Blessing of the Vomit Heroine

"No, it wasn't!" Bran complains.
"It wasn't amusing at all!"

To
pass the time on our journey to find Pride, Lust told us all a fun
story from her childhood about how my infant mom tore herself from
grandma's belly and proceeded to slaughter an entire race of people
and tear their city to the ground. Apparently Bran didn't find it
as fun as I did, and felt compelled to let us all know just how not
fun
he found it.

"It
was kind of nice at first, and I started to feel sorry for you when
your dad died. But by the end of it, all I could think about was how
I'm currently lost in the woods with a battle-crazy psychopath, and
the daughter of a demon who committed literal genocide on the day of
her birth!"

I
was kinda surprised about that part too. I mean, it's obvious my
Mom's the biggest badass in the whole world, but I never really
stopped to consider the fact that she had always been that way since
the day she was born.

"Well,
I liked it a lot!" I interject, in counter to Bran's complaints.
"The part where Mom was killing everybody was really cool!"

"Gyahahaha!
Indeed it was! I thought so too!"

Aside
from me and Lust, Biscuit at least must have found it somewhat
enjoyable too, seeing as how she's still energetically wagging her
tail as she skips along next to the gigantic woman. But she's been
doing that ever since we ran into Lust in the first place, so maybe
she's just happy to be spending time with her mom.

On
the other hand, Mei-Mei seemed mostly uninterested, instead,
occasionally peering out into the thick of the woods at our side
using the light from her weird 'flashlight' thing to help her see
in the dark. The one she was using to explore the church the other
day.

And in the case of Pan—the former
leader of the Sisters of Struggle—it's hard to tell how she felt
about it, seeing as she turned a little pale and began side-eyeing me
a lot ever since the fact that I'm Gluttony's daughter got
brought up. I forgot that me being a demon was something I probably
shouldn't be mentioning to people... Oh well.

"I
wonder why Mom never told me this one," I add. "Ah, I guess she
must've been too young to remember it, right?"

"Mm.
'Tis likely she was," Lust replies with a nod. "As well as it
being a time before she became Cursed. 'Twas a time when Curses did
not yet exist, of course."

"Fweh?
Mom's Curse? Mom doesn't have a Curse though..?"

Curses.
A
weird and unexplainable phenomenon that seems to affect random people
at birth. Whether it's vomiting up random objects, becoming
forgotten every time you leave a room, or continuing to live as an
undying corpse—as far as I know, I'm the only one in my family
who has a Curse. I've never heard anything about Mom having one.

"Hoh...
Did she not tell you? No, I suppose 'twas simply never worth
mentioning in the first place. As the last of her kind, 'tis clear
she has now passed that same Curse on to her daughters, and set a new
baseline for demonkind. The progenitor of a brand new race of demons
altogether. 'Tis no longer a Curse, but simply the norm for a demon
now, I suppose."

I
scratch my head in confusion. "Mom and my sisters are Cursed
too...? I haven't noticed them doing anything weird though. Like,
vomiting and stuff..."

"Gyahahaha!
The fact that we are able to engage in conversation is quite strange
to begin with, don't you think? Or perhaps, you might not think so.
As you have never met another demon that was not afflicted by the
same Curse that now afflicts you. Or perhaps you have? I seem to
recall, Gluttony's firstborn—your eldest sister—must have been
birthed before the time— Ah, forgive me. I suppose 'tis not my
place to be telling you this. 'Tis something I think best discussed
with your mother."

Huh.
A Curse that I share with Mom? That she passed down to me and my
sisters? And it doesn't have to do with vomiting? I'm a little
confused, but I guess I'll just bring it up with her next time I
see her...

"What
I will say, however," Lust continues, grinning happily to herself.
"Is that, ever since the day your mother was Cursed, she has grown
a lot stronger because of it. 'Tis an abstract strength that lies
beyond brute force, and one I do not fully understand, nor am I able
to replicate. Perhaps this odd yearning to find the son I left behind
may hold a secret to this strength. Or perhaps 'tis simply the odd
whims of a woman with naught else in the way of immediate amusement?
Gyahaha! 'Tis hard to say, but I suppose we may find out soon!"

"Huh...
Wait, the son you left behind...? You mean daughter,
right?"

This isn't the first time Lust has
mentioned her 'son', and it's getting a little confusing trying
to follow who she's talking about, so I think it's time I
actually call her out on it.

"Hm?"
Lust cocks her head to the side in confusion, glancing back at me as
she continues to lead the way forward. "No. 'Twas a son I bore.
Not a daughter."

Huh... Well, that doesn't clear up
my confusion at all!

I try to look to Biscuit for answers,
but she doesn't meet my gaze. Instead, looking only at her feet as
she hurries alongside Lust, her tail no longer as energetic as it
once was only moments ago.

"Wait,
wait, wait!" Mei-Mei interjects, swiftly making her way up to join
Lust at the front of the pack. "So, you're confirming that Curses
can
indeed be passed down from parent to child? So, what the goblin—
what Spicy
Chorizo
was saying had truth to it after all?"

Oh,
right. Curses. Even though I've been throwing up for her every day,
I kinda forgot that I started doing it in the first place because
Mei-Mei had taken an interest in them. She even keeps some kind of
'Curse Observational Journal' in one of those pockets of hers
that I see her scrawling in from time to time. I'm pretty sure it's
still that same one she's been using since our time in the Spire.

"But
more importantly," Mei-Mei continues. "What do you mean 'a
time when Curses didn't exist'? This
is the first I'm hearing about such a thing."

"Ah,
'tis a relatively new phenomenon, these Curses," Lust replies.
"'Tis been perhaps only a handful of centuries since they first
arrived, I believe."

"Arrived? Arrived from where?"

What
probably ought to have been a question that would stump even the most
dedicated of historians, is answered by Lust with the same air of
casual straightforwardness somebody might have if you had asked them
what they had for breakfast that morning.

"Hm?
Oh, 'twas Surstrom Spire that brought Curses to this land."

"...
What?"

"Yes.
'Twas shortly after the Spire descended from the sky and buried
itself in the ground. Upon its descent, the land was momentarily
bathed in a purple light, afflicting Curses upon a rare few, while
remaining dormant within all else whom the light fell upon. 'Tis why
some newly born babes are afflicted with Curse, while parents are
not. Unfortunately, I was only able to witness the Spire's grand
arrival from afar, but it was a wonderfully amusing event
nonetheless! Gyahahaha!"

"...
What?!"

A
time when Curses didn't exist... I've already heard about such a
thing from Mom. It's a time she didn't talk much about. Not
because she didn't want to, but because she simply couldn't
remember it. Something she would often apologize for because she knew
I loved hearing her stories of rampage and adventure from above
ground. I always noticed, when she did try to tell stories of that
time, it felt more as if she was simply retelling the events from an
outside perspective, rather than recalling her first-hand experience
of it. But, aside from that, everything else Lust is saying is
completely new to me. And, judging by Mei-Mei's reaction, she as
well. And if somebody as smart as Mei-Mei didn't know about it...

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"How?!"
Mei-Mei
complains, tugging in disbelief—almost angrily—at the hem of
Lust's clothes. "How do you know this?! Why are you telling me
this so casually like it's common knowledge?!"

"Is
it not...? 'Twas quite the talk of the town at the time."

"No!
Nobody knows what the Spire is, or where it came from! People still
think the damn dwarves built it! But apparently, this stupid,
mouth-breathing, eight-foot gorilla has been holding on to the
answers to one of life's biggest mysteries this entire damn time!
You realize the implications of this are crazy, right?! I'd like to
dispute it as delusional nonsense, but unfortunately, it's the most
plausible theory I've ever heard from an idiot who shouldn't have the
brain cells to put one together in the first place! Why the hell
haven't you told anybody about this?!"

"Hoh... 'Twas of little importance
to me, so I felt no need to."

"A
damn city-sized tower fell out of the sky and Cursed everyone, and
that wasn't something you thought significant enough to bring up to
anyone at least once
in
your whole life?! What about everyone else who was around back then?!
You said it was the 'talk of the town', right? So, surely there
were others who witnessed this, yes? Well, dammit, where are they
all then?! Hell, you don't even have to be from a race of
long-lived elves to atleast write 'dear
diary, today a damn monolith fell from the sky and now I have two
fucking noses for some reason' and
pass it on to your descendants, right?! Where are the records?! Why
was nobody keeping records of these things?!"

"Ah,
I have come across many a civilisation dedicated solely to keeping
historic records and preserving information. 'Twas not uncommon a
thing, and many would indeed have recorded such an event."

"Well? Where are they all then?
Where are all of these record-keeping civilisations that you've
apparently come across?"

"Well,"
Lust answers, beaming back at the small dwarf with a boastful grin.
"If I had not come across them, then perhaps they would still be
standing to this day! Gyahahaha!"

Yeah,
I imagine it's gotta be difficult cultivating a large and
prosperous hub of culture and information when you've got people
like Mom and Lust running rampant across the land. I mean, if it
wasn't for Greed's leadership, even Gran Torte would probably
still be a jungle of ruins after Mom and my sisters tore through it
those twenty-five years ago. If there were
civilisations
back in the day who were keeping strict records of historic events
and Lust was aware of them, I'm willing to bet the only lasting
remnants you'll be able to find of them today is as an especially
stubborn speck of grit stuck beneath one of her toenails.

"Keh!"
Mei-Mei spits in frustration, still tugging at the giant woman's
clothing. "Idiot! Brain-dead, meat-headed, moron! What other
significant breakthroughs are you holding hostage within that tiny,
flea-sized brain of yours?! What more of life's mysteries continue
to reside within the absent mind of such a drooling dolt?! Tell me
everything you know about Curses! Tell me everything you know about
the Spire! And while you're at it, tell me everything you know
about this so-called 'slow
loris',
because that other idiot keeps bringing them up and I still have no
idea what the hell—!"

"Gyahahaha!"
Lust interrupts the dwarf's complaints with an amused chuckle,
before stopping dead in her tracks. Staring off into a seemingly
arbitrary direction through the thick of the forest, she gives a
satisfied nod, before turning back to the agitated corpse at her
side. "Apologies, little doctor, but we will have to save the
stories for another time. It seems we have entered Pride's range."

A
silence falls over the group as we all stare off in the same
direction as Lust. I attempt to tune all my muscular senses into
picking up whatever signs of Pride she's tapped into right now, but
all I'm detecting out there are animals and oversized
creepy-crawlies. No signs of any nearby super-strong legends of the
Seven or anything.

Grinning
excitedly to herself, Lust begins to clear the area around us,
uprooting entire trees and casually tossing them aside, or stamping
their stumps flat into the dirt. Shrugging, I follow her lead, and do

the same. In no time at all, the two of us empty the entire area,
creating a small clearing among the trees.

"Fwah!
Looks like a good place to have a fistfight in!" I exclaim, giving
a satisfied nod at our work.

"Keh!"
Mei-Mei interjects. "I thought you said you only wanted to talk
with
Pride? Didn't you promise not to fight until your wounds were
properly healed?"

"Gyahaha! I did indeed!" Lust
laughs back. "'Twould be rude to fight an opponent I respect when
I am not yet at my full strength. I understand that now."

"What's
with the suspiciously arena-like
clearing
then?"

"'Tis
only an arena to those who prefer to fight in the open. Pride is not
one of those. Perhaps this clearing will allow us a place to openly converse
without immediate bloodshed. We will see, anyway! Gyahaha!"

Hearing
Lust talk about 'wanting
to converse without immediate bloodshed' is
definitely something I'm not really used to yet. I mean, it's not
like she's had a change-of-heart or turned over a new leaf or
anything. I can tell she's just as bloodthirsty as ever. But that
conversation with Biscuit back in the arena when she was on death's
door seems to have changed her perspective on things a bit.

Speaking
of Biscuit, she doesn't really seem as energetic as she was
yesterday or this morning. In fact, while everyone stares off into
the forest ahead, Biscuit seems more focused on the path we made to
get here. Almost silently pleading for us all to turn around and go
back. There's still a lot of things I'm confused about, but if
Biscuit really is the child of Lust and Pride, the fact that she was
so excited to be spending time with the one she never knew, but wants
to run away from the one she does, is very telling of the
relationship they have with one another...

"So..."
Squinting off into the woods, the one to eventually break the silence
is me. "How far away is this Pride guy? As far as my muscles are
concerned, the only strong opponents in these woods are you and Pan.
Maybe a monster or two. I can't feel anyone else around."

Aside
from Pan and Lust, it does feel like there's some kind of monster
or something lurking nearby too, judging by the occasional quiver of
my left-side lats, but it seems like it's mostly trying to keep its
distance. Most likely some kind of hungry dire bear who can't
decide if we're worth the trouble or not. Lust doesn't seem to
have any interest in it anyhow, so it's probably not the guy we're
looking for.

"Ah,
my apologies," Lust answers. "'Tis because Pride is not in
these woods. From what I can tell, 'tis likely he currently resides
along the mountain range, far beyond it. Allow me to call him to us!"

"Fweh? If Pride's not here, then
why are we even—?"

Before
I can question why we've been looking for Pride in a forest that
he's not even in, I'm interrupted by a loud inhale of air from
Lust as she stands in the centre of the clearing. Anticipating what's
about to come, I cover my ears, the rest of the party following suit.

"Gyahahahaha!"
Lust
laughs, her booming voice echoing up through the hole in the canopy
and up into the sunlit sky. A laughter so loud it threatens to
shatter the bark from the trees lining our little clearing. Even with
our best attempt to muffle it, Lust's powerful voice is enough to
bring the entire party to their knees.

"To
those who seek an audience, Choco Valentine, Queen of the Desert
Elves, will gladly receive you!"

Ignoring
the light ringing in them, I unclasp my ears to listen to Lust's
declaration echo off into the distance. I listen in silence, as it
eventually trails off and out of earshot, assumably far past the
outer borders of the forest, and beyond.

For a few moments afterwards, the only
sounds that follow are the light scuttling of escaping wildlife, the
wind brushing against the leaves atop the canopy, and something
similar to rolling thunder in the far, far distance. Potentially the
signs of a storm brewing someplace too far for us to feel its
effects.

"So..."
I interrupt again. "You think he's gonna take the bait?"

Lust looks over to me, the grin on her
face wider than ever.

"You
heard that noise in the distance, did you not?" she asks. "The
one similar to thunder?"

"Yeah, I heard it. Why?"

"'Twas the sound of Pride, it was.
It seems his desire to kill me still burns as passionately as ever!
Gyahaha!"

Fweh?
That thunder-like explosion in the distance was Pride, huh? Doing
what though? Did he break something in anger once he heard Lust?
Whatever he did, it was pretty loud to have made that kind of noise
from so far away.

"Huh... So, should we make camp
while we wait for him to get here, or something? I mean, he sounded
kinda far away. We got time to hunt for lunch before then, right?"

"Ah,
Daughter of Gluttony, you misunderstand..." Lust answers,
practically salivating from between clenched teeth as she stares off
into the darkness of the forest. "When thunder booms, 'tis too
late to take cover, for the lightning has already struck."

"Okay...?"

"What
I mean to say is, the fact that you already heard him, is proof that
he's already arrived."

"...
Fweh?"

"Gyahahaha!
Isn't that right, Pride of the Seven?"

Lust
directs her question out into the woods, and we all follow her gaze
into the darkness beneath the trees. At first, there's no response,
only silence. But eventually, the voice of a man answers back from
somewhere amongst the black, shrouded in the shadow of the forest.

"You've
been looking for me?" the voice calls back. His tone calm, but with
the slightest hint of sharpness to it. "What a coincidence. Ever
since I heard you had escaped from Surstrom Spire, I've been
looking for you too."

Ah, there it is. It's that feeling
again. The feeling I felt when I first met Wrath, and then again when
I first met Lust. That familiar chill down the back of my spine,
sending my throbbing back muscles into a frenzy of uncontrollable
twitches...

Somebody strong has arrived.