A waterfall of dark, silky hair framed the inexpressibly beautiful face, falling in luxurious waves over her fragile shoulders and voluptuous breasts, not so much hiding as revealing everything attractive to a shameless stare. Hair reached the aspen waist and silky waves flowed further down and past her thighs, down the slender legs to the toes of her small feet. She was so adorable that it caught me breathless. A blast of adrenaline struck my nerves; waves of heat and cold splashed over my body... Stepping forth gracefully, she slowly moved in my direction. I began to rise, stepping towards her, as if in a dream, and...

The insidious charm of the moment was destroyed by vigilant Tinnie.

With a furious squeak, taking off from my shoulder, she hit me in the eye with her heel with all the strength she had — a technique she had perfected on the Head-Eyes. Crying out in pain, I recoiled. When I looked again in front of myself, intending to yell at Tinnie, I suddenly realized that my obsession with the fair maiden had vanished. Completely. Instead of the unearthly beautiful creature appeared something much different and not so beautiful. It was still a completely naked woman, and even though her hair remained the black and silky and figure perfect, her skin was now covered with crimson-red scales. Twisted, blue-black horns grew sprouted out of her skull and her feet turned into hooves; wrapped around the goat-like legs was a long tail.

Keeper of the Heart, Succubus

Level 20

HP: 6,666

Creature of Chaos

She beckoned me forth with a finger adorned with a sharp, black claw. She then smiled at me, parting her full, beautifully contoured lips, revealing a row of small, sharp fangs. For some reason, this unpretentious pantomime made me shiver internally. Thanks to Tinnie’s timely intervention, the Succubus’s attempt to bewitch me didn’t succeed. Her appearance no longer inspired unrestrained desire, but unconscious horror, which made the muscles convulse with shudders.

A wave of air hit my back; the shoots had begun to move. Picking up my bag and sword, I stepped into the hall, not waiting to be forcibly rushed in. Fury followed me with a soft leap. The Succubus smiled promisingly again. I unwittingly smiled back, feverishly remembering everything I knew about those creatures of dark and chaos.

She was in no hurry to attack and didn’t even demonstrate aggression. She stood beside her beloved Heart, swaying her hips “seductively”, and waiting for something. The Heart flashed, erasing the outlines of her body with a bright light, and then faded. Twilight embraced the Keeper’s figure; the reddish light in her narrow eyes flared up and faded in unison with the beating of the Heart. Her uncertainty was betrayed only by the tip of her tail, which nervously patted the hooves. Unless, of course, I had incorrectly interpreted the gesture. Different race, different body language; I could’ve been wrong. Why is she hesitating? Why would she be afraid of me? Maybe she’s confused by Fury and Tinnie? Are they unusual opponents for her? Maybe it’s unusual for her to see only one player going against the final boss?

Something cracked between my teeth. The pipe! Lost in thought, I had bitten it so hard that I was about to break it in half. Without taking my eyes off the Keeper, I took the pipe out of my mouth. I couldn’t put it in my backpack; I needed to knock tobacco out first so that I don’t end up burning everything in it...

The Keeper’s gaze moved from my face to Silent Girlfriend, as if hypnotized. Why is she attracted to it?

Let’s check it out.

Trying not to make any rash movements, I put the pipe and the backpack down. They would only hinder me during the fight. Her gaze moved lower. Instead of guessing about why she liked the pipe, I wanted to focus on the Keeper herself while I still had the chance.

Succubi were demons of sleep; supernatural beings from beyond the Edge, from the inhuman world, which skillfully used their victim’s unconscious state to control their will, impose unusual desires, and enslave their soul. Not so much warriors, as treacherous temptresses, they gained people’s trust, playing the friendship and intimate attraction card. What was she capable of? Tempting me hadn’t succeeded. Tinnie, not sensitive to mind-affecting magic, protected me from it. The first round was mine. However, that meant nothing. Trying to seduce for this creature was the same as breathing for me. What else? I vaguely remembered something about darkness which the Keeper could use, blinding the enemy. One should also be wary of a kiss, otherwise something bad might happen. Imagining that toothy getting close to your lips... Brrrr! No, better to stay a virgin than to know such dubious “happiness”. As she was the “final boss” there was a possibility that she could call her Demon minions to help her during the battle.

Hell, my brain was refusing to draw any definite conclusions. Fatigue made the gears spin sluggishly in my mind, and my concentration was everything but present. All we could do was fight for our lives. The longer I hesitated before attacking, the worse it could turn out for me.

Wait a second...

The Heart’s HP was ten times smaller than that of the Keeper. All one needed to do was strike the Heart right away. Soulcatcher... Taking into account the link between the ability and weapon damage and level 14 Flame, I could drain about 1,500 HP with Soulcatcher’s rank 3. That wouldn’t be enough to defeat the Keeper, but it would be more than enough to take care of the Heart. But there had to be some catch. Such a problem couldn’t possibly be solved so simply. Will I get a second chance if I make a mistake and the spell fails? Cooldown is a minute, I might not last that long; exhaustion could knock me out before the Keeper does.

Damn, her level twenty confused me too much! Could I even scratch her, let alone win? Her 6,666 HP was a monstrous amount compared to my 700 HP...

Well, one can’t know until one checks. I any case, the time for thinking was over.

Resolutely shaking my head and driving away the doubts, I stepped forward, distracting her from looking at the artifact. Catching my stare, her eyes flashed red. My consciousness blurred only for a second, but then everything returned to normal. Tinnie mockingly squeaked something near my ear; she could somehow nullify the Keeper’s attempts to bewitch me.

“Maybe we could talk it out?” My own voice, hoarse and cracking, seemed foreign. “I just want to get out of here. I don’t need your Heart.”

It sounded ambiguous as neither of us knew if I was referring to her heart or the lair’s, but I saw from the glint in her eye that she had understood me. She hissed quietly and a forked, flexible tongue flashed between her fangs. Regret seemed to have appeared on her demonic face for a moment. So, no talking it over, huh? Not like I expected that to work anyway; she was the lair’s slave, she couldn’t do otherwise. Protecting the Heart and exterminating outsiders were the only things she knew. But still, I felt sorry for her, since she, unlike the Demons and Imps, seemed much more reasonable.

A mental order sent Fury moving slightly to the right, along the hall’s wall. As soon as the Keeper’s attention shifted to the new threat, and she took a step toward the Direcat, I rushed headlong into the attack. It was either sink or swim. Ranged spells were left in the reserve as I would have to fight back somehow if my hastily designed plan goes down the drain. Slipping past the Keeper, I turned abruptly and, holding it with both hands, brought the blade down on the Heart, putting both Searing Flash and all the strength that was available into one blow. I was all in.

The recoil almost killed me.

The blade bounced off the Heart’s surface like a ping-pong ball off a table. The blow forced my head back and made me stumble backwards to keep balance. The blunt rear edge of the blade crushed my nose bridge and slit aslant my forehead, all the way to the bone. I felt the pain all the way to my toes. Blood gushed from the wound and obscured my vision, but a part of my consciousness somehow managed to catch a glimpse of the log.

[Wisecracker] attacks [Keeper of the Heart].

0 Physical damage.

203 damage absorbed!

[Wisecracker] attacks [Keeper of the Heart].

0 damage of Fire damage.

247 damage absorbed!

Damn it, while the Keeper was alive, absolute protection was cast on the Heart! I had only one attempt to correct the situation... I shook my head, spraying a fan of blood drops. I had to give an order even though I couldn’t see my target.

“Burst Attack!”

Interrupting her diversion maneuver, Fury turned around and threw herself into battle with a roar, providing me with the precious seconds needed to come to my senses. But the Keeper was faster. Demonstrating what her level 20 was capable of, she let out a furious scream that rang in my ears and numbed my body. I was Stunned. Her long tail, flashed through the air at breakneck speed. It was impossible to rebound or avoid it. My legs crackled, and I was thrown at the wall like a ragdoll.

A moment of oblivion snatched me away from the fight.

As soon as my consciousness returned, slowly, as if after a heavy hangover, I found myself lying on the ground. Not waiting to fully recover, I immediately started fumbling around, trying to find my sword. The Keeper slowly walked toward me, gently swaying her hips and tail. Anger and contempt burned in her eyes, as well as the desire to finish off the uninvited guest and consume his soul. The sound of hooves was getting clearer, but my mind was still swimming in contusion, and I couldn’t figure out what to do next... Where was Fury...? Why was she not fighting...?

Squealing in fear and desperation, Tinnie hovered above the Keeper’s head and applied her favorite trick — magic dust. The Keeper only frowned and Tinnie barely managed to fly away and avoid being snatched, like a sparrow in a cat’s claws. She wasn’t successful.

Synergy effect has been interrupted. Energy required.

I tried to jump up to meet the enemy face to face, even unarmed, but my left leg gave in and I sank back to the ground again. Not believing my own eyes, I stared at the mutilated shin that like it had been smashed in with a crowbar. A tangled mess of bone and flesh peered from under the tattered and blooded leggings; a fragment of my leg bone protruded from it.

Where the hell is Fury...?

I finally caught sight of her. Staggering and limping, the Direcat emerged from behind the Heart. She was breathing heavily, and squinting in pain. She was also having a hard time, and not even the Burst Attack helped. Her stamina was in the red and Metamorph was now impossible.

Somehow, only I could save the situation.

Without knowing what I was doing, I threw up my hand, aiming it at the approaching Keeper. But the hand froze in the backswing at the last moment.

Soulcatcher...

If the enemy is a member of the Forces of Chaos... It ignores any defense.

Which means...

Holy Mother of God! I’ve hit the jackpot!

Flying past the Keeper, the ghostly dagger went straight to the Heart. Breaking through the shell without the slightest resistance, it plunged into it until the hilt. Sensing that something was wrong, the Keeper turned sharply. She gasped at the sight of the ghostly thread, through which vital energy flowed from the Heart and into her enemy. With the same jerk, her fiery anger glanced back at me and her fearsome tail set in motion again. Breathing heavily, I threw up my hand again... The flame died away almost immediately. Flamespear misfired; my HP was running out and, despite Soulcatcher’s help, purple murk appeared before my eyes. Too slow. The Heart was reluctant to part with its HP and thus gave far less than I expected. I instinctively curled up, anticipating the inevitable blow, and hoping that I would have time to roll away...

I think she would have finished me off with that blow if Fury hadn’t reached her at that moment. Charging forward with the power of an arbalest shot, the sting on the tip of the Direcat’s tail pierced the Keeper’s back. Hit by the Mortal Sting, she screamed shrilly, arching from the pain. Her cry grew louder; the force of the sound wave picked up and threw me against the wall. I lost my sight again...