her shoulder with little effort. The diminutive girl turning to me with an expressionless face before flashing a bright smile. "I survived, just like you told me to, we both did." She stated, propping me up against the bay's walls. My knees giving out, falling to the ground. "I might have had to sell away a few things, but everything is alright, there's nothing to worry about."
Her words didn't help in the slightest. Though, if it aided the little girl, then I didn't mind faking a smile or two to keep her spirits up. However, looking back at her interaction with my fellow Strike Team members, it was hard to say whether or not I could ease the friction between the two sides.
The room filled with cautious gazes, each other directed at my contracted demon, or the new arrival. Keenly observing her features, an eyebrow rose at the sight, the provocative nature of her appearance stirring up some… questionable ideas. The demon's figure was feminine, that much I could say for certain. She wore not a single strand of clothing on her body, proudly showing off her buxom figure.
And the most striking feature of which was the split color of her body. One half red, and the other white. The same could be said for her hair, except it was black and blonde respectively. An odd sight for sure, but luckily, something I didn't have to deal with myself.
Origin: France
Resistances: ???
Weaknesses: ???
Before I could gawk for any longer, I was drawn out of my thoughts by a fuzzy texture tightly wrapping itself around my hand, an inexplicable warmth entering my body. My eyes blinked like snapshot, each time fluttering to an image of Moh Shuvuu's unbearably cute face, a pout adorned on her lips.
"My, my. The boss is into older women, it would seem. I guess I shouldn't have gone through all the effort of saving him. Not even a word of praise and he's already looking at other demons. How shameless could you be!" She accused me, the lid of my eye twitching at the sudden change in atmosphere. What was this? The set of a cheap romcom?
Suddenly, she pulled my arm towards her, dragging my entire body along with it, my face rocketing towards her chest. "No matter, as long as you live, then I suppose nothing else matters. Isn't that right, m-m" The demon sputtered, struggling to get the words through her lips. "Master." Through much effort, she was able to get it out eventually. Her cheeks lighting up like Christmas lights. The edges of my lips tugged, my body steadying itself as I rocked back.
Maneuvering a hand behind my helmet, I removed the thing off my head, a hot cloud of air leaving along with my breath. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you." The girl's expression didn't change. In fact, it only deepened with my words, her hands motioning for me to do more. "Without your help, I might not even still be alive. Neither words nor actions are enough to express my gratitude for you, even if I was initially doubtful of your capabilities."
After all of this, she still wanted more. The look on her face morphing to one of satisfaction, a grin stretching from end to end. My brows furrowed, while everything in the background blurred, focusing on Moh Shuvuu. If her change in appearance wasn't enough to send off any alarms, then the sort of shift in her personality would.
Whatever happened while I was knocked-out must have been desperate enough to where someone had to pull off something to kill that red mass of tentacles from earlier. And I could only guess that it wasn't good in any sense. Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked back towards the girl and showed her a dopey smile, scratching the back of my neck as I kept an ear out for the conversation that was happening right in front of us. It seemed like I wasn't the only one getting a demon today.
…
The echoes of shattered glass bounced throughout the room, as the world stilled. It was only for the briefest of moments. But to Jin? It might as well have been a lifetime. Spilling from the ceiling, a dark liquid tainted the gangway's floor, chills running down all of whom were present, as a single black spike impaled the supposed "Legion" right down the middle.
What little plan they had fallen to the wayside. Half of them twisting and turning their head to look at what could have possibly caused this, their eyes closing in on a prostrated little girl wearing what looked to be winter clothing. A portion of the Strike Team's guns trained on her while the others continued to open fire on the main threat ahead of them.
"Look! That octopus bastard's gobbling up the nearby corpses!" Ash shouted, attempting to shoot of one of the monster's tentacles. "The demon is hostile to anything that tries to get near it!"
"I just finished my second scan!" Another from the sides shouted, his voice barely discernable in the loud cries of gunfire. "Bullets! They won't work on him. We have to hit it with something else!" Nobody spoke up, either too busy dodging the tentacles, or watching their hind.
The situation wasn't good, but they had to do something, anything. The hanger's doors were still open, and with the demon blocking it, they all had to face the threat head on. Gritting his teeth, a grimace eclipsed Jin's face. A click ringing out of his mouth as his hand glided over his knife, removing the strap that kept it in place.
With a melee weapon in one hand, and his assault rifle in the other, the Japanese man rushed in without a care. Vaulting over one red blob after another, all the while being careful not to enter someone's line of fire. It was a dangerous job, but all plans had a risk, this one just so happened to have more than usual. His heart boomed in his ears, his breath growing heavier with each passing second as he entered within range.
Instantly, a gash appeared on his body, blood spurting out as a streak of red appeared across his chest, the sudden attack just barely grazing him. Desperation manifested within his mind, sliding into the underbelly of the beast as Jin dug his knife into one of the many crevices populating the biblical creature, dragging it along his length, his hand gripping tightly to the weapon.
It cleaved through flesh as though it were butter, smoothly gliding with a concerning amount of ease. He couldn't believe it for a moment, but as soon as the flesh began regenerating, Jin knew this wasn't going to be enough to kill it. The legion's arms shot out for him once more at lightning-fast speeds.
The man was too close to dodge, and far too slow to perform anything beyond lifting his leg. Raising his knife-hand up, he deflected a single strike to veer off target, while three blows landed all throughout his body, shattering whatever laid there due to the immense force. The air in his lungs let loose, leaving his breath as his Demonica took the brunt of the damage, bits and pieces of tech falling off his suit as he slammed against the bay's walls. Just narrowly missing an attack aimed for his head, the angle which he had landed in saving him from certain death.
For only a second that was. Scrambling to his feet, Jin forced himself to move with much effort, the cries and screams of his comrades echoing loud and clear even through the helmet's dampening. A grimace etched itself onto his face as his fists clenched, the suit's systems finishing a diagnostic scan of his body.
Flickering in his face, the display flashed a dangerous red, his breathing deepening with each step. Sharpening his eyes on the Legion, he watched from the sidelines as his allies threw themselves at the demon, getting somewhat similar results to him, but ending up not as fortunate. Their mangled bodies flying through the air before quickly being absorbed into the mass of tentacles and faces.
""Thine death is imminent. Surrender thyself to me, thine new overlord."" It proclaimed, each of the faces on its body moving, their cheeks spreading and their lips parting, giving the world a glimpse of their decrepit smile. Disgusting, all of them. Gritting his teeth, Jin tossed his grenade in the direction of the gargantuan behemoth, entering the fray shortly after.
Running head first wasn't without its flaws. The onslaught of various attacks rushing at him all at once was a testament to this. Fortunately, his brothers in arms were able to displace the tendrils just enough for the Japanese man to pass through with little issue, entering a similar situation as he did before, his knife hand shakily rising as he dragged it along the side. Putting his all into this one attack.
Suddenly, another spike sprouted from the roof, flowing like a vine around his surroundings. As the voice of a young girl entered his ears, an insurmountable weight pressed against his back, violently shaking his spine. "Spill forth from the chalice. Raze the lands and corrupt all that is within your grasp."
None of this mattered in Jin's eyes. The chances of him surviving the operation were slim. And though he had yet to accept the fact, he couldn't ignore it for long, especially now when it stared him in the face. Running the edge of his short blade along the succulent flesh of his foe, a cacophony of guttural roars boomed from its mouth, spurting the xeno-creature's blood all over the floor.
"Wine of Earthly Pleasures, heed my call." The entire room shook, the gangway's doors closing. "Feast upon mine sacrifice, and recreate…" It paused, the man's head turning to look at where the sound had come from, completely oblivious to the tar-like substance dripping onto the Legion. "The birth of man."
From the wounds he had inflicted, where once blood seeped, now drew a viscous black liquid, hardening into a crystalized form in little more than a second's time. Taking a step back, his body stilled, as though it were frozen in place, her left arm hanging limp as he could do nothing but stare. The near invincible monster that stood with the might of a natural disaster, fell. Like a grotesque action figure.
Crimson turned to tar, elongating lengthwise as the Legion cried out louder and louder, its wails going unheard as everyone stared in awe. A fine display of brutality, or more aptly, torture. It was excruciatingly sluggish, dragging out with time as the monster's mass bulged, welching and keeping in place.
The spike soon touched the ground, and stopped in its tracks, letting the demon hang impaled, all the while it bled to death. Gradually, a portion of the dark substance liquidized, picking up properties similar to that of mercury. Taking yet another step backward, Jin's world was suddenly encapsulated by darkness. All the light had dimmed, almost like he was transported to a different world entirely.
'Damn it. How much longer do I have left?' He internally cursed, his fingers rapidly tapping the panel on his hanging forearm. A multitude of screens flashed on his HUD, blinding him with light as he tried his best to calm down. But, what could he do? He was separated from his group via forces entirely beyond him… He needed to leave as soon as possible, at whatever cost.
Jin's breath hitched, halting in its tracks, stuck in the middle of his throat. He couldn't waste the precious moments he had now. Crouching to the ground, he brushed his hands all over the void beneath him, surmising that there was at least some level of room on the platform his feet stood on. Moving just a tad further, the man was more relieved when it stretched out the length of his body.
Slowly, he was discovering more and more about the space he was confined to, but not one step closer to escaping. With his nerves at the verge of sputtering into mania, he walked a few steps forward, finding some solid footing to stand on as he breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe so far, so why shouldn't he take a few more?
That thought came back to bite him in the ass. As the next step he took, the supposed ground beneath his feet disappeared, his body falling deeper into the pitch-black abyss. There was no escape now. Jin was going to lose everything, and the only reason for this was because he was too panicked.
Repeatedly cursing, his breathing hastened, far more than it should have as the time blinking at the bottom right of his screen blared hot red, the count decreasing substantially with each inhale. This was really it, there was no escape, and what better time to accept his own death than now?
"And when you're so close as well? Such a shame." A voice rang in his mind, snapping the man out of the mental mess he was in. "It would be a shame, really. I bet everything on you, and for nothing to come of it? Well, we would have more than a few problems there, mister."
Jin's brow arched, his mind attempting to dispel whatever illusions he had. Only for a blonde woman to appear before him, floating in the exact same space he was. Drifting ever closer, inch by tantalizing inch. "My dear, that just isn't enough. This is too early for you to meet your end. Had there not been an unknown factor, you wouldn't have met your end here. Instead, you would be living the rest of your days merrily relaxing in the sun, having saved the world from the demonic threat.
Ideas bounced in his head, wondering what the hell was going on. "Look, I'm going to do you a solid. A bit of help comes a long way, so how about this. I help you," She tapped his chest, pangs of pain rippling forth. "And you help me, you got that?"
The offer left much to be desired, but what else was he supposed to do? Clicking his mouth, he thought about the accord for a moment longer, shaking his head in disbelief. What else was he to do? Die when there was a clear exit out? "A deal with the devil shouldn't ever be accepted. That's what people will tell you. But, there's a reason why they are so enticing. You want to know why?"
The timer broke past a minute as the woman held out her hand. Without any other option, Jin replied. "Sure, humor me."
A grin stretched on her lips, a feeling of unease wafting over the Japanese man's body. Her features, now fully revealed, were uncanny to say the least. If there was a time to use a word such as this, it wouldn't be too far from the truth. The woman before him was perfect, too perfect. "Because the devil likes to strike when people are at their lowest. You may try to cheat the devil. Or maybe even cheat the game for others. But in the end, the big scary man always gets what he wants. Say, do I look big and scary? I don't even have horns for crying out loud."
The man couldn't fault her logic, and with circumstances being as dire as they were, he took a leap of faith. A leap of faith into a show of blinding lights, taking the hand of the devil without horns. He would live, return to the life he was promised, but would it truly be a life of his own? Thoughts such as this sprouted from deep within his mind, teeth gritting as the clock ticked its final ten seconds.
"Wonderful. You will be sent back from whence you came, Jin." She assured him, an image of the woman etched into his memory. "A few added benefits never hurt anybody, more so for a man in your position. Worry not, for I will come to collect mine payment in due time. For now, I bid you adieu."
No more words were shared as he returned to the gangway, standing in the space he once did. The timer no longer beat, and he was on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. He didn't have any words for what happened. Pure shock at the actions that had occurred before him.
And he came just in time too. For a splash of black sludge to impact his helmet, blocking a majority of his peripheral vision and coating a majority of his suit. Evidence of the Legion's death plastered all over his body, his eyes shooting back to the little girl he had seen crouched from before. Only now, she was standing up right, a pair of snow-white wings appearing on her back as she zipped from one corner of the room to another, dodging any gun fire that came her way.
Clicking his mouth, he ran towards his comrades, waving his one good arm in the air for them to standdown. Then his eyes caught a glimpse of something from above them. A woman who eyed them like a bat. Whatever or whoever she was, Jin felt it within his gut that nothing positive would come out of the subsequent mess that followed.
…
Honestly with my luck, did I expect anything else!?
The hanger violently shook, my body being tossed around like a salad was a testament to this. Cries, shouts and commands flew at rapid pace, both from command and those left after the gangway massacre. "This is engine room! The plasma shield has taken massive damages! What's going on out there!? At this rate, we'll lose the auxiliary generator as well!" Someone shouted through our COMS.
"I have pinpointed the cause using the external cameras, sending visual immediately!" The screen on my forearm lit up, video footage appearing shortly later, Moh Shuvuu looming over my shoulder to watch what the hell was going on. "Our ship is in risk of suffering immense damage. In light of recent events, I suggest we make use of the 'friendly' demons on board. Lest all of us end up on the chopping block next."
Just outside, a menacing giant raised its fist in the air. Bone chilling terror seeping its way into my body as the world itself felt far more massive than I thought it had been. It towered over the largest buildings. To the point where, humanity looked like a mere ant to this creature. "Wendigo…" The girl next to me whispered close enough for me to hear. It was the same name that the demon in front of the other group mentioned. Supposedly as an alternative. But now, it felt more like a reality
A bleak reality where everyone was dead, but a reality nevertheless. And one where I didn't want to live.
[A/N: I did an oopsie with the forge roll stuff. Gave the mc 200 per failed roll instead of 100, I apologize. But rejoice, I have returned to write this fic. Motivation is brimming. But, I'll have to also leave it so soon. I'm going to continue writing Firekeeper so that I can finish its first arc. Copy and paste below.
Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.
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My eyes shot open, lungs deeply heaving a breath, taking in as much oxygen as they could. Exhaustion mounted on my shoulders as though it were a mountain, and pain ran without contest throughout my body, stricken with what seemed to be paralysis. Then, just to make things worse, my head buzzed with the full might of a million cicada, numbing all the barely audible gunshots to the point where they sounded like pop rocks in my mouth.
I couldn't process any of it. From my surroundings to the new happenings wreaking havoc without a care in the world. Shaking my head, my eye lid twitched violently, images flashing on my Demonica's helmet with no rhyme or reason. Deranged scribbles outlining Moh Shuvuu's figure, coating her in a red aura.
Quickly enough, a displayed popped up right next to her. Though, it did very little to help, only showing a variety of symbols and scrambled letters. Likely a type of cipher, but not one I was familiar with. Pushing those thoughts aside, I refocused my efforts on recuperating. Regulating my breathing and closing my eyes, a warm shock passed throughout my face, the pain easing bit by bit as I regained control over my body.
Observing my surroundings, it was clear that my fellow men didn't particularly like the demon that I had recruited, as they fired shot after shot trying to take it down, even though there was a bigger threat in the form of a red meatball-.
Which was nowhere to be found. It seemed as though they completely forgot about the demon attacking them and decided to open fire on my "demon". Cracking my neck, several pops echoed from my spine, relief wafting over my being as I carefully stood up, leg still shaky.
Shakily letting go of a breath, a deep grunt left my throat, the substantial effort it took to stand hitting me like a semi-truck. It was a monumental effort, like working on a new muscle or forgetting how to use it in the first place. A grimace contorting my face, confusing rife in my mind, a familiar yet entirely foreign sensation invading my every thought and movement.
Heaving for more air, I sucked in my gut and let it all out, using every fiber of my being to get up. Though, it didn't get much better once I did. My gun was completely dry, and my back-up knives were nowhere to be seen, worse yet, a three round burst shot near and around my hands and legs. The beat of my heart picked up, sight trailing up to find the bullet's source. But… why would it be him?
"You know, it's quite amusing to see each and every one of you act so wastefully with your limited ammunition. Some here may even find it insulting that you expend so much time and effort trying to kill a mere Moh Shuvuu." A feminine voice mocked from above us, coming from a voice that I haven't heard of before. Was it a demon? "Though I suppose you lot get some leeway. For one of her kind to have lasted so long with this many of you would take nothing short of a miracle."
My head seared with information, knowledge pouring out of my mind at a rapid pace. My eyes analyzing each and every part I could see. More specifically, what improvements I could make. But I didn't care for any of it right now. I just needed to get the hell away from the splash zone of whatever arrived here.
The weight of my legs dragged, as though one of them had weight a thousand kilos while the other wasn't much better either. Limping backward, my eyes shot from one corner of the bay to the next, swiftly spotting the exit as another shot grazed the air near me.
"If you all really wanted to die in this wretched pit, you should either just impale yourself on a spike or let that giant Wendigo eat you up. Whatever you are trying to do is useless. Especially since you're firing on your own men." Dropping to the ground with a gust of wind around her, the woman revealed herself to everyone, landing in front of Jin with her right wing blocking his barrel. "Voivre, at your service. And I would highly recommend that you cease this tomfoolery at once. Nothing you do will be enough to kill the little girl."
I paused, looking back at the scene that had unfolded. Each member of the strike team looked apprehensive, an uneasy look contorting their expressions. At the same time, the familiar winged girl returned to my si-. Something didn't feel right, as though the very air around her had shifted, the muscles in both my arms and legs tensing up.
Her skin was paler than usual, whiter than snow. The clothes on her back were still the same, yet, they were more visually striking, a contrast with her complexion. Lastly, she copiously smelled of expensive perfume, my nose wrinkling. I tried to greet her, if weakly. However, this tasked seemed far harder than it should've been. My body collapsing without so much as a warning.
Grabbing onto my arm, she hung it around her shoulder with little effort. The diminutive girl turning to me with an expressionless face before flashing a bright smile. "I survived, just like you told me to, we both did." She stated, propping me up against the bay's walls. My knees giving out, falling to the ground. "I might have had to sell away a few things, but everything is alright, there's nothing to worry about."
Her words didn't help in the slightest. Though, if it aided the little girl, then I didn't mind faking a smile or two to keep her spirits up. However, looking back at her interaction with my fellow Strike Team members, it was hard to say whether or not I could ease the friction between the two sides.
The room filled with cautious gazes, each other directed at my contracted demon, or the new arrival. Keenly observing her features, an eyebrow rose at the sight, the provocative nature of her appearance stirring up some… questionable ideas. The demon's figure was feminine, that much I could say for certain. She wore not a single strand of clothing on her body, proudly showing off her buxom figure.
And the most striking feature of which was the split color of her body. One half red, and the other white. The same could be said for her hair, except it was black and blonde respectively. An odd sight for sure, but luckily, something I didn't have to deal with myself.
Scan Complete
Demon Name: VouivreOrigin: France
Resistances: ???
Weaknesses: ???
Before I could gawk for any longer, I was drawn out of my thoughts by a fuzzy texture tightly wrapping itself around my hand, an inexplicable warmth entering my body. My eyes blinked like snapshot, each time fluttering to an image of Moh Shuvuu's unbearably cute face, a pout adorned on her lips.
"My, my. The boss is into older women, it would seem. I guess I shouldn't have gone through all the effort of saving him. Not even a word of praise and he's already looking at other demons. How shameless could you be!" She accused me, the lid of my eye twitching at the sudden change in atmosphere. What was this? The set of a cheap romcom?
Suddenly, she pulled my arm towards her, dragging my entire body along with it, my face rocketing towards her chest. "No matter, as long as you live, then I suppose nothing else matters. Isn't that right, m-m" The demon sputtered, struggling to get the words through her lips. "Master." Through much effort, she was able to get it out eventually. Her cheeks lighting up like Christmas lights. The edges of my lips tugged, my body steadying itself as I rocked back.
Maneuvering a hand behind my helmet, I removed the thing off my head, a hot cloud of air leaving along with my breath. "From the bottom of my heart, I thank you." The girl's expression didn't change. In fact, it only deepened with my words, her hands motioning for me to do more. "Without your help, I might not even still be alive. Neither words nor actions are enough to express my gratitude for you, even if I was initially doubtful of your capabilities."
After all of this, she still wanted more. The look on her face morphing to one of satisfaction, a grin stretching from end to end. My brows furrowed, while everything in the background blurred, focusing on Moh Shuvuu. If her change in appearance wasn't enough to send off any alarms, then the sort of shift in her personality would.
Whatever happened while I was knocked-out must have been desperate enough to where someone had to pull off something to kill that red mass of tentacles from earlier. And I could only guess that it wasn't good in any sense. Snapping out of my thoughts, I looked back towards the girl and showed her a dopey smile, scratching the back of my neck as I kept an ear out for the conversation that was happening right in front of us. It seemed like I wasn't the only one getting a demon today.
…
The echoes of shattered glass bounced throughout the room, as the world stilled. It was only for the briefest of moments. But to Jin? It might as well have been a lifetime. Spilling from the ceiling, a dark liquid tainted the gangway's floor, chills running down all of whom were present, as a single black spike impaled the supposed "Legion" right down the middle.
What little plan they had fallen to the wayside. Half of them twisting and turning their head to look at what could have possibly caused this, their eyes closing in on a prostrated little girl wearing what looked to be winter clothing. A portion of the Strike Team's guns trained on her while the others continued to open fire on the main threat ahead of them.
"Look! That octopus bastard's gobbling up the nearby corpses!" Ash shouted, attempting to shoot of one of the monster's tentacles. "The demon is hostile to anything that tries to get near it!"
"I just finished my second scan!" Another from the sides shouted, his voice barely discernable in the loud cries of gunfire. "Bullets! They won't work on him. We have to hit it with something else!" Nobody spoke up, either too busy dodging the tentacles, or watching their hind.
The situation wasn't good, but they had to do something, anything. The hanger's doors were still open, and with the demon blocking it, they all had to face the threat head on. Gritting his teeth, a grimace eclipsed Jin's face. A click ringing out of his mouth as his hand glided over his knife, removing the strap that kept it in place.
Seeds of Potential (Exalted - The Infernals) (400CP) Insufficient Funds, Adding to Balance.
With a melee weapon in one hand, and his assault rifle in the other, the Japanese man rushed in without a care. Vaulting over one red blob after another, all the while being careful not to enter someone's line of fire. It was a dangerous job, but all plans had a risk, this one just so happened to have more than usual. His heart boomed in his ears, his breath growing heavier with each passing second as he entered within range.
Instantly, a gash appeared on his body, blood spurting out as a streak of red appeared across his chest, the sudden attack just barely grazing him. Desperation manifested within his mind, sliding into the underbelly of the beast as Jin dug his knife into one of the many crevices populating the biblical creature, dragging it along his length, his hand gripping tightly to the weapon.
It cleaved through flesh as though it were butter, smoothly gliding with a concerning amount of ease. He couldn't believe it for a moment, but as soon as the flesh began regenerating, Jin knew this wasn't going to be enough to kill it. The legion's arms shot out for him once more at lightning-fast speeds.
The man was too close to dodge, and far too slow to perform anything beyond lifting his leg. Raising his knife-hand up, he deflected a single strike to veer off target, while three blows landed all throughout his body, shattering whatever laid there due to the immense force. The air in his lungs let loose, leaving his breath as his Demonica took the brunt of the damage, bits and pieces of tech falling off his suit as he slammed against the bay's walls. Just narrowly missing an attack aimed for his head, the angle which he had landed in saving him from certain death.
For only a second that was. Scrambling to his feet, Jin forced himself to move with much effort, the cries and screams of his comrades echoing loud and clear even through the helmet's dampening. A grimace etched itself onto his face as his fists clenched, the suit's systems finishing a diagnostic scan of his body.
Warning Critical Damage Taken
7x Rib Fractures
1x Dislocated Shoulder
2x Hip fractures
7x Rib Fractures
1x Dislocated Shoulder
2x Hip fractures
Flickering in his face, the display flashed a dangerous red, his breathing deepening with each step. Sharpening his eyes on the Legion, he watched from the sidelines as his allies threw themselves at the demon, getting somewhat similar results to him, but ending up not as fortunate. Their mangled bodies flying through the air before quickly being absorbed into the mass of tentacles and faces.
""Thine death is imminent. Surrender thyself to me, thine new overlord."" It proclaimed, each of the faces on its body moving, their cheeks spreading and their lips parting, giving the world a glimpse of their decrepit smile. Disgusting, all of them. Gritting his teeth, Jin tossed his grenade in the direction of the gargantuan behemoth, entering the fray shortly after.
Running head first wasn't without its flaws. The onslaught of various attacks rushing at him all at once was a testament to this. Fortunately, his brothers in arms were able to displace the tendrils just enough for the Japanese man to pass through with little issue, entering a similar situation as he did before, his knife hand shakily rising as he dragged it along the side. Putting his all into this one attack.
Suddenly, another spike sprouted from the roof, flowing like a vine around his surroundings. As the voice of a young girl entered his ears, an insurmountable weight pressed against his back, violently shaking his spine. "Spill forth from the chalice. Raze the lands and corrupt all that is within your grasp."
None of this mattered in Jin's eyes. The chances of him surviving the operation were slim. And though he had yet to accept the fact, he couldn't ignore it for long, especially now when it stared him in the face. Running the edge of his short blade along the succulent flesh of his foe, a cacophony of guttural roars boomed from its mouth, spurting the xeno-creature's blood all over the floor.
"Wine of Earthly Pleasures, heed my call." The entire room shook, the gangway's doors closing. "Feast upon mine sacrifice, and recreate…" It paused, the man's head turning to look at where the sound had come from, completely oblivious to the tar-like substance dripping onto the Legion. "The birth of man."
From the wounds he had inflicted, where once blood seeped, now drew a viscous black liquid, hardening into a crystalized form in little more than a second's time. Taking a step back, his body stilled, as though it were frozen in place, her left arm hanging limp as he could do nothing but stare. The near invincible monster that stood with the might of a natural disaster, fell. Like a grotesque action figure.
Crimson turned to tar, elongating lengthwise as the Legion cried out louder and louder, its wails going unheard as everyone stared in awe. A fine display of brutality, or more aptly, torture. It was excruciatingly sluggish, dragging out with time as the monster's mass bulged, welching and keeping in place.
The spike soon touched the ground, and stopped in its tracks, letting the demon hang impaled, all the while it bled to death. Gradually, a portion of the dark substance liquidized, picking up properties similar to that of mercury. Taking yet another step backward, Jin's world was suddenly encapsulated by darkness. All the light had dimmed, almost like he was transported to a different world entirely.
Warning!
This Environment is Completely Inhospitable for Human Life
Raising Oxygen Filter Output
…
…
Error!
Oxygen Canister is at Less than 20% Capacity
Manufacturer Protocol Suggests that the User Replaces His Canister at the nearest Station.
Would you like to Override these Restrictions?
{Yes} {No}
This Environment is Completely Inhospitable for Human Life
Raising Oxygen Filter Output
…
…
Error!
Oxygen Canister is at Less than 20% Capacity
Manufacturer Protocol Suggests that the User Replaces His Canister at the nearest Station.
Would you like to Override these Restrictions?
{Yes} {No}
'Damn it. How much longer do I have left?' He internally cursed, his fingers rapidly tapping the panel on his hanging forearm. A multitude of screens flashed on his HUD, blinding him with light as he tried his best to calm down. But, what could he do? He was separated from his group via forces entirely beyond him… He needed to leave as soon as possible, at whatever cost.
Remaining Time: 10:15… 14… 13…12
Jin's breath hitched, halting in its tracks, stuck in the middle of his throat. He couldn't waste the precious moments he had now. Crouching to the ground, he brushed his hands all over the void beneath him, surmising that there was at least some level of room on the platform his feet stood on. Moving just a tad further, the man was more relieved when it stretched out the length of his body.
Slowly, he was discovering more and more about the space he was confined to, but not one step closer to escaping. With his nerves at the verge of sputtering into mania, he walked a few steps forward, finding some solid footing to stand on as he breathed a sigh of relief. He was safe so far, so why shouldn't he take a few more?
That thought came back to bite him in the ass. As the next step he took, the supposed ground beneath his feet disappeared, his body falling deeper into the pitch-black abyss. There was no escape now. Jin was going to lose everything, and the only reason for this was because he was too panicked.
Repeatedly cursing, his breathing hastened, far more than it should have as the time blinking at the bottom right of his screen blared hot red, the count decreasing substantially with each inhale. This was really it, there was no escape, and what better time to accept his own death than now?
"And when you're so close as well? Such a shame." A voice rang in his mind, snapping the man out of the mental mess he was in. "It would be a shame, really. I bet everything on you, and for nothing to come of it? Well, we would have more than a few problems there, mister."
Jin's brow arched, his mind attempting to dispel whatever illusions he had. Only for a blonde woman to appear before him, floating in the exact same space he was. Drifting ever closer, inch by tantalizing inch. "My dear, that just isn't enough. This is too early for you to meet your end. Had there not been an unknown factor, you wouldn't have met your end here. Instead, you would be living the rest of your days merrily relaxing in the sun, having saved the world from the demonic threat.
Ideas bounced in his head, wondering what the hell was going on. "Look, I'm going to do you a solid. A bit of help comes a long way, so how about this. I help you," She tapped his chest, pangs of pain rippling forth. "And you help me, you got that?"
The offer left much to be desired, but what else was he supposed to do? Clicking his mouth, he thought about the accord for a moment longer, shaking his head in disbelief. What else was he to do? Die when there was a clear exit out? "A deal with the devil shouldn't ever be accepted. That's what people will tell you. But, there's a reason why they are so enticing. You want to know why?"
The timer broke past a minute as the woman held out her hand. Without any other option, Jin replied. "Sure, humor me."
A grin stretched on her lips, a feeling of unease wafting over the Japanese man's body. Her features, now fully revealed, were uncanny to say the least. If there was a time to use a word such as this, it wouldn't be too far from the truth. The woman before him was perfect, too perfect. "Because the devil likes to strike when people are at their lowest. You may try to cheat the devil. Or maybe even cheat the game for others. But in the end, the big scary man always gets what he wants. Say, do I look big and scary? I don't even have horns for crying out loud."
The man couldn't fault her logic, and with circumstances being as dire as they were, he took a leap of faith. A leap of faith into a show of blinding lights, taking the hand of the devil without horns. He would live, return to the life he was promised, but would it truly be a life of his own? Thoughts such as this sprouted from deep within his mind, teeth gritting as the clock ticked its final ten seconds.
"Wonderful. You will be sent back from whence you came, Jin." She assured him, an image of the woman etched into his memory. "A few added benefits never hurt anybody, more so for a man in your position. Worry not, for I will come to collect mine payment in due time. For now, I bid you adieu."
No more words were shared as he returned to the gangway, standing in the space he once did. The timer no longer beat, and he was on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. He didn't have any words for what happened. Pure shock at the actions that had occurred before him.
And he came just in time too. For a splash of black sludge to impact his helmet, blocking a majority of his peripheral vision and coating a majority of his suit. Evidence of the Legion's death plastered all over his body, his eyes shooting back to the little girl he had seen crouched from before. Only now, she was standing up right, a pair of snow-white wings appearing on her back as she zipped from one corner of the room to another, dodging any gun fire that came her way.
Clicking his mouth, he ran towards his comrades, waving his one good arm in the air for them to standdown. Then his eyes caught a glimpse of something from above them. A woman who eyed them like a bat. Whatever or whoever she was, Jin felt it within his gut that nothing positive would come out of the subsequent mess that followed.
Ride the Winds of Inspiration (World of Darkness - Genius the Transgression) (200CP) Sufficient Balance, Perk Gained. Remaining bal: 200
Honestly with my luck, did I expect anything else!?
The hanger violently shook, my body being tossed around like a salad was a testament to this. Cries, shouts and commands flew at rapid pace, both from command and those left after the gangway massacre. "This is engine room! The plasma shield has taken massive damages! What's going on out there!? At this rate, we'll lose the auxiliary generator as well!" Someone shouted through our COMS.
"I have pinpointed the cause using the external cameras, sending visual immediately!" The screen on my forearm lit up, video footage appearing shortly later, Moh Shuvuu looming over my shoulder to watch what the hell was going on. "Our ship is in risk of suffering immense damage. In light of recent events, I suggest we make use of the 'friendly' demons on board. Lest all of us end up on the chopping block next."
Just outside, a menacing giant raised its fist in the air. Bone chilling terror seeping its way into my body as the world itself felt far more massive than I thought it had been. It towered over the largest buildings. To the point where, humanity looked like a mere ant to this creature. "Wendigo…" The girl next to me whispered close enough for me to hear. It was the same name that the demon in front of the other group mentioned. Supposedly as an alternative. But now, it felt more like a reality
A bleak reality where everyone was dead, but a reality nevertheless. And one where I didn't want to live.
[A/N: I did an oopsie with the forge roll stuff. Gave the mc 200 per failed roll instead of 100, I apologize. But rejoice, I have returned to write this fic. Motivation is brimming. But, I'll have to also leave it so soon. I'm going to continue writing Firekeeper so that I can finish its first arc. Copy and paste below.
Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.
Join discord server. I have one.: Join the balls Discord Server!
I also have a patreon at balls 1124 is creating stuff | Patreon. I'm not telling you to join it, but it would be nice.
With that being said, back to writing.]
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sorta? Somewhat, yeah. I have another fic that's currently shelved until I can muster up enough motivation. Use the same chant, if somewhat different. Would be a waste if I were to just discard it, so I repurposed it here.
