Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

"Ack! *cough* *cough*..."

Once Evian\'s legs were back in the ground, he remained doubled over, coughing hard while his brain tried to get used to having oxygen again.

"Evian!" Ember called and ran over but she came to a stop when Evian stretched a hand out toward her,

"No, Stop!" he called not just to her but the rest of the Squad, "Run, leave. He\'s not himself and this level of damage won\'t be enough to keep him down."

Evian was feeling weak. His numerous wounds and the brief moment when he could not breathe had sapped his stamina more than ever but he had the presence of mind to still raise his head toward his Spear still stuck in the Baron\'s arm.

Angus\' painful yell had mellowed into groans of discomfort now and as the rest of his Squad obeyed Evian\'s warning and ran away at least to give themselves time and space to regroup, Evian reached out and grabbed his Spear, pulling it out of the Baron\'s forearm before he used Wraithic Phasing to close the distance between himself and the rest of the Squad.

"Evian," Carleine called when she saw Evian was now running by their side wincing with every step.

"Karenssa- The Baroness is behind all this. She\'s the one creating the monsters and she has enchanted the Baron to do her bidding."

"Wait, what?" Gillert said in disbelief. "Rarrrrrrrr!!!" Behind them, it appeared as though Baron Angus had decided to turn his Pain into raging strength. After he drank a potion to heal his wound enough for it not to bleed profusely, he let out a roaring battle cry, his bald head gleaming in the moonlight, and charged at the Crew.

\'We can\'t outrun him,\' Evian realized with an annoyed groan. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

"Everyone hold hands!" he called out and without a second thought, the Squad did as they were told. They remembered something similar happening in Verdelen City while they ran from the attacking Larnak forces and so when Carleine grabbed Evian\'s hand to complete the hand-holding chain, they were not surprised when a cold energy coursed through their bodies and sent them sinking into the ground.

Evian had a destination in mind. Only killing Karenssa could truly put an end to all this.

By the time he and the rest of the Squad surfaced in the Baron\'s Conference hall, those within did not even have eyes for them. The non-combatant members of the Kalkao family had their mouths open in shock as they watched Zayda lock eyes with her Beastly nemesis.

"This again?" Zayda asked, "How much longer will you rely on the same trick."

Just an hour before, Zayda defeated the very same Beast even if it managed to land a few hits. She then tried to enter through the portal to assist Evian who she believed was trapped within. Not only did she fail to get through but a massive wave of Beasts burst through. Of course, she killed as many of the Beasts as she could even though a larger majority just ignored her and scattered all around to obey the order they had been given by their creator which was the utter destruction of Kalkao City.

Karenssa believed it was time to move on and was tired of taking it slow. The souls of the weaklings of Kalkoa City would at least help with the Eldritch energy she had already lost within the dimension.

Anyway, Zayda spent the bulk of her time trying to gain entry into the Portal. She couldn\'t forcefully close it as she had done once before cause that might cut off Evian\'s last chance at exit.

Alas, through no fault of her own, the portal destabilized as though the energy that kept it running was now insufficient. It collapsed onto itself sealing Evian to an unknown fate.

Annoyed at the outcome, Zayda turned away while spreading out her senses to pick up anything that would signify Evian or Karenssa\'s return, at the same time going around hunting the Beasts that had spilled out.

And while she cut beasts down left and right, Zayda\'s spread-out senses picked up what she had hoped to sense and she made her way over to find Karenssa, naked as the last time she had seen her, sitting comfortably in the high-backed chair that belonged to the Baron while the members of the Kalkao family looked on, dumbfounded.

With her hand gripping her sword tight and her lips tight with anger, Zayda first let out her senses and when she detected Evian nearby, right through the hole in the wall behind her, she ignored the fact that the Baron was also there, his energy very aggressive and rather focused all of her attention on the Eldritch Witch,

"I\'m here to finish what I started."

"Such righteous zeal," Karenssa said with a disparaging chuckle.

Zayda, no longer interested in a drawn-out conversation, dashed toward her and Karenssa slammed her palms together to create a powerful wave of Eldritch-Spirirual Energy that slammed into Zayda keeping her in place only for a second while the Witch cast another spell that created a wave of powerful arrows that charged at the singular Knight.

With hands so fast, they were a blur to those gathered in the hall, Zayda cut down the arrows and continued to charge. She was so close to her sword at the Witch\'s neck when she realized why Karenssa still had a grin on her face...

*Whum*

... She had laid a trap for the Squad Commander. At the spot where Zayda placed her foot next, a massive spell circle appeared and exploded in a massive green ball of flame.

Zayda successfully protected herself with Spirorual energy but, caught by surprise, she was still thrown many feet back by the force of the explosion.

She frowned.

\'That energy, although weird, is still only at the Fifth Circle, and yet she can contend against me. Nah, it\'s all tricks. I\'m cutting her head off her neck right now!\'

Such was her desire and it was so powerful that it showed itself in a massive outburst of Spiritual energy but Karenssa was unbothered.

The reason was made clear when a portal appeared in front of Zayda and out of it, the Beast she had defeated twice already, stepped out.

Which brings us to the scene Evian and the rest of the Squad walked, or rather, Phased in on...

The non-combatant members of the Kalkao were already feeling dumbfounded by the altercation between Zayda and their naked Baroness but the summoning of such a fearsome Beast that the keened-eyed among them saw and felt was as ominous as the absolute horrors that had plagued their city for months, caused their jaws to drop even further.

"Same trick? Haha," Karenssa raised her face towards the hall ceiling and let out an excited cackle, "Veron is my summon from the Abyss and thus can not truly be \'killed\'. As long as I\'m alive, I\'ll always be able to summon him and he\'ll always be happy to do my bidding."

"If your life is the condition, I\'ll just have to rob you of it, won\'t I?" Zayda said confidently.

That threat did not sit well with Veron, who was already feeling frustrated at his inability to vanquish this puny foe and then revel in devouring her tiny but powerful form.

The reason why he had so much desired an escape from the cannibalistic environment of the Abyss where he had barely survived was for a chance to devour the meeker beings in the mortal realm.

Once out of the Abyss, Veron had wanted to be let loose, devouring as much prey as he could but Karenssa reeled him in. As a former member of the Arcane Church, she knew it would not be long for Veron to be hunted down so she came up with the idea of starting small.

Thanks to their contract, once Karenssa had reached a level of Spiritual/Eldritch growth similar to Veron\'s, she would not only be able to create stronger beasts, enough to make a formidable army, but she would also be able to further strengthen Veron himself so the quiet plan was quickly set.

Karenssa would go to a City of their choice, infiltrate enough to not be suspected, and then slowly let out her created Beasts. Their main choice dish was so far still the normal civilians and their flesh would strengthen the Eldritch energy within the Karenssms dimension which would in turn strengthen the Eldritch Witch all towards their grand endgame.

To Veron, the plan was boring but the successes were enough to satisfy his thirst for blood.

They were not making any notable losses.

They lost Beasts due to the resistance by local military forces but that was hardly an issue because those Beasts were expendable anyway. Mere Eldritch constructs to do the hunting Veron could not yet risk doing on his own.

No one suspected Karenssa.

The attacks were considered a random though painful stroke of fate...

... But everything changed when this Bitch forcefully closed the portal.

At that moment, Veron detected a threat to the plan, and upon receiving permission, he exited the Abyss to fight.

He lost but his hunger for battle had been roused... He had missed it.

This Bitch was on his level in terms of energy but he hoped to physically overwhelm her...

\'Next time!\' he thought confidently but that next time, again, he lost.

\'Well, Not Anymore!\'

"TODAY, BITCH, YOU DIE!!!"

"So loud," Zayda said with a pinky finger in her ear, "Come. This will be the last time you ever get to roar at me!"