1.11: Am I a Badass?
I recounted everything that had happened when I joined up with my group, and the others looked as furious as Judas had been. Emily looked doubly mad and held me closely to her. I introduced them to Judas and he greeted each of my friends with the same courteousness he had shown me.
“Any friend of Lady Allexus is a friend of mine. I am pleased to make your acquaintance good Sers and Ladies.”
Bray walked up and offered Judas his hand, which Judas readily shook.
“Judas, are NPC’s allowed to join clans?”
He cocked his head in thought and nodded after a moment.
“Yes, there’s nothing in our programming that says we can’t. Why do you ask? Oh! A clan invite. Well… I will only accept if it's alright with Lady Allexus.”
I smiled and nodded at him.
“You can make your own choices, Judas. If you want to join, we’d be happy to have you.”
“Then consider it my pleasure! Thank you for allowing me this honor. I also highly approve of the clan name."
I sent him a party invite, and his name appeared on the party screen. My eyes went wide when I saw that he was level 22.
“Judas, I know you had high stats, but I had no idea you were already level 22. You’re going to make an excellent addition to our team. I know you mentioned last night about your knife expertise, but… what exactly does that entail?”
“I am an expert at using knives in combat, close range or as throwing weapons. As I haven’t been out of the castle in quite some time… I’m afraid I only have simple steel daggers and the clothes I’m currently wearing.”
Aeryn stepped forward and offered his hand to Judas. As he shook my demon retainer’s hand, he gave him a warm smile.
“As a welcome to our clan, we’d be happy to get you some gear. And we won’t take no for an answer!”
“Then lead the way, Ser Aeryn.”
After getting Judas some basic dark leather armor and a long flowing trench coat, Aeryn used a bit more of the clan’s gold to purchase a set of 10 exquisite obsidian daggers. Judas marveled at the perfect balance as he stored them in the sheathes in his new coat. We walked over to the bounty board and looked at what was available.
“Here we go, let’s go after this one!”
It was a level 30 bounty that called for a minimum of 3 people. I figured what my group lacked in levels we made up for in numbers. This one was against hordes of angels, however, so the Demonspawn would have to watch their Redemption meters. After the group of Demonspawn double checked their gear, we headed back out of the Hell Gate and started walking towards our destination.
As we neared the area, we scanned the building in front of us. It appeared to be an ancient church of some kind, and it was partly collapsed in several places. I decided to try a different tactic and only summoned half of my maximum amount of summons. My 7 demon warriors, 3 demon mages, and single dark priestesses scouted ahead as we drew closer to the building.
“DEMONS!”
A shout rang out from the walls of the church, and bright lances of light arced toward us. I was about to bring up my shield when Jade used a giant wall of bone to absorb the attacks. She stood in front of me and swatted her arm like a cat swatting a fly, and the huge bone wall mirrored her movements. Screams of pain rang out from the walls of the building as our attackers were impaled on massive bone spikes.
“Holy shit! That was awesome Jade!”
She turned back to me and did a little bow.
“High praise coming from you, Demoness Allexus. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have reached the level to be able to do that so quickly. Now quit gawking and let’s go kick some ass!”
I nodded and we ran back to the others. As we made our way into the crumbled building I halted the group.
“Aeryn, cover our rear and use your army to keep our flanks from getting exposed. Keep one of your demons close by so he can shield you in case of more long-range attacks.”
He nodded, summoned his army, and moved behind the group.
“Bray, you cover Jade. If anything makes it through our lines, it’s your job to protect her. Scythe, because Emelia has less armor than Jade, you’re going to cover her. Jade, use your bone walls sparingly and instead rely on your skeleton army for defense. We need to conserve our MP for this fight. What’s your Dex stat look like?”
“It’s not as high as my Wisdom or Intelligence, but being nimble enough to dodge is important for any mage, why?”
“Can you fashion a spear made of bone with a lesser version of that spell?”
She moved her hands and cast a spell. A long white spear made of bone with a jagged end appeared in her hand. She pulled her arm back and threw the spear as hard as she could. It sailed through the air quickly and sliced through the wooden door ahead of us with ease. She gave me a thumbs up and I nodded to her. I walked over to Emily and she smiled up at me.
“Heya gorgeous. What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
I laughed softly and kissed her forehead.
“Got any new surprises for me?”
She nodded and gave me a sly smile.
“I chose a specialization. I’m now exclusively an Ice Mage. It may not be as impressive as a spear of bone, but I can certainly hurl a shard of ice as well as Jade can.”
I bent down and kissed her. A chill passed over my lips and I felt suddenly incredibly cold despite my proximity to my new girlfriend. When I pulled back I gave an involuntary shiver.
“I’m so sorry! It’s one of my enchantments. Any part of an enemy I touch will start to freeze solid. It also leaves my body a bit… chilly. Sorry!”
I laughed and shrugged.
“It kinda makes hugging and kissing on you a little more… interesting… but I can see how it would be useful in battle. Stay behind Scythe and don’t put yourself in any danger, OK?”
She nodded and ran her hand along my cheek. A line of frost trailed after it, and I wiped my face gently.
I walked a bit away from the rest of the group and motioned for Judas to come over to me. He moved quickly and leaned in close.
“Yes, m’lady? Is there something you didn’t want the others to hear?”
“Just one thing, and then we’ll go back and discuss strategy.”
He nodded and gave me a look of determination.
“Above all else, I want you to protect Emelia. I can’t be biased and focus my defense on just her, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have another set of eyes watching out for her.”
“I will protect your love with my life, m’lady.”
I blushed and stammered as I stood up straight.
“My love? I ummm.. well… She’s sorta my girlfriend but I wouldn’t say… ugh. Yeah. Yes. That’s fine. Let’s ummm let’s rejoin the others.”
We walked back over to the others and I tried to hide the flush in my cheeks that my demonic body was conveniently forgetting to suppress.
“Judas, you’ll attack enemies as you see fit, but protect the mages.”
I motioned with my hand and summoned another Demon Warrior.
“Protect Judas with your life, when he throws a dagger, I want you to retrieve it for him if it’s safe to do so or if you have the advantage in any possible fight.”
My demon nodded to me and moved next to Judas. I summoned my second dark priestess and turned towards her.
“Conserve your MP as much as possible, but keep everyone at least 60% HP. Don’t use your MP for attacking unless your life depends on it.”
I walked over to my group of demons that I had already summoned and spoke to them.
“I want you to move ahead and scout no more than 100 feet in front of us. Kill anything in your path, but if things get out of hand, retreat immediately.”
I turned to the dark priestess and demon mages.
“Keep them around 50% health, but do not attack! Focus on healing and leave the fighting to the others. Mages, Use Ice walls as necessary to deflect attacks, but try to let the warriors do the fighting. Use long range attacks as needed but try to stay near the priestess.”
My army nodded silently and moved ahead of us. I walked back to the group and drew my sword and shield.
“I’m going to bounce around as needed. My wings and enhanced speed gives me the mobility to help where I’m needed, so call for me if shit starts to get too tough. Let’s do this shit, guys!”
My group cheered, and we rushed forward.
We made our way into a giant reception chamber. Our armored footsteps that echoed off the stone walls were the only sounds we heard, and it worried me. We should have seen more enemies by now, but the church was surprisingly empty. As a stream of dust fell from the ceiling, I looked up.
Shit.
Through the cracks in the ceiling I could see glowing blades and bright white halos of light.
“Above us! They’re above us! It’s a fucking ambush!”
Jade’s skeletons had already moved to shield her and Bray from any attacks, and I quickly summoned my remaining 7 demon warriors and yelled for them to cover Scythe and Judas. I flew at top speed over to Emelia and used my body and shield to protect her from the blazing spears of light. I hissed as several spears hit me in the back, and I watched my HP start to drop from the attacks. When the volley of glowing spears ended, I unstrapped my shield from my arm, turned around, spread my wings, and launched myself at the angels who were flying down around us. I swung my sword and cleaved one angel in two, while hurling a giant ball of [Demonfire] at another. I watched as two bodies fell around me with obsidian daggers sticking out of their chest, and I moved onto my next target. After felling four more angels with my sword and two with bursts of [Demonfire], I turned as someone shouted my name.
“Allie! Help! I’m pinned down!”
I turned in midair and saw that Aeryn was being attacked by three angels. His demons were lying dead at his feet, smoking cuts crisscrossed along their flesh. I plummeted towards the closest of the three and hit him full in the chest. I threw my blade at another and it sliced through his skull and clattered to the ground. As the third swung his blade at Aeryn’s face, I flew as fast as I could and blocked the blow with my arm. My armor cracked and I felt the blade bite into my skin, but I focused all my demonic strength and punched the angel in the chest. I underestimated my own might and ended up punching a hole straight through him. Being able to do that would certainly make things interesting. I retrieved my sword and summoned my remaining mages.
“Protect him at all costs. Follow his commands as if he was me!”
They nodded and I flew off the ground. I scanned the area quickly and saw that for the most part we were doing alright. My strategy had worked well and our team was able to repel most attackers that got too close. My scouting army had retreated and were now fighting a large group of about 10 angels. I flew towards the group and suddenly felt a warm feeling surround my body. Jade and my priestess had cast a healing spell on me, and I waved at them as I passed over them. My HP was back up to full, and I shook my head at the expenditure of MP. I know they only did it because of my fighting prowess, but I would still get on them later for using so much on me when it could be used for others.
I landed next to my demons who were taking cover behind a fallen column and gave them a nod. Two of the warriors and one of the mages had been slain, so I quickly resummoned them and realized I had used all but 10% of my MP. I was regretting abandoning my shield when an idea occurred to me.
“Pain! Panic! I need you!”
The two small black demons shimmered and appeared at my feet. Upon seeing me, they hugged my legs and looked up at me with love and adoration.
“Yes mistress? What can we do for you?”
I knelt down very low and talked as quietly as I could manage with the sounds of battle around us.
“I need you to go and retrieve my shield. Emelia has it and I really need it to get some of my MP back. Do you think you can do that for me?”
“Yes mistress! Is there anything else?”
I shook my head and kissed each of them on the top of their scaly black head.
“Just stay safe and hurry back.”
They ran off quickly and I turned to my closest demon.
“With me here, are we able to take down the rest of this group?”
He nodded and I turned to the rest of the demons.
“Kill anything that moves and don’t hold back. Once we finish them off, make your way back to the rest of the group and we’ll come up with a plan from there.”
I leapt over the column and threw myself at the closest angel. I moved with great speed and ferocity. Slicing, punching, stabbing, and cleaving as I attacked them relentlessly. My demons moved as one, striking and killing anything they could reach. After a couple of minutes, the group of ten angels lay dead at our feet. I smiled at the closest demon and gestured for him to head back towards the others. I flew straight up and surveyed the room. Our group had clustered together and were taking cover behind various fallen objects while a huge group of at least 30 angels with one that stood well over 10 feet tall was throwing blazing spears of light. I saw Pain and Panic running back to the spot I had been in, so I landed back on the ground. I retrieved the shield from them, and was about to dismiss them, when they started shouting back at me.
“Please mistress, let us fight! We still have our crossbows, and it looks like you can use all the help you can get! Pleeease?!”
“OK, OK. Grab tight on my legs. I’m going to fly us back to the rest of the group.”
They clutched my legs tightly, and I took off. I flew quickly towards my friends and landed in the middle of them. Pain and Panic summoned their crossbows and took cover next to Jade. As a spear of light narrowly missed me, I ducked behind an overturned stone table next to Emelia and Judas.
“Thanks for letting me use your shield, babe. I was able to keep my MP pretty high, but I had to drop it when it got too heavy for me to keep carrying. I had almost forgotten about Pain and Panic until they ran up to me asking for it. You doin’ OK?”
“I’m OK. My armor’s going to need a good smith after this, but other than that, I’m ready to end this. Hmm… I just had an idea. Pain! Come here!”
My little demon minion moved closer to me and looked up eagerly.
“Go to Aeryn and… Give him… This.”
I unequipped my armor and sword and placed it into an inventory bag. I handed the bag to Pain and pulled him back as he started to leave.
“Also, tell him I’ll want it back when this is all done.”
“Yes mistress!”
He ran off and I watched to make sure he made it safely. Emelia looked at me with a confused look on her face, but I held up one finger to motion her to wait a moment.
“Panic, get over here!”
He ran over from his hiding spot and stood next to me. I unequipped my shield and handed it to him. It clanged to the floor and he struggled to pick it up, so I placed it into an inventory bag and handed him the bag.
“Sorry… I know you just brought it to me, but now I need you to take that over to Jade. Tell her to use it to get her MP back and then to give it to Scythe.”
“Right away mistress!”
As I sat in my chainmail shirt and leggings, I quickly unequipped those until I only had on a pair of revealing black panties and matching bra. I turned back to Emelia and explained why I had removed my gear.
“I’m going to be moving as fast as I can, and using my elbows, knees, and fists as weapons. I’m going to use my new skill [Stoneflesh] to keep me safe and rely on my circlet to do a great deal of damage to them. I’m not going to fight solo this time, though. I’m just going to lead the charge.
“I'll try not to get too distracted by the sexy demon in her underwear… But… Just promise me you’ll stay safe. Can’t have our fearless leader dying on us in the middle of battle. Especially when I haven't had the opportunity to fuck the shit out of her.”
She pulled me in for a quick kiss before pulling away just as fast.
“I’m ready when you are, Allie.”
“I’ll sound the attack when I’m ready, for now, just hang back and wait for my signal. And… stay safe. Judas… don’t think I forgot about you. Same goes for you; stay safe and be ready.”
He bowed his head and smiled at me. I stood up and dashed over to Jade and Scythe. I filled them in on my plan and told Scythe to follow me over to Bray and Aeryn. We both ran over to the fallen pillar they were crouched behind and took cover next to them. Aeryn looked fearsome in my black armor, and he smiled at me as I sat next to him. I told them the plan and had Aeryn take cover next to Jade.
“Bray. Scythe. Wait until you hear the sounds of them attacking me up close, then run in and kill anything that moves. If you start getting overwhelmed, fall back immediately. No hero shit, OK?”
They both nodded and I closed my eyes to focus. I concentrated on my demonic strength and speed, as I knew I was going to need them more than anything else. I activated my [Stoneflesh] skill and stood up. I flew at top speeds towards the group of Angels with my claws out and the blades on my body extended. They threw several spears of light at me, but each of the attacks that hit me did only minimal damage to my HP. I wasn’t sure how the damage calculation worked, but as my circlet glowed bright red, several beams of fire incinerated the angels that had attacked me. As I made contact with the first of the angels, I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“NOW!!”
Shards of ice and spears of bone cut through several of the angels. I moved with blinding speed and clawed, punched, ripped, and jabbed my way through eight of the closest enemies. I heard the sounds of metal on metal and saw that Bray and Scythe had started their attacks on the angel army. I punched a hole straight through the chest of another angel and threw his body at his companions. I checked the timer on my [Stoneflesh] skill, and saw I only had 20 seconds left. Countless blows of holy weapons bounced harmlessly off my body, and I continued to make my way through the rest of the angels. As my timer approached the 10 second mark, I heard surprised shouts from the angels as they started getting attacked from behind.
Right on schedule.
I had ordered Jade and Aeryn to group their armies up with mine and have them move along the outer perimeter of the fighting area and flank the enemy from behind. I flew straight up right as the timer on my skill ran out, and I flew back behind the closest piece of cover I could find.
“Missstressss!”
Pain shouted as he made his way over to me, and he handed me my inventory bag. I retrieved my sword and re-equipped it. I stood up and shouted back at my clan.
“NOW!”
The others surged forward and we all sprinted towards the remaining group of angels. As a group, we mowed down the rest of the enemies quickly, with only the large angel remaining. He sensed he was completely outnumbered, and he moved to strike at the closest target with his gigantic lance; me. I parried the attack with my sword and jabbed the point of it towards him. He deflected my attack effortlessly and moved to skewer me in the chest. Right before the razor-sharp tip touched me, he stopped. I looked up in confusion and saw that Emelia had jumped on his back and clutched his head in her hands. His body had become rigid and covered in frost, and I stood up and moved close to him. I pulled back my hand and used all of the strength I could manage to deliver a bone-shattering backhand. His body exploded into millions of pieces of ice as my blow hit him in the face. Cheers erupted around the room, and we all huddled close together. I ordered my demons to search for any survivors, but after killing the boss, any remaining angels had cleared out. Everyone of us was exhausted, and not a single member of our clan was above 30% HP.