Power Punch

A swarm of Water Serpents swimming in the lake is a kinda impressive sight to behold. Each individually is a scaled snake of five to eight meters in length with a long fin on the back along its whole length, with larger than normal snake's, kinda draconic head with sharp teeth lining its jaws and a pair of peculiar, jagged horns growing to the back of its head. Their scales are from light to azure blue in color and there are a bit more than a dozen of them waiting on the edge of the lake, presumably for the group to attack.

They could technically attack us on land since they are only primarily water creatures and they can move on the ground, but they are much stronger in the water. If I had to guess, I'd say they won't go out to attack us on the shore unless we piss them off more than we already did. Though we're here to destroy their nest, so we'll be going into the lake sooner or later.

And, uh, it's not exactly a shore. The lake is wholly surrounded by wild forest, without any beaches or anything. The closest thing to a shore is a wide sort of swamp where there are no trees and neither water, but the ground is muddy and treacherous and smaller vegetation thrives, mainly various types of grasses. There is also a hell lot of insects, but hardly any of them are large enough to be worse than mildly annoying.

Speaking about sizes, the Black Lake is also surprisingly large for a lake, if I'm honest. Not on the level of the largest lakes on Gaia, because I can easily see the other side, but it's good ten kilometers across on average, with at least twice that at the widest as it seems to be in a sort of valley. Hm, I guess the lake surface wouldn't be as... curved as on a planet? Hm. Yeah, so I could see the other side even if it was much larger. Ignoring the fact I'm flying in the air, of course.

I'm kinda scouting the situation for the group, because, while there is a cognimant among them, her abilities work mostly on things she perceives. She has actually a really neat set of abilities. They aren't really impressive, but she has weak foresight and sharpened senses, which, combined with her magic as a healer, give her incredible utility. With that said though, she can't scout the nest, and since there are no trees in vicinity, their scout is similarly helpless.

Anyway, since the serpents are not creatures living only in the water, their home is a rather large structure on the edge of the lake, not in its depths. I'm pretty sure the reason for that is that Water Serpents, despite having water in their name, need air to breathe. And well, I say structure, but in reality it's a large mud wall rounding a bed of grasses filled with water, which says a lot about thier social structure, or lack thereof, and their level of intelligence.

Their behavior seems to support the theory, because they are like an angry mob by the edge of the lake while the nest is completely empty. Completely no strategy or planning. Well, we did throw an air bomb there, essentially a sound grenade, but they are still stupid. And they seem not to notice me, likely because I have sun behind me.

Hm, let's go back to the group, which is currently hiding in the grasses. Ten of them actually, because the scout from Hunter's Guild is checking the surroundings for any other monsters and going up a tree to use his bow properly.

I fly away a bit so the Serpents won't notice me because of some dumb luck and make half a circle back to the group. I land softly among them them, earning quite a few wary gasps and one curse from a warrior-looking guy, and turn to Daria and Grant discussing the battle strategy from the sound of it, but stopping at my arrival.

"So?" Daria rises her eyebrows.

"A dozen or so, out of the nest, still in the water. Pissed off from the sounds of it, though they didn't go out as we hoped. We can either try to bait them again or go in, which shouldn't-." I pause as I see something entering the range of my mana sense and immeditely spring up from my relaxed position. "Incoming! From the lake! At least ten!" I shout and all the hunters scramble around to get their bearings.

"Daria, get back! We're splitting up! Cath, Crimson, Vulcan, Xethu, to the left!" I shout out orders and shot up into the air with a beat of my wings, then turn around to Letty, who is still in the back as she was relaxing before all that. Eeeh, damn, if we knew we'd be attacked out of the blue, I'd get her to the front.

Why did they even attack? It's either that something else made them attack or I underestimated their intelligence, and I'm not sure which one is worse. I should have been paying more attention.

I look at my girfriend jumping up and creating a pair of twin black swords, and grin as I beat my wings to fly up to her. Behind me I notice Daria flying off with some sort of spell and the group splitting up after Grant gives his orders to retreat and get the sepents in a pinch. Not surprising. And why is Catherine laying on the ground? No matter, she'll cope.

"When they split their attention between the two groups, we're butting into their middle." I say, standing at Letty's side and turning to look at the hunters already engaging in a messy brawl with monsters having a bit higher numbers.

They aren't having problems, not yet at least, because of the swamp and because of how the serpents are built. It's just impossible for them to attack in close distances to each other if they value their lives, and from what I've seen they do. Each of the two groups has three people at the frontline plus support, and the serpents, having came from one side, needed to split up and fight on two fronts. They are only just now starting to slither around, so... I guess it's time.

"Try to leave some alive." I mutter and shot out into the fray with a beat of my wings, creating a pair of flaming gaunlets on my fists so I would have good grip.

...

<Catherine's POV>

"She really is amazing, isn't she? She's so different now." Vulcan says on my side as I look at the gorgeous figure of our Demoness soaring into the sky and flying off to scout the nest of Water Serpents.

"Yeah..." Crimson mutters.

"If you didn't tell me, no way in hell would I guess she's the same person." The Hellcarver looks towards me as I'm thinking. Is she even the same person? Am I the same person?

"You haven't seen how she fights yet, have you?" I ask Vulcan with raised eyebrows and he shakes his head.

"Only a glimpse, I was too focused on figthting."

"Thought so." I nod and smile wryly. "She's wild. Unrestrained. She just dances around the battlefield. I have no idea how she is doing it, to be honest. And she's damn scary."

"How so?" Vulcan asks in confusion.

"It's just... I don't want to say there's something off about her, but the way she behaves, the way she fights, the way her flames feel, it just isn't normal. It feels as if she was roleplaying, doesn't it?" We're roleplaying as well, aren't we? Like my purrs and my feelings... damn. I love this body. Every single damn inch of it, and I've no idea what to make of it and of my growing dysphoria.

"Yeah, a bit." Crimson nods, but I'm not really listening.

This game is way too real, and it's affecting me way too much. I never told anyone that I rolled random, because I didn't want to share that detail, though I modified my character a bit. I thought that it was way too far from who I've been playing as up to now. Yeah, it was even a bit smaller and more fluffy before, and I don't know shit as to why, but I missed it a while back and don't miss now.

I just... I just can't find a single damn bad thing about this body, and each week is worse than the one before for me because I'm missing the fluff, the cuddles, the cuteness more and... just... fuck. Initially this body felt a bit bad. Now... I'd kill to get this same body out of VOW... maybe.

"I think she wants people here to think she's an actual demon. She's enjoying herself much more here than out of VOW, and, if I had to guess, I'd say she wants it to feel real, not like a game." Xethu says, walking up to us and snapping me out of my thoughts. And another demoness stealing my heart. I'm done. "I'm pretty similar in that matter. I miss this body each time I log out, and I'm not trans, so I can only imagine how bad it is for her."

"Mhm..." I look up at her. "You feel your wings and horns like they're real, right?" I look at the demoness curiously. Damn, she's tall. And beautiful, like I could bury... No shit, leave my perverted lesbian mind out of this. Focus, damn it.

"Yup." She nods with a grin and reaches out her hand to my head... hm? "Just like your ears, eh?" She asks and rubs my head and my ears and oh my gosh shit damn. She's the second person to do that thing.

Eeek! I squeak and twist my neck as her fingers rub the base of my ears, but she doesn't stop and continues to rub the top of my head and I growl in happiness and only a few seconds later realize what I'm doing. And I don't care! It feels so good damn it!

"Wooow~, she's so cute!" I hear a giggle in a fantastic, beautiful, deep voice above me and I reach up with my head to the hand petting me and I think I stumble towards it and I'm caught in a warm something I can't really recognize now, and I realize I've closed my eyes at some point. Oooh. Heaven.

"Uh, Catherine?" The same voice says above me uncertianly. "Uh, ooops? Is this normal with her?"

Normal? What? I'm perfectly fine, thank you! Though, hm. I'm pretty sure there's something not normal about my situation. I mean, what I was doing before that?

"Incoming! From the lake! At least ten!" I suddenly hear Helia's shout and I scramble to take my sword out of the scabbard on my back and I push myself away from something and land face-first in the ground. Damn, what the fuck just happened? Why did my mind get so... cloudy? Kind of, but in a good way.

No, wait, focus, get up, there are enemies incoming. Not gonna die now, eh?

Then I hear Helia's shout again. Or rather, her command. "Daria, get back! We're splitting up! Cath, Crimson, Vulcan, Xethu, to the left!"

Cath? That was me! I spring up and look around, taking in my surroundings, and actually with my ears I pick out a few people retreating behind me. There's also one just behind me.

I whip my head around and I'm just about to dash to the group when I see Xethu wrapping her arms around me and suddenly something pulls me strongly with her. Oh, she's flapping her wings and pulling me with her... don't we have a serpent just behind us... and don't I have my face in her boobs!?

Um! Uh... Shit damn leave that something in my chest for later! I don't have time for stupid feelings now!

I reach to my back again, trying to ignore my burning cheeks, and wrap my hand around the handle of my large, black sword that is supposed to be a heavy double-handed blade, but works like a greatsword with my build. Xethu lets me down to the ground just behind Crimson and Vulcan preparing their weapons, one his blood sword and another his lava gauntlets.

I turn around and quickly run up to the two, pulling the blade out of its scabbard and preparing for battle, since there are at least five serpents slithering in our direction, though not going to the frontline. My speciality is speed, after all, and definitely not holding off the enemies.

Where's Xethu and Daria... former by Crimson's side with her sword confidently in hand and determined expression on her sharp face, and the latter... behind us, but a bit to the right, and preparing a spell... let's go to far right then so I won't block her line of sight. Xethu is stronger than us, so she should do alright on the left flank.

I drop down to the ground and dash to the side, balancing myself with my tail and holding my sword above me in inverse grip, and spot one of the Water Sepents spearating from the rest and trying to go around Vulcan... Daria will deal with this one, so... there it is. One of them has slithered away from the main group and is trying to reach Daria unnoticed.

Good I have sharp both eyesight and hearing, because I might have missed it otherwise.

I dash to the serpent and swing my sword at its neck, or what would be neck if it had proper head and chest, from the side. It notices me in time and twists its body away, then pulls its head back. I tilt my head and avoid a water jet spat at my face, which is much easier than I thought it would be, and see as the serpent lunges at me. Ha! I jump forward with a sommersault and smoothly divert my strike heading to the ground onto the monster's neck again. The only difference is that this time it is in the air and unable to dodge the attack properly.

It manages to twist around and receive only a wide, shallow cut to its side instead of losing its head, but I follow the sword with my foot, activating Moonlit Strike and smashing it into the serpent's jaw. A spike of pain erupts in my foot from the strong hit into tough scales, but I ignore it, fix my stance, and continue the swing with my sword, this time sideways.

I activate Moonlight Edge just before the sword reaches the enemy, and I watch in satisfaction as its head is cleanly split in two, feeling the strong force pressing into my arms. No better feeling than tearing into an enemy, huh? Would be better... if I did it with my fangs...

I jump back from the flailing serpent, which seems to still be moving after dying, and look around the battlefield, searching for another enemy. And the first thing I notice is Helia swinging her leg and hitting a serpent square into its jaw, sending it into the air.

She is... damn. She's just... dancing around the battlefield. I can't describe it any other way. A wild, deadly, unforgiving dance, and too few enemies to let her show it properly. I watch as she spins another time with the same raw, deadly beauty and her foot splits another serpent in two, sending a spray of gore behind it. Holy shit.

She doesn't continue after playing with and killing those two serpents, instead watching Letty. Like a dance that ended after the first few beats.

Her girfriend, more leaning into the graceful beauty in terms of her style, seems to be using a pair of daggers. She is twirling around another Water Serpent, simply toying with it, baiting it into lunging at her and shooting water jets, dodging all of them as effortlessly as if playing with a predictable machine.

They are both... something else. Just... not really normal. I mean, yeah, I'm also not normal, both in mind and recently in body... kinda. Not that I'm trans, I mean I am but it's not about that, but more like in my feelings regarding less... human parts of my body here. But it's still somehow completely different in their cases.

In other part of the battlefield there is the group of hunters from Hunter's Guild making a wall and fending off a couple serpents, but most of them are already dead. The serpents, that is, not hunters. There are also five dead around my group, one just freshly sliced open by Xethu and one just impaled by Daria, there is one dead by me... four by Helia and Letty, one of them still fuming, and four, among which two are dead, around the other group. Fifteen in total, unless I missed some, but I doubt I did.

I relax my body seeing that the fight is mostly finished, though still don't drop my guard completely and walk up to my group to see if anyone is hurt. A quick checkup reveals a few small wounds and Crim's dislocated shoulder, but Daria quickly gets to healing all that while the hunters finish with the remaining serpents and Letty puts the last one out of its misery.

I feel the adrenaline slowly leaving my body and I feel dull pain in my arms and my foot, but I ignore it, having experienced it countless times already. This character has incredibly high speed and much more strength than one would expect, but low toughness and endurance, as reflected in stats. Combine it with my ability to push my body to the limit and sometimes even over it, and you have aching muscles after any more intense fight.

But, hm, overall it turned out to be much easier than I thought. Lemme check my character sheet... A tiny bonus to my soul's size, on the level of a fiftieth of a unit or something. I'll be breaking through to Rank 3 soon. Now just collect the spoils and burn the nest.