Ravyn requested one final shopping day through Shulan before we made our way back to the Port of Meow. It wasn’t like I had the money to keep shopping, and according to her, even the closest mobs around Shulan would “wreck my shit.” I had no reason to doubt her advice by this point, so window shopping it was.

Keke and Cannoli remained close to me, hovering on either side like my personal entourage. Usually I wouldn’t mind the attention, but the looks they exchanged made me uncomfortable. They were best friends, and I wasn’t about to be the one to get in between them.

Though, sandwiched between them doesn’t sound like such a bad idea. Keke’s soft skin and the curve of her hips were still top of mind. Picturing Cannoli in a similar situation was a very close second. I felt the heat return to my skin and shook my head. Come on, man. Snap out of it.

“Ravyn? Ravyn!” a girl with teal-blue hair pushed through the morning crowds, her breathing rasped. “Thank the Goddess you’re here.” She clapped one hand on Ravyn’s shoulder, eyes flickering to us. “You’ve a group with you? Wonderful. We need you. Now.”

“Maya? Way to greet a friend.” Ravyn smiled and patted her hand. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s… There’s a Defiled outside the gates,” Maya panted.

Ravyn barked a laugh. “Aren’t the invincible Cailu and his merry gang of misfits still here? Have him take care of it.”

Maya vehemently shook her head. “He’s not enough.”

Unease gnawed at the back of my mind. Not enough? If that bastard and his assassin aren’t enough, what the hell can we do to help?

Ravyn glanced over her shoulder at Keke, Cannoli, and me, then echoed my thoughts aloud. “Maya, he has to be enough. These guys aren’t cut out for the big stuff yet. They’re low level, and their gear is trash.”

Ouch. She wasn’t wrong, though. My hat and I could take on little more than a rough breeze. Hell, Ball Gag was probably more stable than I was.

“Please, you have to try.” Maya retracted her arm and clasped her hands. “If you don’t…” The look she gave Ravyn was desperate and solemn. Visible tears brimmed in the corner of her eyes, and her lips pulled into a grim line. It was a look that said a lot of people were about to die.

Ravyn sighed and turned to us. “You heard her. What do you want to do?”

“She’s right. We have to try.” I shook my head. “I’m in if you guys are.”

Keke nodded. “Let’s at least assess the situation. Then we can decide.”

Cannoli shifted from one ball of her foot to the other. “M-maybe we can help. If just a little bit.”

Ravyn nodded and adjusted the enormous brim of her hat. “Well, you heard them. Lead on.”

“Thank you. Thank you oh so much.” Maya bowed over and over, her bright ringlets bouncing on her shoulders.

“Thank us by finding a nice plot to bury our bodies, hm?” Ravyn retorted.

“Squaawk! We’re all fucking dead!” Ball screeched from her shoulder.

Maya flinched. “T-this way.”

We pushed and cut our way toward the front gates through the growing crowd. Cries from onlookers became more frantic and harried as we moved.

“What will we do?”

“Is Cailu alright? I can’t see him!”

“Will he protect us?”

“There’s so many!”

This is definitely instilling confidence.

When we broke through the crowd and past the gates, I assessed the situation as quickly as I could. Though, what I saw was both overwhelming and confusing.

“Holy shit,” Ravyn breathed.

I concurred.

The attackers were a countless number of tigers. Nothing like the malformed Encroachers I’d encountered before, but tigers as I’d always known them. Beasts taller than a grown man with powerful claws, jaws, and fangs that could take my head off in one bite. Pelts of black stripes, pure white, and bright orange blurred together in the ambush.

Cailu was bent on one knee, holding his shield in a manner that protected his face and body. In fact, it was the only thing protecting his face.

He’s not wearing a helmet? Jesus Christ, the vanity on this jackass.

Naeemah twirled around him in a dangerous dance of twin blades, blood dripping from their points and painting the ground with every step she took. A second catgirl with mousy brown hair stood farther away, wielding a jewel-tipped staff taller than she was and wearing a long black dress. Waves of magic glimmered from the point of her staff to the onslaught of enemies. A glowing purple circle with rune-like symbols swirled around her feet.

Shulan guards joined the fray in [Combat Mode], spearing and slashing the stray enemies that managed to slip past Naeemah’s blade dance and the magic user’s powerful blasts. A handful of other catgirls in various outfits and Classes blocked the front gate with limited move sets and Skills. The rest stood in [Civilian Mode] and stared with wide eyes and slack jaws.

At the center of the voracious feline mob stood a woman with an ethereal air. Flowing robes of embroidered fabric swirled around her delicate ankles. Alabaster skin contrasted with ruby lips and black hair that flowed to her waist. Ebony cat ears that looked velvet to the touch poked between the ornaments in her hair, and a thin tail swayed behind the yards of translucent fabric. A gentle smile turned her lips, and her hands lay folded over her stomach.

“She’s just a normal catgirl,” I murmured. “Why is she attacking the town?”

“Because she’s a fucking Defiled, Matt. Don’t let your guard down!” Ravyn snapped.

The woman’s gaze turned on me, and her smile widened. She seemed so warm and welcoming. For a moment, the growls and snarls of the tigers were utterly forgotten, replaced by a pleasant humming. Like a heavenly choir. My feet moved forward on their own, and the tension from my shoulders seeped away. All I could see was her: that smile, those eyes, the thought of her warm embrace. I wanted so desperately for her to caress my face and tell me everything was okay…

“What did I just say?” Ravyn snarled.

“Matt!” Keke snagged my wrist and tipped my chin to meet her face. “Don’t look at her!”

I blinked. Holy shit, that thing’s terrifying. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Keke dropped her arm to ready her bow with an arrow. “Alright. What do we do?”

“She’s so powerful,” Cannoli whimpered, her hands trembling. Buttons curled around the back of her neck and rubbed his head against her cheek. “I can feel her magic from here. Don’t you guys feel it?”

“Probably not like you do.” I turned to Ravyn. “Can you take her?”

Ravyn looked across the ocean of wild cats, then back to me. She chewed her lower lip, then slowly shook her head. “The tigers, maybe. That bitch? No.” She pointed to the other caster on the field. “Watch the [Dark Priest].”

The brunette spellcaster’s dark waves shooting from her staff sailed through the air, clearly targeted for the woman at the center of the tigers. Much of the blast was intercepted by a swell of beasts blocking its path. What did make it through, though, was more concerning. The Defiled held up a steady hand, then flicked her wrist as the magic made contact with her palm. The movement effortlessly batted the blast away as if it were a pesky insect rather than a focused spell.

“That isn’t good,” Cannoli murmured our collective thoughts aloud.

“Cailu’s priest has at least twenty Levels on me,” Ravyn said.

“Shit.” Well, gotta plan alongside Cailu the Cunt, then. The tigers were goddamn everywhere. We had to clear a path to them and fast. “We need to team up with Cailu’s party. We can get to him if you guys can help me carve through the tigers.”

Ravyn rubbed her hands together. “Baka. Do you remember who you’re dealing with?”

“Burn them alive! Burn them alive!”

“We’ll be fine,” Keke assured me, loosing her arrow into an approaching tiger. “Let’s go.”

Cannoli awarded me a quick nod and hung halfway between Keke and Ravyn.

We couldn’t afford to double-check; I’d have to take them at their word. “Cannoli, start us off!” I called and closed my eyes.

“R-right!” She held her wand high and yelled, “[Blessed Light]!”

I gripped the hilt of my axe and charged my way through a slew of the temporary blind, colossal felines toward Cailu. I drew fatal lines over their throats and launched the axe blades into the soft pits of their stomachs. I used [Provoke] at every chance I had, not caring what cat I pulled next, so long as they stayed off my girls. Singed fur from Ravyn’s magics ignited from all corners, and arrows sang past my ears. Sanguine streaks painted my armor and the bare skin of my arms and legs with every cut. But I couldn’t stop moving, and I couldn’t look back.

“Cailu!” I hollered. “Cailu, get up!”

Naeemah dispatched another cat and glanced at me. For a split second, I was afraid she’d hurl one of her deadly knives straight at my chest. Instead, she nodded and thrust a foot into Cailu’s shield.

The elf glanced up and around, his stare at last falling on me. He repositioned his shield and rose to his feet.

“Matt! My friend! I’m so glad you’re here—”

“What are you doing on the ground, man? Why haven’t you killed the Defiled?” I spat.

“I would, but all of these damnable cats are holding me back!” Cailu shrugged. “Even if they are far lower in Level, there are just so many of them!”

“Why don’t you have a helmet?”

He flashed a sheepish grin.

Just as I thought. Next question, then. I pointed to the catgirl at their epicenter, careful to avoid her eyes. “Why doesn’t she look like a monster?”

Cailu patted me on the shoulder with a mild laugh. “Oh, sweet summer child. She is a fearsome monster indeed. That is a simple Enchantment; it is not her true appearance—”

“Maya! Maya, stop looking at her!” Ravyn’s cry distracted me from my conversation with Cailu. “Get away from her!”

I swerved on my heel, finding the teal-haired girl wading through the tigers. Maya’s gaze was focused on the Enchanted woman, her expression entirely serene. The tigers made a point to veer around Maya on their stampede toward the rest of us, leaving her unharmed.

“That does not bode well,” Cailu murmured.

“Maya! Wait!” Ravyn moved forward, but more felines cut off her advance. One sunk its teeth into the flesh of Ravyn’s arm. “Fuck!”

“Hang on, Ravyn! [Pinpoint Weakness]!” Keke loosed a flurry of arrows into the tiger assaulting Ravyn, but she could only reload so quickly.

Ravyn shoved the dead tiger away from her with a groan, blood dripping down her arm. She stepped back and screamed Maya’s name again.

Cannoli cast [Stabalize] on Ravyn, then looked to the rest of us for instruction.

We have to get to her. “Maya!” I added my voice to the choir. But nothing seemed to reach her.

The woman—no, the Defiled—opened her arms as if ready to greet Maya into her welcoming embrace. However, echoing the motion of her arms were three more pairs of arms, each hand wielding a different weapon. A trident, a scimitar, a dagger, a short sword, and other razor-sharp steel pieces I didn’t have names for.

“Maya!” I called and stepped forward.

Cailu caught my arm and yanked me back. “Let her go, Matt. She’s one of the weak ones.”

I stared him down, then tore my arm from his grip. “Every life is worth saving.”

He clicked his tongue, and my stomach twisted. “You’ll learn.”

I snarled and turned away from his infuriating face, cleaving through more tigers without bias. “Maya! Snap out of it!” I fought against the tide, sidestepping gruesome mauls and pointed fangs. Walls of fire seared lines into the grass, taking out more tigers but not touching their leader. No matter how many tigers I faced and felled, I barely gained a few steps closer to Maya’s location. “Maya!”

Maya leaned into the Defiled’s grasp. All eight arms enfolded Maya against her body, and they both closed their eyes.

The Defiled’s voice was no higher than a whisper, but I was certain everyone in the field could hear it as clearly as I did. It was as dangerously silky and persuasive as her gaze. “Every day, you barbarians brutally murder my sweet kittens. Please, allow me to show you the same kindness.”

Eight weapons buried themselves into Maya’s body. Eight hands rent the catgirl’s willing flesh to shreds. Maya gasped her last and fell to her knees. Her blood pooled at her feet and dripped from the Defiled’s intricate robes.

My breathing hitched, and my heart skipped.

“Maya!” Ravyn screamed.

“Ah, yes.” The Defiled licked the blood from her lips and flashed a wicked smile. “Come to me, my dearest catgirls. We will drink away your lives with fervor.”

Three more girls from Shulan stumbled forward beneath the same trance that claimed Maya. They pushed the guards aside and shuffled their way toward the Defiled.

“Fuck you! You stupid bitch!” Ravyn cried. “Ball! Go!” Ball soared high into the air, and Ravyn began to chant, “To the one who has stolen life under the guise of a mother... ”

I forced the shock of Maya’s death aside—I had to if I wanted the rest of us to stay alive. Ravyn was casting. Now was our chance. I abandoned the tigers attacking me and stumbled back to Cailu and Naeemah.

“If you were waiting on the opportunity to hit her, it’s coming in about ten seconds,” I said.

Cailu and Naeemah looked at one another, then nodded.

I turned to Keke and Cannoli. “Cannoli, can you blind them again?”

“Yes!” Cannoli replied.

“... I grant you a punishment beyond mortal understanding. From the highest heavens come forth molten light... ”

“Now!” I yelled.

“[Blessed Light]!”

“[Scorching Ring]!”

The two spells erupted in unison. Ball collided with the mass of tigers halfway between us and the Defiled, reducing the ones nearest him to ash and the rest to mangled, unrecognizable piles of burnt flesh. The rest in our immediate vicinity swerved and skid in blind confusion. Cailu and Naeemah rushed through their ranks, plowing the unsuspecting down with shield, sword, and daggers. The [Dark Priest] refocused her attacks on the tigers surrounding the pair.

“We need to stop the girls!” I called, pointing to the three other enchanted catgirls at the midway point on the field.

“Bally! Grab that one!” Ravyn pointed to the girl on the right.

Ball launched from his position and ensnared his talons in the girl’s hair. “Wake up! Wake up! Squawk!”

At first, it seemed to have no effect. Ball tugged and pulled at her scalp, screaming and cawing profanities at the top of his parrot lungs. The girl blinked, then touched her face, then went into full-on protection mode against Ball’s onslaught.

“It’s working,” I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Ball! Next one!”

There was a wild cry from the center of the battle—Cailu and Naeemah had made it to the Defiled. Naeemah struck down the tigers around them, creating a wider ring for Cailu to face the woman by himself. The multitude of weapons clang and struck Cailu’s shield with stunning choreography. The once peaceful face gaped wide to reveal sharp fangs, a malevolent smile twisting its mouth.

“I’ll kill you!” the Defiled screamed. “I’ll kill you all!”

“[Shield Bash]!” Cailu’s shield radiated with a light blue aura before he thrust it forward against all eight arms.

Wrists snapped, weapons fell to the ground, and the Defiled shrieked in pain.

Cailu threw his shield to the side and took his sword in both hands. “[Holy Blade]!” A brilliant white light encompassed the blade, extending it to the size of a greatsword. He swung the sword over the Defiled’s head and cut straight through her, meeting no resistance in his path. A choked, gurgling noise bled from her throat before the twin halves sunk awkwardly to the ground.

There was a moment where all we could hear was the panting of a hundred tigers and the protests of the girl whose hair Ball occupied. We were all covered in cuts, blemishes, and bruises. Ravyn masked the particularly gruesome bite wound on her arm with her hand.

Keke dropped to one knee, her arrows and Energy spent. “It’s over.”

The wildcats shook their heads as if awaking from a dream before roaring, turning heel, and running away from us.

“She brainwashed all of them?” I wondered aloud.

“Enchantments are terrifying,” Cannoli whispered. She moved between us, quietly casting [Stabilize] before setting to work on bandaging Ravyn’s arm.

“Maya,” Ravyn murmured.

New Notifications!

Matt has gained: 140 XP!

Matt is now: Base Level 4!

Matt is now: Warrior Level 4!

Matt has gained: 1 Stat Point!

Matt has gained: 1 Class Point!

Keke has gained: 140 XP!

Keke is now: Base Level 5!

Keke is now: Scout Level 5!

Keke has gained: 1 Stat Point!

Keke has gained: 1 Class Point!

Cannoli has gained: 140 XP!

Cannoli is now: Base Level 5!

Cannoli is now: Acolyte Level 5!

Cannoli has gained: 1 Stat Point!

Cannoli has gained: 1 Class Point!

Ravyn has gained: 70 XP!

Ravyn is now: Base Level 11!

Ravyn is now: Sorcerer Level 6!

Ravyn has gained: 1 Stat Point!

Ravyn has gained: 1 Class Point!

Now accessing system memory...

Goddess above, please

Watch my beloved children.

For they have no one.

Memory storage successful.