What emerged from the wooden egg was indeed startling. What was once a Switch, was now a .

Before, the Switch was mostly covered by her clothing and hood. What could be seen were the runic tattoos that covered her skin and face. Now those tattoos had faded away replaced by receding roots that grew on her skin. Her hair fell freely as she no longer had a hood, it was long, reaching the floor and looked like willow branches full of leaves. Her skin was pale brown that had a pastel green hue around the edges, no matter which angle you looked at her from it was always at the edge.

Her torso was covered in a skin tight bark like birch trees that left her shoulders bare and cleavage exposed. Below was a skirt of wicker and ivy that draped down to the ground and was cut to expose her a leg as she walked.

As soon as she exited and was fully exposed, her willow hair began to bud. In a matter of seconds, the white buds grew bigger and larger. Once they bloomed, small specks of light emerged from the petals. These golden lights also grew very quickly, becoming larger and more distinct. Once they fully formed, it was distinctly noticeable that they were fairies.

The presented herself in front of Jude with fairies happily flying and dancing around her. The only thing that Jude could find of the old Switch was the cold and logical look in her eyes and the proud baring of her walk.

What surprised Jude next was that this incredible being and beautiful life form then kneeled to him.

“Thank you for saving my life,” she said with a new silky smooth voice. “If it weren't for you, I would have died, so I hereby pledge my life to you.”

Before Jude could ask what was going on, he got a notification.

An unnamed Feydrent is requesting to be your companion. Do you accept?

“Sure, but what does this mean?” Jude asked and another box popped up with an answer.

Companions are pacts made between sentient races and semi-sentient beings. Semi-sentient beings are often classified as Elite Monsters, Switchs, Dungeon Bosses and the like. Semi-sentient’s choose whether nor not they will become companions of others. Once they do become companions, they are under the authority of the one they made the pact with and may leave their typically restricted space.

“Wow, this was rather unexpected,” Jude mused.

“How so?” the former Switch asked. “Lord Merek never earned the right to be with me, but you have gone far beyond what most would have done.”

Jude had more questions but was interrupted by the thunder from the dark clouds above. The thunder was so loud that even the sturdy node rattled and caused leaves from above. Along with the thunder came a black rain. Everywhere it landed, it sizzled like acid.

Fall of Longdale

Longdale has fallen with the rise of a new demon invasion. As the black rain falls, it corrupts the ground, animal, and man alike. Those with a weak will can succumb to the temptation of power and transform into one of the demon kind. Those with a strong will, flee! Those with courage, fight back!

New area quest!

Defeat the demon invasion and rise of the Demon Lord.

Rewards vary depending accomplishments.

Jude smiled, “I guess now is not the time for questions. We have a demon army to destroy. But first, let's give you a proper name.”

The cold look in her eyes sparkled for just a moment as she said, “I would like that.”

“How about Anthea?” Jude asked.

***

On top of the mound that used to be the citadel, Merek waited by the dark monolith. Across the town, the were slowly gathering from the different locations they had been set up to corrupt the Town Stone. Has he waited, the anguished voice of his wife could be heard.

Bloody and limping, she finally found the man she was looking for but did not expect to find him unharmed and unperturbed.

“What has happened?” She asked disparity.

“Oh,” Merek feigned surprise, “you actually survived Swanna?”

“Merek, what is wrong, why are you acting so cold?” Swanna asked.

Merek laughed, “Merek died years ago. I took his place because I needed to and I thought it would be interesting to be a lord. Who knew it would be so boring.”

Guudnash emerged from the shadows, “You’re not Merek, are you?” He was surprised as well.

Merek turned to Guudnash, “What I told you before was not entirely false. All that I’ve done was because I was bored, but there is more to it than that. Did you think that a could be made from a human? Ha ha, what a joke!”

Merek’s hand rose up to his face, he grasped it and pulled off the skin. Underneath the blood and hair, there was a bone white demon head. The head was bald, and the two horns were broken so they would not stick out of his disguise. He continued to pull the skin and slowly as if undressing, and then the imposing demon appeared.

From head to toe, he was bone white, the shadows under the bulging muscles were darker than they should have been. Like other demons, not a hair grew on him, and the stubs of two cut horns lay on either side of his head.

“Only a can become a .” Merek smiled as he decided to tell them the whole story. “My existence on this plane was created in the time of Grimwar. It was I who convinced the Lord of Grimwar to turn corrupt and eat away at the souls of his people. His rise in power was the mere byproduct of the true purpose of his actions. The real purpose was to forge a body that I could inhabit in this Universe.

“Unfortunately, Murl had to come to this at just the wrong time. His interference with Grimwar caused my maturation to be extended 400 years! If my brother had not come, it would have been even longer. But thanks to that Shadow, I have yet another chance.”

“NO!” Swanna finally screamed in despair. The loss of her husband was hard to bear but to see his image peeled off like a discarded suit put her into a place of shock. Only now did she utter the grief with tears and words.

The white demon laughed as he watched the woman, he enjoyed her suffer.

At this point the had all gathered, there were about 200 of them. They arrayed themselves around the monolith in a particular pattern for the next ritual. When they were all in position, they began to transform. Some turned into with stocky bodies, others into with lithe bodies and leather wings, few turned into who were like the first only taller, lesser still transformed into and four tuned into .

These demons formed from were all lower levels, ranging from 10 to 20. But it didn’t matter, with the power of the monolith, the could raise their levels and even their demonic species up higher. The had a chance to become or even while had an opportunity to become . The same was true for the rest. However, all this would take time.

The demons all around began to chant. The black mist spued forth from the monolith and grew thicker until it was a pillar of cloud. Dark lightning raged from the monolith up into the heavens.

Time passed as the chanting grew steadier and louder. The monolith was showing signs of change. The words written in blood swirled together like a whirlpool on its flat surface. The whirlpool slowly sank into the stone as if it was creating a doorway through it.

When the process finally ended, the black rain began to fall. Corruption was spreading everywhere, and new were about to rise. The massive monolith now looked like a gate with its door being a pond of blood.

“,” the white announced. “From here we can absorb the power of this world and upgrade our fleshly bodies. I will be first, as it will make me into the . Only with a can its real power be unleashed.”

The demon once known as Merek walked forward into the gate. Without pausing, he walked through the blood pool and disappeared. Moments later he walked out from the other side. Only now, he was four meters tall and wore full plate armor made from shadows and trimmed with gold. The once cut horns were fully regrown and curled like a ram's.

The , however, turned dim and the blood looked almost black. The new would have to wait for the gate to recharge before upgrading the next batch of demons. But for now, he ignored it.

“I am Lerhadar! of this ! You, my servants, will rise this day to conquer all the lands in my name! In return, I will make you gods among men, and your power will shake the earth and tumble the heavens!”

The demons all around cheered at their new . Swanna from the fright and blood lost released her last breath. And Guudnash pondered the meaning behind the words.

***

Jude rushed across the Allur Forest to where Heroic Retribution was currently camping. Anthea stayed behind at the node as she had yet to integrate with her new environment entirely. That was probably due to Jude rushing the process, but he hoped that it wouldn’t take long.

The black rain had started out as a drizzle but was now getting heavier. This storm worried Jude. He hoped that his mercenary company would be ok and not succumb to the temptation of the demons. Making his way through the vast forest was not easy, raining only made it harder. Thankfully, besides being black and sizzling the ground, it was like regular rain. Although, because it was black, it also shortened how far he could see.

Using he could see even more of the nature of this rain. Every time a drop landed down, the dark energy would try to enter what it landed on. So far the Allur Forest was resisting the effects of the rain, but when the dark energy failed, it would self-destruct. The self-destruct caused the sizzling effect that was visible to the eyes. It was evident to Jude that this wasn’t an acid reaction, but the reaction of the dark energy self-exploding. Each drop had little power, but when you combined the whole rain, things started to look bad.

The drops that landed on Jude seemed to be scared of him. The dark energy would flee but unfortunately left the water behind. He was drenched. But it didn’t matter; there were more important things to take care of.

Time passed and Jude neared his destination.

Jude pulled out half a wooden knob. It was part of the same one he created when he formed the secret area for him and Heroic Retribution to gain levels. Jude remembered back to the first time they went in there. He had madly soloed the entire area until he got all his other jobs up to level 20. At the same time securing the campground for Heroic Retribution.

The three days he had spent there with Heroic Retribution, and Ellie had solidified his desire to keep them safe. But now he was about to bring them out into danger.

Jude’s conflicted emotions were wiped away when he finally pulled through the fog that hid the secret leveling area. Before him stood all of Heroic Retribution. They were in formation by group, stacked into neat rows. In front of the ranks stood Ellie, Krinn, and Wen like commanders ready to set out to battle.

They had seen the strange occurrences and the black rain. So they prepared and were ready for when Jude came. Ready to respond to the call!