My life actually felt like a clusterfuck of random shit right now. In only a few short days, I had gotten hired by the magic police, I went on two different dates with both of my girlfriends, both of which resulted in some of the best and wildest sex I'd ever had, and now? I was like 2 hours away from home exploring the Earth's asshole with said girlfriends, and one of their moms.
"I wouldn't be surprised if someone asked me go with them to Jupiter on Sunday for drinks or something." I thought, chuckling to myself.
We'd been walking through this cave system for only about 5 minutes so far, but the smell was getting much worse. I was handling it pretty well, bless Nadia for her help with that, but it was still not good. It was a strange thing to smell decaying asshole but not be bothered by it. It was just kind of annoying if anything.
All of that being said, my mana vision was going crazy, and it was to the point where even I could actually feel the mana like a physical weight. I could feel mana for sure, but it had never felt as oppressive before as it did right now. The girls had slowed down next to me, and their eyes darted around like they were just expecting to be attacked out of nowhere. I didn't sense anything living around us, but I still had my guard up just in case. I wasn't about to risk any one with me getting hurt.
"Okay you three, be ready for anything. I expect there to be animals and creatures of the local wildlife that have been affected by mana density here, but it's also unpredictable, and I have run into some things that should not have been where I found them. I'm sure you've all sensed it to some degree, but this cave system has been packed with a strange mana." Rya said, confirming my own thoughts about the place.
"It feels oppressive. It's not a good feeling." Liz said, and Nadia nodded in agreement.
They were right, but not only that, it felt...fucking wrong. There was a lot of mana, but intermingled with the mana I normally saw and felt, there was another mana type that was strange, and it didn't feel normal. It kind of had a red and black color combination to it. I didn't like it, and I didn't like the danger it presented to my girls. Hell, I didn't want anything bad to happen to Rya either, but at the same time, her power was kinda nuts so I didn't feel I had to worry about her as much. I hope I wasn't being overconfident, but I felt like I could handle this with not many issues.
"The King fears nothing." I thought, and then shook my head. "Nope. Fuck off. Can't get complacent."
When thoughts of my girls filled my mind, that part of me calmed down, and agreed with the need to safeguard them. I still didn't understand that part of me, but our goals were similar. It was weird, as it felt like me, but it was almost like it was closed off to a point that it felt separate. I really needed to start figuring this shit out.
Then, a distant noise made its way to my ears. Rya and Nadia stopped at the same time as I did, and Liz wasn't far behind them. Those ears they all had were definitely used for more than just looking nice.
"Something's coming. Be on your guard." Rya said, and I jogged to catch up, and placed myself right next to her.
"Rya, something is off about this place. The mana is wrong." I said, and she nodded at me.
"It feels unsettling, and I feel like I have felt something like it before, but I can't place my finger on it. What does it feel like to you?" She asked me.
"It feels... like it's not supposed to be here. Unnatural almost. It's almost like it's infecting the ambient mana in the area." I said, and her face scrunched up.
"I see. I don't like the sounds of that. I don't feel it to that extent, but I do know it's not good. It doesn't surprise me that your mana senses are that good given all you can do." She said, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.
Yeah, it was good that I could sense something like this if they couldn't, as it was information we could use. On the other hand, if I really was some sort of god like being, it didn't sit well with me that I could sense something they couldn't. Was it divine in nature, or otherworldly in a way only someone like me could sense?
Growling made its way to my ears. I felt the girls tense through the bond, and even Rya grimaced. It was an odd sound that made me feel off. Whatever made that sound... something was wrong with it. As soon as I thought that, a pair of glowing red eyes appeared ahead just past where we could see, and the aura the creature gave off was the same red and black I was seeing in the mana around us. It was so dark that even I couldn't see the actual creature. Thankfully, Rya had us covered, as a ball of bright light appeared in her hands. That shit was so fucking bright that my eyes teared up a little bit.
"Jesus." I muttered as I squinted.
She sent the ball forward towards the pair of eyes, and it stopped to hover only a few feet in front of the creature. The girls gasped, and Rya actually beat me to the age old question that I was about to ask.
"What the fuck?" She whispered, and yeah, that about sums it up.
It resembled a wolf, or rather, it looked like that's what it used to be. Now though, it was a red eyed wolf-like creature with black fur all over its body. It had teeth that looked unnaturally sharp, and small bursts of smoke and fire exited its mouth and snout as it breathed. It had curved and curled horns stucking out of its head by its ears, and the ears themselves were sharp looking and more pointed than any canine should have. Its eyes glowed almost like embers, and there was definitely a mad quality to them.
"That's so fucked." Nadia said, fear in her voice.
"What is it?" Liz asked.
Honestly, it kind of looks like-
"It's a demon." Rya said, confirming my thought before I could finish it. She continued, "Or, in this case, an animal that was turned into one by the mana. I wasn't sure at first, but now that I'm seeing and sensing it this close, there's no doubt in my mind. And where there's this one, there's going to be more. This just got a hell of a lot more dangerous. I've fought them before, but I got lucky when I did."
I was about ask her what she meant by that, but this little bastard got sick of waiting. I readied myself.
The black and red mana gathered in front of its maw into a ball about the size of a basketball in only a second before it shot with great speed. This little fucking asshole made a huge mistake though, as instead of shooting it at Rya or myself, it aimed it right at Liz, who was standing in the back to my far right. I felt fear pass through the bond from her.
I shot in front of Liz so fast that the speed at which I traveled kicked up dirt and rocks along my path. Electricity covered my hand and just as the fireball reached me, I held my palm out and stopped it cold. Then, I sent my mana into the fireball, which caused it to sputter and fizzle before going out completely.
I had never actually seen an animal, or whatever this thing was, look dumbfounded before, but that's all I could think of to describe it. Unfortunately for it, I was fucking livid. It attacked my goddamn woman. I roared at the beast, and the cave shook from the force, and the creature took a few steps back.
My mana concentrated into my open palm, then shot out at roughly double the speed of a bullet. The creature didn't even have time to try to get out of the way before it struck it right in the head, and its head exploded in the most disgusting display of gore I'd ever seen before. I probably put more power into that bolt than I needed to, but it attacked Liz, and I hadn't been that pissed off since the bank incident. I had also killed that day too, and despite being people, I still really didn't feel bad about that.
"Shit, if I hadn't just gotten my powers at the time, I might have accidentally killed Randall."
That thought made me grimace. Yeah, he was a cockbag, but I didn't want to kill the guy... I think. He needed to learn a lesson, and I'd say the bastard definitely learned it. Still didn't like the fucker. Damn it, I was really pissed off, and it was causing my mind to race.
I felt gentle arms wrap around my outstretched one, and I noticed how much my arm was shaking as I still held it out. Actually, my entire body was shaking from my anger. The threat was gone now, but it the whole situation had me on edge.
"Sid? Baby I'm okay. Just breathe." Liz's voice came from right next to me, and that simple action from her calmed me considerably.
My shaking stopped, and I lowered my arm, the tenseness in my muscles leaving me. Liz interlocked her fingers with mine. I turned to her, and she just smiled at me, looking fucking cute like always. I wrapped my arm around and held her close, kissing the top of her head.
"Thanks. Sorry about that." I said, and she just nuzzled into my chest.
"Don't apologize. I could feel how mad you were when that beast attacked me. How could I be anything but happy? You have got some lungs on you." She said, causing me to snort.
"Excuse me you two, but we are still in a dangerous situation." Rya said from right beside us, causing us both to jump.
"Shit!" I yelped, and we both turned to her with red faces.
Rya gave us a pensive look for a moment, before smirking.
"But at least I know I won't have to worry about my daughter if you're around." She said, and that did make me stand a bit taller. Of course I'd keep her safe. Anything trying to hurt my girls would be turned into paste.
Nadia came up and hugged us both from behind.
"Are you okay, Liz?" Nadia asked, and Liz just smiled and nodded at her.
"Yeah. I'm fine babe."
Nadia smiled, and then looked at me with a gleam in her eyes.
"I thought the cave was going to collapse with how much it was shaking. You're kinda overpowered, honey." She said to me, causing me to scratch the back of my head
"I might have gone a little overboard on that thing. It doesn't seem like it was all that strong. Better safe than sorry though, I suppose." I said, and Nadia just laughed.
"I don't think we'll have too many problems with you here." She said, and I smiled and hoped she was right. Thinking about it, I had pretty much one shot everything I've fought up to this point.
"INCOMING!" Rya shouted, and we all snapped to attention.
More glowing sets of red eyes appeared in the darkness beyond, and I readied myself.
"Girls, stay behind me." I said, and I felt their agreement through the bond.
This wasn't just a simple job anymore, and it was more dangerous than we had assumed. Still, I was determined, and I felt the same feeling from them. If these monsters made it out of here, they could really do some serious damage. More people might die if we just left now. I felt like I could handle this, and Rya was here too, although I'm not sure how well her fire will do against demons, and I worried about her.
Just as I thought that and glanced her way, one of the wolf creatures lunged at her. I yelled for her and began to move, with the girls yelling behind me. I wouldn't make it in time.
"Fuck!" I yelled, but it seemed my panic was unnecessary.
She punched it so damn hard in the snout that she caved in its skull, and it fell to the ground dead almost instantly. Blood leaked out from its caved in skull, and I could see that the force of her impact had made its eyes pop, as they were currently leaking out of its eyeholes.
"Never-fucking-mind." I said, stopping in place.
There were a lot more of them where that came from though, and even more glowing sets of eyes appeared in the darkness ahead of us. As they came walking towards us in the narrow cave, most people might have gotten scared, or turned around and started fleeing. I just fuckin' grinned. They were basically lining up for me right now. Sticking my arms out in front of me, my power began crackling down my them, and became heavily concentrated at my fingertips.
"Take this you ugly motherfuckers." I growled as I let my power shoot out of my fingers.
Dozens of arcs of lightning shot from my fingers. Each one found a target as the demons began to convulse and sizzle, and the smell of burnt fur and sulfur filled the cave. The lightning began to hop and chain from each demon to the next, striking many that were further back that I couldn't pinpoint.
I increased the power, pouring more mana into the move. The creatures were pretty weak, and they were dying fairly quickly, but there were a lot of them. There had to be a little more than 50 of them. Still, taking out this many so early was good for us, although for all I knew, this could only be a drop in the bucket depending on how many of these fucking things were actually in here.
"Holy hell!" Rya exclaimed, watching as I fried the beasts into blackened husks of what they once were.
I could feel that my girls were impressed, and yeah, that definitely stroked the ego a little bit. I was feeling pretty goddamn good right now. There was definitely something about overwhelming power that made you feel on top of the world. I was actually cooking demons alive, inside and out. Creatures filled with the mana and fires of hell were being cooked by my power. In no time at all, the only thing left of the creatures were smoking bodies, and I will say, I could have done without the smell. Even with Nadia's weird resistance to smell, it was still getting through a little bit.
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Rya exclaimed, a bright smile on her face.
Liz and Nadia approached my left and right sides respectively.
"That was unreal." Liz said, and the pride in her tone and in our bond made me blush.
"You made slaughtering those things look sexy as hell." Nadia said from my other side, her sensual tone arousing me despite the circumstances we were currently in. That made her giggle.
Rya coughed and composed herself, returning to adult mode.
"I don't want to be a party pooper, but it's still dangerous in here, and we aren't out of the woods just yet... or the cave? Anyways, I need to know what you kids want to do. Far more danger is being presenting in here than I had anticipated. I didn't expect demons." Rya said, and that reminded me of what I was going to ask her earlier.
"You said you got lucky when you fought demons last time. What did you mean by that?" I asked, and she blew out a breath before answering.
"I don't know everything about them, but I do know they are separated into tiers depending on how powerful they are. People have made enchanted artifacts to gauge their power levels. Hell, Thad made one for just this occasion, but since I didn't expect to run into demons in a damn cave, I didn't bring it. I have only fought against lesser tier demons, but apparently there are far more above that. Greater, Lords, and even Kings from what I've been told, and there might be even more beyond that. These creatures appear to be pretty recently conversions, so their power is probably less than even a lesser." Rya said.
"So, even we should be able to fight them?" Nadia asked, and Rya gave a hesitant nod.
"Yes, but you and Lizzie haven't been in any fights, let alone dealt with something like this. I don't want you two taking any risks." Rya said, and I wholeheartedly fucking agreed.
"So, the demon that has been infesting the mana in the area could be anything." I asked, and Rya nodded.
"There are a lot more of its little minions around than the last time I ran into these things. We might be dealing with a Greater Demon at the very least." She said, and she actually looked a little scared for once, "I've heard horror stories about the Greater variants. I heard once it took a squad of 10 of the strongest paranormals in that area to kill it, and they still lost half of the team in the end. I fought against a lesser, and while I did win, it was very difficult. Like I said, I got lucky."
Well, that's a fucking kick in the dick. Still though, the thought of that kind of danger being left to fester did not sit right with me. And, as much as I wanted to scream at my girls to get the fuck out of here and run as far away as possible, I could feel in the them the same determination that I had. I knew they wouldn't listen to me if I told them to run away. They wouldn't leave me, as I would not leave them.
"I'm not going anywhere. These monsters are dangerous to the regular people around here. And I won't leave and you and Sid in here by yourselves." Liz said to her mother, and yeah, there it was. Her mind was made up and there would be no changing it.
"I'm not going either. I agree with Liz. I love all of you too much to just leave, and these monsters will hurt more than just us if we do nothing about them." Nadia added, and just like that, it was settled.
I'd honestly be lying if I said I didn't like stubborn women. As nervous as it made me for them to be put in danger, I also felt that having them here would be more helpful given what we might be up against. Nadia could use her illusions to distract a potentially strong enemy while Liz healed someone who was injured, just as an example. That was much better than not having them, especially if we were up against a powerful demon.
Besides, there was no way in any fucking hell that I'd let either of my girls or Rya get hurt. My determination lit a fire inside of me. My electric powers coursed through my veins, and burned through me like a sun as I cracked my knuckles and began to channel my inner Doom slayer. With a righteous fury in my heart, and the many works of Mick Gordan playing through my mind, I strode forward into the dark, my electricity illuminating the path. I would defeat all of these goddamn demons, and I would protect everyone along with me. This was my fucking state, and these assholes could go right on back to hell.
"Oh yeah. It's time to fucking rip and tear, all right."