Demonic Pornstar System

Kaiden just stared back at her for a beat. He'd always known she was cold, a heartless bitch, even, but this? This was something else.

Due to his opinion of Vaelira already being horribly low, he did not experience the same type of shock as Sasha and Jack felt. It was more of a deeper, bitter confirmation: "You're even worse than I thought."

Maybe Jack was right. Maybe, strategically, she'd made the right call. But Leon hadn't even been given a chance to fight the parasite back. She'd never even looked for that sliver of hope.

And Leon… Leon was the kind of man who'd throw himself in harm's way to protect her if the situation demanded. As their ace, Vaelira was worth it, and Leon knew it perfectly well.

She had spat on every ounce of that loyalty without blinking.

But Kaiden didn't have the luxury to dwell on it.

Because the Countess was chuckling.

Low at first, then louder, becoming throaty and rich with amusement. "For a human, that blonde woman is… promising. Perhaps I'll keep her. An aide with such pragmatic thinking could be useful. I see great potential in her."

She didn't wait for them to respond, however. The monster moved.

However, this was no longer the same monster that had fought by sending its spiders at them.

Countess Veylin still stood on two legs, and her silhouette was eerily human at a glance. Just taller than normal, standing far above Kaiden's height, and with unnaturally slim limbs.

But up close, the truth was visible.

And they got an up-close look at her when she dashed at them.

The sudden move made the space between them vanish in a blink. She moved like a human duelist at first, with controlled steps, hips turning, shoulders squared before her back arched and the spider-limbs behind her stabbed into the floor, vaulting her forward with explosive force.

Kaiden's blade came up in time to meet her descending claws, only for her primary arm to twist, striking his weapon aside with a ringing clang. The impact rattled his bones, and before he could reset, her knee drove upward and caught him in the gut, forcing him to stagger back.

Nyx was on her a heartbeat later, knowing as the secondary tanker, she had to step up to the plate and protect her more fragile backliner friends when the situation demanded.

Her telekinetically controlled daggers flashed toward the monster's ribs.

The Countess dodged with a simple, graceful move, one humanoid leg sweeping out in a deceptively clean arc. The kick slammed into Nyx's midsection with enough force to launch her into a nearby brazier stand, sending it clattering to the ground.

Her grin was euphoric. "Ah… this is so much better than my previous form…" she purred, voice doubled with that low, inhuman rumble. "I'm no longer forced to run and hide in shame… I feel alive."

She pressed forward again with the same inhuman speed carrying her across the floor, but this time her grin did not last for long.

Luna's [Stormblade] carved in from the right, arcs of lightning crackling along its edge. The Countess caught the strike on one claw, but Aria was already weaving moonlight into a spiraling beam, slicing in from her left. The Countess's unnaturally long torso bent away from the blast, her spider-limbs anchoring her in place as the beam carved a trench into the floor behind her.

Bastet's palms blazed with solar fire. A lance of golden light tore through the air toward the Countess, who hissed and crossed her claws to shield herself, but the lance exploded in a burst of heat that forced her to give ground.

Kaiden was there instantly, pressing the opening. His blade slammed against her guard in a shower of sparks. Nyx, who struggled to stand after taking the hit, had her daggers speeding toward the thinner joints in the sinew-laced limbs.

The Countess lashed out wildly, too wild to combat a group this organized. Her strikes had weight, yes, but no precision. She was forcing the strength she'd taken from the Heart to carry her through, relying on speed and raw power over skill.

"We might be rookies ourselves, but this monster makes me feel like a sword master," Kaiden muttered between strikes.

"She's strong, but she's swinging like a drunk," Luna chuckled darkly as she danced back from another wide, telegraphed slash.

"She's not a fighter," Aria added while silver magic gathered at her staff. "She's just playing one."

"She has more than five levels on us, and her stats must be even more in her favor. But in the end, this is a monster who never had to fight herself. Borrowed strength alone won't get her far," Bastet's cold analysis sounded.

The Countess's snarl deepened. "You dare!" she began, but her words were cut off by the next coordinated assault.

Bastet's solar fire flared from one side, forcing her to shield her face. Aria's moonlight lanced in from the other, searing into her exposed flank. Kaiden's blade came down hard against her guard, forcing her lower, and Nyx's dagger bit into one of the remaining spider limbs, slicing it halfway through.

That was when Luna came in, wreathed in lightning.

The pressure was relentless. Every step she tried to take forward was met with a counterstrike. Every attempt to regain momentum was crushed under another combined assault.

Her fury gave way to panic. And even worse…

The feeling she was most familiar with, and would do anything to never feel it again:

Inferiority.

She had tasted overwhelming power just moments ago, yet here she was, losing ground to the very people she had deemed far beneath her.

"No… no, this isn't how it's supposed to go!" she shrieked, blocking Kaiden's sword with both arms before being driven backward by another blast of lunar energy.

Another golden beam exploded against her chest, hurling her into the base of the Heart's altar.

Smoke curled from her scorched skin. Her eyes darted between them, the five humans who were quickly becoming the bane of her existence.

And then she screamed.

"My baby! Your mother needs your help!"

The Heart responded.