Point-of-View: Misen Ragiu

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Ow...I think my nose is broken...my face hurts. And I can't move my arms...am I chained? It was dark and musty in here, dimly lit by a couple of flaming torches...the walls looked uneven...we must be inside one of the many cavernous labyrinths in this area. I then winced in pain...I forgot, my left forearm was broken in half and there was a hole in my right hand. Tch, this is the worst...

"Oh, you're finally awake, dude," Rion whispered from next to me, "You good?"

Looks like all six of us were chained side by side in a row. Azeria was also awake, with a rather dark frown on her face. The rest were still unconscious, with Lusk's body fully wrapped in chains, probably to restrain his tentacles.

"No, I'm not 'good'!" I snapped irritably in a sharp whisper, "This is the worst case scenario!"

"Heh, yeah, I guess so...by the way, I've been trying to break these chains, but I'm not strong enough. And it looks like they mess up our Mana flow, I tried to melt them but I couldn't form any flames," He informed me quietly.

His brute strength is quite immense, so if he can't break these chains, none of the rest of us can. And if our Mana flow is blocked, there's nothing else we can do. Damn it, this is not looking good at all...I was snapped out of my thoughts as I heard footsteps approaching, and the man we'd fought appeared.

"Who the hell are you?" I inquired with a growl.

"Hm? You are in no position to question me, trash from the Rustlands...I am Omin Medoa, a former noble of Platinberg...until the Vampires took over, because of you scum! If I had not been away at the time, I may be dead already!" He snarled angrily.

Huh, he said that I was in no position to question him, but he answered the question anyway...

"Oh, I thought you were a Demon. So then, you're a human who was able to resist being taken over by a Demon?" Inquired Rion with a raised eyebrow.

"I have no reason to tell you anything...after all, I'm free to do I please with all of you!" He declared menacingly.

Huh, that indicates that he's working under someone and following their instructions...

"You seemed to have been expecting us, but there's no way that's possible," Chimed in Azeria with a grimace, "How did you know to ambush us when you did?"

"Ah, but it is possible! I was informed that the six of you would arrive here around the time that you did, and all I had to do in return was capture you, restrain you here, and after you regain consciousness, what happens to you all next is completely up to me! And I plan to enjoy myself...," He remarked with a sadistic gleam in his eyes.

He then walked over to the three that were still unconscious and injected them with something...a few seconds later, they woke up one by one. I see, whatever he injected them with, it nullified the sleeping gas they had inhaled.

"I'm getting a really bad feeling...," Muttered Rion nervously.

No shit, idiot. This is a really dire situation, if we don't do something soon, we'll all die, and probably painful deaths at that.

"Wh-what's going on? Where are we?" Stuttered Kusu with a confused and alarmed expression.

"This does not look good," Remarked Lusk grimly, who was unable to move at all, since his entire body was wrapped in chains in order to keep his tentacles restrained.

"Now, then, who should I play with first?" Inquired Omin, looking around at us one by one, before his eyes settled on Kusu, "Ah, you'll do nicely."

"S-stay away from me, don't touch me!" She cried in alarm, as he neared her and ran his fingers across her neck.

"Oh, worry not, I have no intention of violating you, I am not a savage," He remarked with an ominous chuckle, his words far from convincing, "However, I may make some...changes to your body. Hm, what a pitiful chest for a woman, here, let me help you, poor thing..."

As his fingers trailed down towards her chest, his third eye began glowing slightly, and suddenly, she let out a scream of anguish, her body shuddering in pain as her chest grew and mutated grotesquely.

"You fucking bastard, stop it!" Yelled Siela in fury, as blood poured down Kusu's mouth.

"Stop? Why would I do that? I'm just getting started, you foolish bitch!" He declared ecstatically, as he poked at Kusu's mutated chest, blood and pus oozing out as he did, eliciting an excruciating scream of pain from her, "Mm, what beautiful screams...how do you like my Corruption Magic?"

Suddenly, her screams faded and her body slumped forward lifelessly...

"You fucking son of a bitch, you killed her!" Screamed Siela, struggling to break free from her chains, but to no avail.

"Strange, she should have lasted longer," He remarked with a frown, before his eyes widened with realization, "...oh, of course, how careless of me...my Corruption Magic must have affected her heart too. I forgot, if I use it to mutate a vital organ, they die sooner, I should have been more careful...oh, well, practice makes perfect."

"You bastard, I'll kill y-...!" Began Siela, before trailing off with a gasp as he grabbed the top of her head with a dark glint in his eyes.

"You are far too loud," He remarked, before she let out a gurgling scream as her face and head rapidly mutated, "There, now you're little more than a mindless monster, and you'll die soon enough."

"No, this cannot be happening...," Whispered Lusk in denial and disbelief.

"Oh, but it most certainly is happening! Hm, let's play a different game now...," He suddenly suggested, looking around at us before his gaze settled on me, "You...if you beg me to spare you, I will undo your shackles, and then, if you torture and kill, let's see...ah, this one, with the orange and black hair, if you do that, I will let you go free. What do you say?"

"You're one rotten bastard," Growled Rion, his voice a rare serious tone.

So, if I beg for my life, and then torture and kill Azeria, I'll be allowed to leave...?

"Hm, considering the situation, that isn't a bad offer, so...," I responded, as the others watched me with bated breath, "...you can shove it up your ass, you scum...even I would never stoop so low as to beg for anything from a lowlife piece of filth like you."

"I see...how unfortunate and disappointing," He sighed wistfully, before walking over to me and grabbing my broken left forearm with a smirk.

A blinding pain burst throughout my arm and before I could stop myself, I was screaming in sheer agony, as my arm mutated and grew, a foul stench coming from it. I could feel that my Mana flow was no longer blocked on my left side, but I was in too much pain to care.

"You vicious cunt!" Snapped Rion, the chains straining as he struggled to break free, but they were too strong.

"Well, now, what a waste of a good arm...I was planning on saving you men for after I finished off the women...after all, you don't touch the main course until you're finished with the appetizers, right? Mm, I'll save you for last, I plan to savor defiling your body," He said to Rion with a hungry gleam in his eyes, who responded with a nervous look of disgust.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..."

"Now, then, to finish off the last woman...I shall just mutate your entire body," He declared as he walked over to Azeria.

Enough...I have had just about enough of this bastard...I let out a tortured yell of pain as I twisted my left shoulder and jerked my body across to the right while charging lightning into my left shoulder, blood bursting out as the mutated arm got torn off with a squelch.

I bit down on my lower lip fiercely to distract myself from the pain, before twisting myself across to aim my left shoulder at him, ignoring as the shackles dug into my right wrist. He began to spring back in alarm, when suddenly, a couple of tentacles shot out and grabbed hold of his ankles and one of his wrists.

"Wh-what is this!?" He exclaimed in a panicked tone.

"So long as even a hint of space exists, I can squeeze my tentacles out through that space...Instructor Ragiu, do it now!" Yelled Lusk, having forced out his tentacles through the tiny holes in the chainlinks.

I let out a fierce roar as I swung myself across and fired the lightning I'd charged up straight at him, striking his head and knocking him to the ground, as Lusk let go of him right before my attack connected. I'm in so much pain, I feel like I'm about to lose consciousness...but at least firing that lightning seared my wound and stopped the bleeding.

"Woah, that was badass, Misen," Remarked Rion with a look of awe.

Yeah, well, it doesn't change the fact that my left arm is gone now...damn it...

"How dare you...," Growled Omin, standing up with a groan.

No way...he survived that!? His face was badly scorched, his right eye blinded, but he was still alive, and his third eye was still intact, which means that he can still use Corruption Magic...this is bad. And he looks quite furious as well.

He stomped on the ground with a snarl, forming a thick, angled pillar of earth straight towards me, slamming onto my midsection and pressing me firmly against the wall behind me, preventing me from moving my body...I think that cracked several of my ribs too.

"Oh, come on, that didn't kill you!?" Exclaimed Rion in despair.

"You pieces of filth, how dare you do this to me!?" He snarled ferociously, "I will take my time with each and every one of you before I kill you!"

He then formed a box of earth around Lusk, sealing him in to prevent him from using his tentacles.

"Stay back...," Azeria growled threateningly as he approached her, but the fear in her eyes was clear...is this it for all of us...?

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Point-of-View: Azeria Folix

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"Do you really think I would stay back just because you say so? I usually do not waste my time with women, but you all have infuriated me, therefore...I will violate and defile your entire body, before killing you slowly with my Corruption Magic...!" He declared maliciously, a dark, disturbing look in his eyes.

No, stay away, don't come any closer...I've finally gotten some semblance of peace in my life, I went through this for nearly my entire childhood, I never want to go through it again...no, never again...I...I would rather die. The moment he touches me, I'll bite off my tongue and-.

'Do you desire power?'

Huh? Who said that? Wait, what's going on...it's like time was frozen...

'Do you desire power?'

Who's there!?

'I am a part of you that has been dormant for seven years...and now, I have awakened...and so I ask you again...do you desire power?'

Seven years...that's when my Anima developed...and this voice, it sounded...just like my own voice...could this be...

Yes, I do...I desire power.

'And why do you desire power?'

Isn't it obvious? I don't want to feel helpless ever again, I refuse to be at the mercy of someone else! That's why...I desire power, I want the power to crush those who would dare to try and put me at their mercy, I want to destroy them all...!

'Very well, then...'

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Point-of-View: Misen Ragiu

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Right as Omin reached for Azeria...intense black and orange flames suddenly burst out, he let out a cry as he sprang away in alarm. What the...? Azeria stepped forward, as the chains all around her melted and dropped to the ground.

Wait, is that really her? Her right side was covered in black fur, while her left side was covered in orange fur, her limbs looked stronger and more flexible, and her nose and jaws had extended forward into a snout...she looked more like a fox than human now...is this the True Anima form...?

"You bitch...!" Snarled Omin, zipping forwards towards her and grabbing the top of her head, a wide smirk bursting out on his face as he did, "I do not know what you are, but whatever it is, you are dead now!"

"Huh? You only grabbed my head because I let you," She responded coldly, as he suddenly let out a scream and stumbled back, his hand melting and falling off before he could activate his Corruption Magic.

She was covered in a thin, barely noticeable yet highly intense layer of flames...it was especially hard to notice since the hue of the flames matched the color of her fur, but there was no mistake, the air around her was shimmering violently...her clothes were slowly getting burnt as well, she had fireproofed leather armor on, but it couldn't fully stand up to the intensity of the flames around her.

"I...I'll kill you, you filthy bitch, I sw-!" He screamed, clutching his wrist in agony.

"I've heard enough from you," She interrupted with a dark, furious yet calm look in her eyes, "Now, die...Lava Flood!"

She planted her palms on the ground, and in the next split second, the ground rapidly melted and burst forward towards Omin, giving him no way of dodging. His screams didn't even last a second, as the wave of lava washed over him and flowed forward, melting through the walls of rock ahead of us and bursting out into the open, sunlight streaming in as the lava subsided and hardened...

There were several bandits outside, looking taken aback by the sudden wave of lava. A few of them showed signs of aggression, and the instant they did...Azeria took a deep breath...and blasted out an enormous mass of black and orange flames from her mouth, the heat was so intense that even from behind her, it felt like I was being roasted alive..

By the time she ceased her attack, the part of the cavern ahead of us was glowing bright red, the air above it shimmering like a mirage, and beyond that, were several corpses, burnt black by her flames.

"Okay, I think they're all dead now," Remarked Azeria, before walking back towards us and melting the shackles binding us.

"I thought we were going to die," Lusk let out a sigh of relief, before grimacing with a glossy look in his eyes as he glanced at the corpses of Kusu and Siela.

"Man, that was rough...but since they're all dead now, thanks to Azzy, I guess technically speaking...it was a success, Quest complete?" Said Rion tentatively, sounding half-hearted.

Siela and Kusu are dead, my left arm was gone for good...yeah, somehow, I didn't really feel like calling this a success...

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