>>3778400
>>[] Open the door normally and walk in like you own the place.

>>3778400
>>>[] Kick the door open and walk in like you own the place.
Real Exabyte?

>>3778400
>>>[] Listen in- Perhaps they're talking about something juicy in there.

>>3778400
>[] Listen in- Perhaps they're talking about something juicy in there.

'sup Exabutt?

>>3778400
>[] Kick the door open and walk in like you own the place.

>>3778400
>>[] Kick the door open and walk in like you own the place.

>>3778430
>>3778469
>>Yep, it's me! I've got some free time lately, so I decided to use it in the best way possible- running quests.

You lean back- and kick the door open. It slams out, banging against the wall. Everyone jumps and turns to you.

"Hey, ladies and gentlemen!" You call out, walking into the Association like it was normal. "You rang?!"

A ritual circle lays in one corner of the room. At a glance, you can recognize the godbinding schema- Someone's been binding to Hercules for improved strength lately. Jeremy, Marie, and Zeke are sitting at the table, heads together, poring over a map of some kind. You can see the muscles bulging under Zeke's shirt, his skin bronzer and tougher than you'd remembered. Jeremy looks up at you and sighs, rolling his eyes.

"... You know you're not welcome here." Marie says, her voice clipped. She flips her hair out of her eyes. "You're a liability."

"Oh, am I?" You ask. You twist your wrist, pouring mana into your palm- there's a flash of light, and a coiled ball of energy sparks and vibrates in your palm. It's not purely your mana, so it's a bit harder to control than normal...

But if there's anything you're good at, it's control. You were never good at raw power. With a thought, and a twist of your anima, you reabsorb the energy.

Zeke sits up. "You mean, you can fight now?"

"I could always fight." You smirk, just oozing confidence. "But now I can fight without worrying about running myself dry nearly as quickly."

"And when you do run dry, we'll have to risk our lives to save yours," Marie says. "Go home."

Zeke doesn't care. He leans forward. "How'd you do it?"

You consider responding with the truth; but after a moment, you discard the idea. Feeding off of parasites? That's human energy they've consumed. You don't want to be branded a warlock, and you know some assholes in the Association would judge it like that. You just grin, trying to think up a good lie-

-when the brilliant red crystal in the center of the room, hanging from the ceiling, begins to shudder. Somewhere in the city, not far from here, a demon is bursting from its cocoon.

Marie jumps, Zeke is already out of his seat, rummaging through the back for his sword, and Jeremy slowly gets to his feet.

"We can talk about this later," Jeremy says, "We have to go deal with this thing. You, stay here."

"Sorry, buddy. You might be captain of this little club here, but I'm not part of it anymore, remember?" You ask. "You can't give me orders."

He grits his teeth, glares at you- "Stay. Here."

And at that, he, Marie, and Zeke rushes out of the room, already breaking into a sprint. What a bunch of little superheroes.

>[] Fuck what Jeremy said- you should go with, and show them what you can do now.
>[] Fine, might as well sit around. You've never seen an intact godbinding schema before, so you may as well examine it...
>[] Sneak after them, and only butt in to save their asses if they need it.

>>3778497
>>[] Fine, might as well sit around. You've never seen an intact godbinding schema before, so you may as well examine it...

>>3778497
>[X] Fine, might as well sit around. You've never seen an intact godbinding schema before, so you may as well examine it...

>>3778497
>[] Fine, might as well sit around. You've never seen an intact godbinding schema before, so you may as well examine it...

>>3778497

>[] Sneak after them, and only butt in to save their asses if they need it.

>>3778497
>>[] Fine, might as well sit around. You've never seen an intact godbinding schema before, so you may as well examine it...

Can we eat Imps the old-fashioned way?

You huff, and slump down into one of the chairs. All this power, and nothing you can do with it. The crystal above you grows brighter and brighter, shuddering and shaking. Somewhere in the city, the demon is absorbing more and more power, luring parasites in and crystallizing the energy so it can build itself a physical body.

A moment later, the crystal goes dark- The demon is free, and that little club of superheroes are probably fighting it.

You tap the desk rapidly, fingernails clicking against wood. You bounce in your chair uncomfortably. You've never liked sitting around. You look around the room- and the godbinding schema catches your eye again. You crouch over it, looking over the intricate runes and well-crafted catalysts.

The gods are dead. At least, as far as anyone knows. Their powers spread so thin amongst humanity that it wouldn't be incorrect to call a person a 'miserable pile of gods'. But with a circle like this, and with an identity to lock onto, someone can draw a little bit of divine power from the rest of humanity. A fraction of a fraction, not even enough for any noticable change, but the godbinder ends up with more strength. With Zeke binding Hercules, he's stronger, more durable, more able to do the impossible. If one were to bind a god of trickery, they would be cleverer, sneakier, able to think in more twists and turns. Or a god of magic, and their anima and mana control would be amplified, more easily controlled and power-efficient.

The only problem is that a god-binding drains mana. For any normal mage, they can keep a weak one going all the time. Zeke, who barely uses his mana for anything else, can keep a pretty strong one going. You can't use one at all. It would suck you dry, and your spiritual organs- What passes as the magical version of your lungs- can't draw the near-endless supply of mana from the air. But from a scientific standpoint- at least, 'scientific' from a magery standpoint, a godbinding circle is just a huge focusing array. This one might be focused onto what little remains of Hercules among all of humanity...

But something occurs to you, an idea like white fire flashing into your mind.

>Continued!

>>3778592
Mages- all of them but you- can't see the imp-things- the Parasites. Aren't even sure of their existences, really. Just theoretical. But you have a little bit of parasite energy, pure and unfiltered. If you could tweak the circle properly, focus it on the spiritual energy of parasites... You could drain them all, just a fraction, and have more mana. Infinite mana. All of the power you've ever dreamed... Before you realize it, you're pulling your grandfather's old tome from thin air, turning spiritual matter into physical. You pull it open, and begin working.

Some time later, the door behind you creaks open, and Jeremy steps in. He's got long, thin claw marks across his shirt. Zeke is perfectly unharmed, and Marie carries the distinct scent of smoke and ash.

"Kill the beastie?" You ask. Zeke nods, "Good."

You look back down at the godbinding array, and the carefully-scrawled copy in your tome. You thrust the book back into your chest again, where it dissolves into light.

"We talked about it on the way back," Jeremy says. "And I'm sorry, but you can't come back. You're not even a proper mage."

"I certainly am." You say, getting to your feet. "My family helped begin the association, if you'll recall."

"Not with your mana issues, you're not." He says. "However you supposedly fixed your problem, it's not stable. I can feel your anima. You're not even at full capacity."

"I haven't had the time to recharge," You say. "As soon as my experiment succeeded, I came back."

"Then you won't be recharged when it's time to fight." Jeremy says. "Can you keep your mana full all the time? Can you recharge in the middle of a fight?"

The answer to both of those questions are no- but to say it would be to lose the argument- lose your chance to return to the club.

>[Write-in] How do you respond?
>[] Just leave instead. they're not worth your time, and you have some more parasites to consume to top you off.
>[] Just leave instead. You've got a god-binding array to mangle horribly at home.

>>3778598
>You telling me that's all I need? Sheesh, I'll be back in a week!
>see about making the mangled god binding array portable.

>>3778623
Seems good for me

>>3778598
>[] Just leave instead. You've got a god-binding array to mangle horribly at home.

>>3778623
I'll back this.

>>3778623
Supporting
Also fuck these cunts if our family helped start this thing

"So, you're telling me that that's all I need?" You ask, smirking "Sheesh, that's easy. I'll be back in a week!"

"Wait- What are you going to do?"

You just laugh, making your way out of the clubroom. Behind, you can hear Marie scoff, saying something along the lines of 'good riddance'. But you don't care.

===

Your atelier- your magical workshop- is quiet. The lights are off, the only light coming from the moonlight through the windows. A small enchanted crystal hangs above a map, lights flickering in its depths as it swings around the map of the city, seeking out magical activity Your books- dozens of them- sit in a small pile underneath the stuffed-full bookcase. Your jewelery tools, used to make magical tools that broke a long time ago- sit freshly dusted at your side. A silver cage holds six different parasites, the imp-things trying to break out of the spiritually-attuned metal. But no. It took you months of saved-up power to empower the silver, there's no way they'd get out.

Your hand gleams with power, and you reach into the cage- just a finger- and tap the core of the parasite. Its energy floods your body, and you immediately turn that power upon the bricks in the cleared-out zone meld the bricks together to make a smooth, frictionless stone. You need a nice, solid anchor for the array, and now that yo no longer need to save up your own spiritual force, you can make it now, rather than waiting a few months.

Another parasite, and you carve in the careful glyphs and lines you'd designed- the altered godbinding array. Instead of catalysts, you leave prepared husks of the parasites. Instead of glyphs symbolizing the god you seek, you leave symbols representing hunger and consumption, and spiritual power. The lines are wilder and crazier, less ordered and contained. Normally, such a modification would be suicide. But you've survived this long, and you've done riskier experiments.

Well. You've got mana of your own right now. You've got the ritual. There's no reason not to do it now.

You take a step forward, and stand within the center of the array. You focus, kneel down- and take a deep breath. You bring your hands up- and shove them down, into the stone, into the charged array. Your anima reaches out, through your fingers, into the array-

And for a moment, you can see into infinity. The stars dance around you, the world trembles under your fingertips. Hundreds, dozens, thousands, millions, billions of parasites, latched onto humans and feeding on them, consuming their souls, supping at their mana and spiritual power. Being eaten by demons, being eaten by warlocks, being eaten by eachother.

A vicious cycle of consumption and hunger, an infinite circle, infinite hunger, snake eating its own tail, hunger, hunger, hunger HUNGER-

Your fingertips- out in space, in the aether, gently- you feel the touch of another hand on yours.

>Continued!

>>3778703
Uh...this seems like some Blood Magic right here. Methinks this won't end well.

Power surges through you, mana flooding into you, down into the very depths of your soul. The hunger never abates, never softens- you're starving. You don't have enough. You eat and eat and eat and eat

>>Mana: 3/10
>>Mana: 4/10
>>Mana: 6/10
>>Mana: 9/10
and eat
>>Mana: 14/10
>>Mana: 28/10
>>Mana: 108/10
and EAT
>>Mana: 1995/10
>>Mana: 56701/10

Back in the real world, you're blown physically back, away from the array. Your fingers are covered in blood, dripping red. Alien power- not yours, but not parasitic either- floods into your body.

>Mana: 10/10

You open your eyes.

A young woman is sitting in the circle, hair dyed bright red, eyes like glittering rubies. Her smile and glee is pure.

"Hello, lover." She breathes, voice low and husky. She begins crawling forward, toward you.

"Who- Who are you?" You ask.

"Don't bother with that now," She breathes. Her cheeks are bright red, blushing as she gets closer. You begin to try to crawl away, to get to your feet- but your limbs are dead.

"All you need to know, little mortal, is that I love you." She whispers in your ear. You feel a kiss on your lips-

And your eyes open. You're lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling. Dried blood covers your hands. Where the array was is ruined stone, and broken catalysts.

But you're topped off. And it's proper mana. Not impure spiritual matter, or your own lifeforce. So much more powerful, more flexible. You flex your anima, and it moves smoothly. Your withered spiritual organs are flush with power, beating softly in your chest. You slowly get to your feet. With a gesture, you expend some mana- a thought, to smooth the broken stone back into bricks, to repair the damage done by the ritual.
>Mana 9/10

You wait. You feel the binding between you and something else, mana feeding backward and forward, the connection as strong as anything. You try and pull mana through, taking it from the parasites you'd attempted to link yourself to-

And you hear a giggle. The red-haired girl is sitting on your table where she wasn't before, legs swinging happily.

"Sorry, lover." She says, "I have plenty of power, but... I can't just give it to you for free."

>[Write-in] How do you respond?

>>3778733
>how do you respond
>What Are you? WHO are you?

>>3778733
>But you already took my first kiss now we must get married.

>>3778733
Did we just summon a fucking succubus or some shit

>>3778733

This >>3778757 Followed by asking what exactly the nature of our bond is.

"Wh- what are you?" You ask. She smiles.

"You found me using that... what did your mind call it? A god-binding array, didn't you?" She asks. "Perhaps that is what I am. Maybe I'm a poor, lost, forgotten god. A thing of emotion and so much power. Yes. I am a goddess. One that you poor mortals never prayed to. You all forgot me."

"Uh... Who are you?" You ask. You're not feeling very eloquent right now.

"You wouldn't know my name. You poor mortals forgot about me," She says, smiling. "I was left so lost and so alone. I couldn't do anything but let those little... imp-things... feed upon me. But then you came. Such a big hero, seeking me out like that."

"Uh... Do you know anything about the- the nature of our bond?"

She giggles. "As God and binder? Both. I have all this power, immense and mighty, but it has... a taste. I can't send it to you, husband. Not unless you do something... connected to me."

You blink. A god has spheres. Loki has Trickery and Magic. Hercules has Strength and Power. Then this girl-

"Yess." She says, as if she's peering into your mind. She's suddenly right next to you, arms around your waist, standing on her tip-toes. She whispers in your ear. "I am your drives and needs. War, lust, hunger. I can taste it- you want to fight those monsters, don't you? Those... demons? Go. Hunt one. I can give you all the power you desire, when you go to war. You shall see for yourself."

>[Write-in] Spend more time with this... goddess. You have more questions to ask.
>[] Do as she says. The next demon that pops its head out... You'll be there, even if that little Mage's Association wants you to hide.
>[] Hunger? Wouldn't making a nice meal work? you are a pretty good cook.
>[] Fuck this. Break the link and forget this bullshit. This is a failed experiment.

>>3778813
Eris. Is she fucking Eris?

>>3778813
>[Write-in] Spend more time with this... goddess. You have more questions to ask.
I'd like a name at least. And why she was trapped to begin with. Did someone seal her?

>>3778813
>[X] Hunger? Wouldn't making a nice meal work? you are a pretty good cook.
We can talk later, let's test out our new power first

>>3778825
I'm thinking it's Ishtar, but it might be an unknown goddess since she says mortals never prayed to her.

>>3778850
Hmmm, could be Lilith. Might be a good idea to do what she asks anwyays and take her out for a test run.

>>3778813
I'm gonna switch too
>[] Do as she says. The next demon that pops its head out... You'll be there, even if that little Mage's Association wants you to hide.

For a moment, your mind races. She could be Eris, or Ishtar, or even Lilith- But those are known quantities. those are dead gods- spread so thin that they don't exist anymore. And if she says that people have forgotten her- she might not be anything you've ever heard of.

"... Hunger, right?" You ask. She smiles and nods. "Then I'll go grab something to eat. I've got some questions to ask first."

"Of course," She says. She flickers- and you don't see her anymore. But you still feel her breath in your ear.

You make your way upstairs, and begin to cook. It's nothing special- just a stir-fry, but as you cook, you feel a pair of delicate arms wrap around you, and the goddess's breath on your ear.

"So... What is your name, anyway?" You ask.

"Sin." She whispers. "I'm pleased to meet you, lover."

You're starting to see what's going on.

"... Why were you trapped to begin with?"

"Gods can be the jealous sort," She whispers. "You say the wrong thing to the wrong mortals... And they do all they can to push you out of their garden. They didn't want me around. Didn't want me corrupting their innocent little believers. But you're not a believer. And you came to me. All of your pride and spite and hunger for power... Yes, you were already connected to me, even before that ritual."

You eventually finish your food, and set out two plates- one for you, and one for... Sin. She gingerly sits down, taking a deep sniff of the food, and simply sits, hands in her lap. On the other hand, you lean forward and begin chowing down. But as you eat, you feel something in your core begin to swell, the bond growing infintesmally stronger-

>Mana: 10/10

And when you look up, both meals are gone, and Sin is smiling, fanged mouth smiling. Your stomach feels uncomfortably full, like you'd eaten way too much.

"Is that good enough proof for you, lover?" She asks, smiling wryly. "Or would you perhaps like to know that the crystal downstairs seems to be flashing violently?"

You get to your feet and run downstairs, into your atelier. Sin's right- the crystal if flashing and ebbing violently, pulling its chain tightly as it points on a certain location on your map of the city.

A demon is emerging in the park. And your crystal isn't as sensitive- it doesn't give you nearly as much of an early warning as the one in the clubroom. You run back upstairs, almost straight into Sin- she giggles as you stumble, trying to stop from bumping into her, and steps aside.\

"Go on, my handsome warrior. Go slay a monster in my name." She whispers.

You don't need another word- you burst out the door, and throw on your hoodie as you run into the brisk autumn air. You push your anima out of your arms and into your lungs and legs, boosting your speed at the cost of worthless arms- and you run.

>Continued!

>>3778939
The park, when you get to it, is in flames.

The demon is a tall thing- spindly, with stick-thin arms and legs, all tangled underneath it like a withered tree. It's got enormous, batlike ears, and a single eye that seems to be rolling every direction.

When you get there, Marie is on the ground, bleeding profusely, while Jeremy's hands gleam with white enrgy, as he kneels over her. The demon moves in an alien, unnatural way- limbs contorting in ways not meant to be, ignoring momentum and basic laws of physics. It's three arms lash out, branchlike fingers clawing at Zeke. He's barely able to bring his sword in front of himself this time, sparks flying as the magically-treated silver clashes with the demon's claws.

"Hurry up!" Zeke calls. "I can't hold it myself!"

"I- I can't! Her wounds-" Jeremy cuts himself off.

Well. You have mana. You're fully topped off. And you can almost feel Sin's anticipation.

>Time for you to select a Specialization! What are you especially good at, even considering your weakened mana system?
>[] Power: You're best at blasting things- raw force, lightning, fire, even ice. And you can make a lot of power with only a little bit of mana... So what happens when you use a lot? [-2 Mana]
>[] Body: You're amazing at anima manipulation- taking your lifeforce from some spots and into others, since it's essentially 'free'. But if you charge your anima with magical power, you can get inhuman strength. Now's the perfect time. [-2 mana]
>[] Finesse: You've never had a lot of raw power to play with, so you've always worked on finesse- doing the most you can with as little energy as possible. With a few slight nudges and some illusions on the demon, and you can help Zeke take care of this seemingly without any help. [-1 mana]
>[] Manipulation: Maria may be a bitch, but she's cute and you want to see how she'll react when she finds out you're the one who saved her life. You're specialized in spiritual manipulation, after all, and it's a cinch to heal someone. [-2 mana]

>>3778943
>[] Power: You're best at blasting things- raw force, lightning, fire, even ice. And you can make a lot of power with only a little bit of mana... So what happens when you use a lot? [-2 Mana]

>>3778943
>[] Manipulation: Maria may be a bitch, but she's cute and you want to see how she'll react when she finds out you're the one who saved her life. You're specialized in spiritual manipulation, after all, and it's a cinch to heal someone. [-2 mana]
is a bit more subtle than just a standard pew pew

>>3778943
>Finesse: You've never had a lot of raw power to play with, so you've always worked on finesse- doing the most you can with as little energy as possible. With a few slight nudges and some illusions on the demon, and you can help Zeke take care of this seemingly without any help. [-1 mana]

Come back to fiction.live.

>>3778992
second

Right. You've never been the strongest- and though you are- in your own eyes, at least- an amazing mage, throwing around a bunch of fire like Marie, or swinging a heavy hunk of metal like Zeke isn't your thing.

Your thing is a little more... subtle. You step forward, through the flames, brushing them off with small gusts of wind. Zeke is fighting the demon mano-a-monstero, sword swinging and sparks flying. You watch their fighting for a few moments, watching Zeke's style, and the demon's motions. Next time it swings, you reach out, from far away. Invisible waves of power rush through your fingertips, out and into the demon's body. You slow it down, enough that Zeke can knock the attack away. Again, you reach out- this time, diving into the demon's soul. It's just chaotic motion on the inside, raw magic and spiritual force and hunger, rampaging every which way. It hungers for Zeke's death, to feed on his soul. So you all but yell in its soul-

"There's a vulnerable human behind you," You whisper.

>Mana: 9/10

The demon whirls, torso twisting, eye rolling in what serves as its head, limbs lashing out at the vulnerable flesh it believes is there. It swings into open air. Zeke roars, sword flashing, and it digs deep into what serves as demonic matter. White sparks fly, as fragments of the demon's body return to the aether, but the moment is over. The demon swings.

You lash out again, batting the demon's limbs a little lower than it intended. Zeke capitulates on the chance, knocking the claws downward into the soil. He stomps and pins the demon's claw into the soil. He slashes again, another flash of light. The demon stumbles back- and a moment later- Zeke's blade pierces into its chest. The demon is still for a moment, and then falls back, into the soil.

"A little... more lackluster than I'd hoped," Sin whispers in your ear. "But bloody enough for me, lover."

A hot, wet kiss smacks onto your cheek. Then she's suddenly standing atop the demon's corpse, half the park away.

Zeke just stands there, panting, staring down at the creature. He doesn't seem to notice Sin at all.

Then he turns and runs toward Marie. By the time he gets there, you've also approached, walking through the fire. Jeremy pushes on her wound- it's full of sticky blood and horrendous wounds, but Jeremy shoves more and more mana into her. Jeremy's good at scrying, and the more delicate stuff, but he's not a very good healer.

"Go get help!" Jeremy snaps at Zeke. Zeke turns- and freezes the same time Jeremy does, both of them noticing you.

"So she just healed people by blasting them with power, yes?" Sin asks, hissing in your ear. "You can do that. You have the power. You just have to... channel me. Wrath, or pride, or lust... Which do you think works best?"

>[] Heal Marie with your own power [Mana -6]
>[] Heal Marie with Sin's assistance [Mana -1]
>[] Go get help- An Ambulance or the like.
>[] Snark about how if they'd let you join, this wouldn't have happened.

>>3779128
>[] Heal Marie with Sin's assistance [Mana -1]

>>3779128
>[] Heal Marie with Sin's assistance [Mana -1]

>>3779128
>[] Heal Marie with your own power [Mana -6]
I don't think channeling Sin is a good idea; for healing, at least.

>>3779128
>[] Heal Marie with your own power [Mana -6]

>>3779128
>3779128
>[] Heal Marie with Sin's assistance [Mana -1]

>>3779128
>capitulates
>By that, I mean capitalize.

"Don't worry, I'll heal her." You say, a small smirk on your face.

"... When did your hair turn red?" Zeke asks. You just continue smirking, eyes locking with Sin's for a moment. She giggles.

"Godbinding," You respond. You walk over to Marie, and gently remove Jeremy's hands. You brush aside Marie's platinum hair- her eyes flutter beneath her eyelids- she's barely conscious. And there is a great deal of blood here. Now, how to do this. How do you open a channel to Sin? You need to do something, well, Sin-like. But there's nothing here to kill, nothing to eat...

Oh.

"Don't worry," Sin says, giggling more violently- it's almost more like cackling- schadenfreude at your misfortune. "I won't be jealous."

Joy. If Marie survives, she's going to burn you alive. You take a deep breath, feeling out for the link between you and Sin, and lean down to Marie's lips.

It's hot, and wet, and tastes like the blood she'd been coughing up. But it feels... good. You're being influenced by your godbind, you can feel it- Sin pushing satisfaction down the link, feeling it vicariously through you... And magic wells up in your core. You push it up and out, into Marie's body, and the wounds begin to fuse themselves shut. Mana turning into blood, replacing damaged flesh. You pour torrents of mana into her, the smell of ozone overcoming the scent of blood, your anima beginning to ache by channeling too much power- a feeling you'd never felt before. You finally pull away, and Marie's wounds are fully healed. She breathes deeply, taking a few long, deep breaths. A moment later, she falls completely into slumber.

Sin suddenly is behind you, arms around your shoulders, lips on the back of your neck- distracting nibbling and kisses.

Jeremy just gives you a Look.

"What the fuck was that?" He asks. "What's going on? That was not normal shit."

>[] Tell them the truth- You've Godbounded to a living god, rather than a dead one, and she'll supply you with power if you follow her sphere of power
>[] Come up with a lie of some kind- you'd used tantric magic, or that making out is the best method to transfer spiritual power.
>[] Refuse to answer, and say something cryptic instead.
>[] Just go home instead. You've made your point.

>>3779216
>[] Refuse to answer, and say something cryptic instead.

File: 1550713987485.gif (1.9 MB, 419x233)

1.9 MB GIF

>>3779216
>Just go home instead. You've made your point.
Do the anime wave while walking away

>>3779216
>[] Just go home instead. You've made your point.

>>3779216
>[] Just go home instead. You've made your point.
See ya nerds

You just get to your feet, brush some ash off of your hoodie.

"See ya, nerds." You say, turning. You wave, and try not to watch Sin as she tears into what remains of the Demon's body, tearing chunks out of it with her teeth.

At first, Zeke tries to follow you, but Jeremy stops him- he's needed to carry Marie home. You go your own way, wandering down the streets, dipping into the darker alleyways.

You stuff your hands in your pockets and head home. While you do, you tug at your hair, pulling your bangs in front of your eyes. It used to be a nondescript sandy shade, but now- it's the same unnatural scarlet that Sin has. At least you're the same height- you're not sure what you'd do if you were as short as her.

Speaking of... You look out the corner of your eye, and she's trotting along behind you, eyes wide and ruby eyes glittering in the dark. She's darting around, looking from object to object. Lampposts, cars, even the buildings seem to be curiosities to her.

"What do you get out of all this?" You ask, finally. Sin is suddenly standing under a lamppost in front of you, hands folded behind her back.

"What do you mean, dear?"

"You're the one spending energy keeping this whole thing going," you say. You haven't had to pay a single drop of mana this entire time- meaning she's the one supporting the bond. "And you're also giving me all this energy. Why? What do you get in exchange for this whole... contract? This deal?"

Sin just giggles as you walk past her, after which she returns to standing under the next lamppost.

"Well, why would I need anything?" She says. "Is there a problem for giving gifts to the one you love?"

"You don't even know me," You say, walking past her again. Again, Sin is under the next lamppost. "How could you love me?"

"Very easily," She responds. "You're determined. You're brilliant. Passionate. And you saved me during my darkest moments. How could I not?"

You scoff, and this time, when you pass her by, Sin is gone. For now.

>Continued!

>>3779313
The next morning finds you slumped in the classroom again, boring a hole in your notes. The lecturer is droning on, and you're scrawling random diagrams on the paper.

"Pssst." Someone hisses from beside you. You look over, half-expecting Sin, but no- Max is sitting there, your loyal comrade-in-arms, spiked collar around her throat and wrists. She's scrawled crude words on her own notebook, and takes a hefty sip out of the enormous thermos of coffee she always has on her person. "How'd that, uh, parasite thing go?" She looks around, fruitlessly squinting at people as if she was trying to see them.

Despite what she knows, though- she's not a mage. She was never trained. She can't see the things you see, or use the things you use. You've long-since made sure she's clear of parasites, though, so her anima could overflow any day and give her a few glimpses.

"It worked," You whisper back. "Experiment successful."

"Iz'zat why your hair's red? It's too shiny to be dyed. So, that monster club thing is letting you come back?"

"Nope."

"That's because they're all fuckheads," She responds. "What about that other project?"

"Which one?" You ask.

"You know. The one with the silver, and that gem thing, and..."

"That explains at least three different projects I've been working on." You say.

"You know which one I mean!" She calls. "The ring!"

"Well, that one's still a work in progr-" You say, and you go silent, noticing the door in the back of the lecture hall creak open. Wrapped in a veil, Jeremy walks down the stairs toward you.

"What? Oh god, is there someone doing that invisible thing again?" Max asks, eyes flitting past Jeremy as if he wasn't there.

"Yeah. Jeremy. I think he wants to talk."

"Fine, fine. I'll pretend I don't know he's there. Creepy fucker." Max says. She goes back to her paper, this time at least attempting to take notes.

People like Max- those in the know- aren't too common, but they aren't uncommon either. If you asked three normal people, only one would admit that magic is real- to everyone else, it's just an urban legend. And mages do their best to keep it that way.

You feel a touch on your shoulder, and the world swims in front of you as you're pulled into the veil as well. To anyone around, you would have vanished from thin air- but at the same time, the magic would have prevented them from noticing a difference.

"Hey, Tanis." Jeremy says. "Come with us."

"Sorry, I can't. I'm in class. Gotta study hard."

He looks down at your notes- which mostly consist of magical schema, rather than anything approaching schoolwork.

"It can wait." He says. "Come on. It's about your... possible membership."

>[] Go fuck yourself. You guys kicked me out because I was 'too delicate'. I'm my own man now. Now that I have a mana source, I can fight demons by myself, and complete projects on my own. I don't need you guys anymore.
>[] So you finally know what I'm worth? Good. I'll come with.
>[Write-in] Something else entirely.

>>3779358
>So you finally know what I'm worth? Good. I'll come with.

>>3779358
>[] Go fuck yourself. You guys kicked me out because I was 'too delicate'. I'm my own man now. Now that I have a mana source, I can fight demons by myself, and complete projects on my own. I don't need you guys anymore.
I reserve the right to save your asses again in the future though.

>>3779358
>[] So you finally know what I'm worth? Good. I'll come with
As much as I'd like to tell him to fuck off, our family helped found this club thing. Also i get the feeling with our new power we'd rise fast. Let's do it.

Wait, what can we actually do on our own? The powers we picked make us seem more like a support class that relies on others to actually do damage.

>>3779372
Tbf it said we were good at manipulation. That one instance was healing but I'm sure we have some powerful attacks too. Especially given Sin boosting us with her eldritch shit

>>3779372
>>3779378
>Essentially, the 'finesse' specialty just makes everything you do more mana-efficient. You're not as good in other spheres as a specialist would be, but you're a pretty good well-rounder by virtue of being more efficient with your mana. By throwing raw fire, for example, you wouldn't do as much 'damage per mana' as a Power-specialist would, but you'd do more damage per mana than any other kind of specialist. You're also good at delicate things, like creating magical items. Conversely, the Power specialization is all about incredible amounts of damage, and the Body specialization is about being fast, strong, and hard to kill. Finally, the Manipulation specialization is focused on manipulating living creatures- mind control, healing, creating spiritual entities of your own, etc.

>Tanis, despite his inability to regenerate mana, is very good at all schools of magic, no matter what his specialization is. He has to be, to have survived this long.

>>3779387
Oh neato. Jack of Trades guy. We can work with that. Logistics and efficiency are the key to combat you know!

"So you finally know what I'm worth?" You ask. "Good."

You get to your feet. Jeremy leads you toward the clubroom, hand on your shoulder.

"So, can you make sure Marie won't murder me?" You ask.
"She's not going to murder you," Jeremy responds, and sighs. "So you really did find a way to do magic, even with your... disabili-"
"Jeremy." You say, giving him a side glance.
"... Sorry." He says.
"Before you guys knew, you didn't even notice," You say. "So you can't say shit now. I was just as strong last week as I was last year."
"And today?"

>>Mana: 8/10

"Today I'm stronger."

Soon enough, the two of you make your way into the clubroom. Jeremy removes his hand from your shoulder, and enters first. You see Marie glaring at the ground, refusing to meet your eyes, while Zeke is lounging on one of the beanbags stuffed into the sloppy corner that is 'Zeke's Zone'. Jeremy sits down at the table next to Marie.

"So," Jeremy says. "In light of you saving Marie's life last night... We've decided to invite you back."
"You've decided, you mean." Marie says.
"Hey, we all voted." Zeke chimes in. "I voted for, you against, and Jeremy was the tiebreaker."
"Jeremy is always the tiebreaker." Marie responds.
"And I always voted for Tanis to come back." Zeke says.
You give Zeke a nod, and he shoots you a thumbs up. Then you turn to Jeremy.

"So, why now?" You ask. "Other than the fact that I saved your asses last night."
"Well... The demons are getting stronger nowadays. There's more hatching in the city, day after day, and we just don't have the manpower."
"What about the Association?" You ask. You're not talking about the club, but the main force of mages- all the way out east, near the capital. "Aren't they sending anyone?"
"Who can they send? They've got the same problems over there. If they had mages to send, we never would have put this club together. They would've put actual experienced mages in charge, rather than a bunch of students."
"True." You say. "So you're desperate enough to invite a cripple?"
"As far as I'm concerned, you're not a cripple at all." Zeke says. "You kept up with us before, and now you've fixed your problem. Good enough for me."
"Not for me." Marie says. "I'm- I'm grateful and all for you saving my life, but did you have to- did you-"
She cuts off- and for a moment, Sin is right behind her, happiness glinting in her eyes, as she whispers something in Marie's ears. Then she's gone again.
"How my new magic works," You say, shrugging. "No other way I could've done it. I would've had to have done it the same way to save the other two."
Zeke gags, slightly, but Marie nods, anger seemingly assuaged.

>[] I'm in wholeheartedly.
>[] I'm in... but only because my grandfather started the Association in this city, and it's up to me to keep my heritage alive.
>[] No. I'll help with the demons, because those are bad for everyone, but I can't trust you guys anymore. Except Zeke.
>[] Fuck you guys, etc etc.

>>3779358
>[] So you finally know what I'm worth? Good. I'll come with.
definitely thought this was Broken Sky Online at first glance in the catalog. RIP.

>>3779358
>[] So you finally know what I'm worth? Good. I'll come with.

>>3779443
>[] No. I'll help with the demons, because those are bad for everyone, but I can't trust you guys anymore. Except Zeke.

>>3779443
>[] I'm in... but only because my grandfather started the Association in this city, and it's up to me to keep my heritage alive.

>>3779443
>[] I'm in... but only because my grandfather started the Association in this city, and it's up to me to keep my heritage alive.

>>3779443
You sigh, and settle down.

"Alright, I'm in." You say. "But only because my grandfather started the Association in this city. I'm going to be keeping my heritage alive."
"As long as you help, we're glad to have you." Jeremy says. You nod, and take a seat at the table. Jeremy hands you a ring with a small crystal in the back, and you slip it on. It buzzes, slightly- and then you feel.. at home.

You relax back, and turn to Jeremy. "So. What's the details?"
"We're getting a demon or two a day, now." He says. "And they've been getting steadily stronger. A few of them have been emerging with... abilities."
"Really? Last night I didn't see anything like that," You say.
"Last night, that was just one of the normal ones." Maria says. "J-just... stronger. But the night before that... We had a demon creating smaller minions. Little... horrid dog things."
That's... not good, to say the least.
"It's usually the older demons that eventually develop abilities," You say. "Could they just be in hiding before they emerge?"
"How is that even possible?" Marie says. "A demon emerges as soon as they're born."

You just shrug. "I have no idea, then. I do know that they're not taking any more power from the parasites than normal, thought."

"They're getting more power from something, that's for sure." Zeke says. "Last one might not have had powers, but it was strong."

You turn, this time to glance at the Sin that is sitting in the corner staring at Zeke's sword. She glances at you, waves happily, beaming at you.

"We'll have to take a look into a demon as it gestates, before it hatches," You say. Then you eye the crystal, hanging above the table. "Which means I'll need to spend all day waiting for this thing to-"

There's a small flicker of light, and the crystal begins to vibrate.

"... Do that."

===

>The session is no longer live! I'll still be around, but I won't be posting updates until we're live again.
>Feel free to ask questions or for more details about things- I won't be spoiling important stuff, but if there's a few small setting details you guys want I'm more than happy to give them up.
>Also, feel free to make long-term plots and plans during the time between live sessions. It might not be very easy this early on in the quest, when some things haven't been introduced yet, but I'm just making sure you guys know for now- I'm perfectly fine with integrating that kind of stuff into the quest.

>>3779540
Thanks for running! I'm really digging the quest concept here

>>3779540
Kinda want to make trinkets, but not sure how to spin that within the spheres of power.

A "barrier" that devours projectiles? Maybe it'll work for the melee fighters, but no so good for teamplay.

War is extremely flexible, but that could easily mean torture, massive collateral, and bioweapons. Maybe stick to additional sidearms and turn everyone into walking armories.

>>3779802
Okay okay, full list:

>A "barrier" that devours magical projectiles within an area of the trinket
>Hunger Chili Grenade that causes nearby targets to want to get distracted and try to eat the spicy ball.
>War knives. Both regular knives amped up with homing or something, and warcrime knives that'll dissolve after hitting to bleed the target out(and let you eat the blood I guess)
>Parasite Vacuum Cleaner. Limiting the regions of demon food limits the regions of demon activity.

Yo, good to see you back exabyte, will be lurkin

>>3778939
>You push your anima out of your arms and into your lungs and legs, boosting your speed at the cost of worthless arms- and you run.

...Are we Naruto running?

>>3779802
>>3779818
>One thing to keep in mind is that not everything you need to do has to be related to Sin- It's only that by channeling Sin- acts of wrath, gluttony, etc- you can regenerate mana.
>Trinkets can essentially do pretty much anything, but they all have a different mana cost to use, determined by the power and complexity.


>That said, I'm going to be writing the next post and we'll be live again!

File: BSQ Resume.png (1.11 MB, 1030x1024)

1.11 MB PNG

>And we're live!

You, Zeke, Jeremy, and Maria rush out the door. The four of you quickly rush into Jeremy's car- a small sedan- and he guns it, tearing out of the parking lot as quickly as possible.

"Where is it this time?" Zeke asks, leaning forward from the back seat toward Jeremy.

"It's... the park again." Jeremy says, eyes fluttering closed for a moment. You turn to Zeke, and both of you look out the front window again.

Not a good sign- Demons almost never arrive in the same location. Something strange is definitely going on. Jeremy just accelerates.

And what you see when you get there. startles you. Rather than a hatching demon, you see... four robed figures. All of them wearing black, holding hands, looped in circle. Parasites- ones that should be few and far between, so soon after a demonic awakening last night- are crowded around their feet, implike arms and legs curled up in supplication.

You can see the pulsing veins in space, wavering cracks slowly beginning to appear in the area within their clasped arms. The sign of a demon gestating. Your altered eyes, able to see parasites, can see them slowly- willingly- giving up their own spiritual energy, pushing it all into the vortex that is the center of the circle.

Zeke bursts out of the car, and begins to run toward them, his anima flooding his body, supercharged by both his godbinding and his mana.

"Hey!" He calls. You burst out as well, doing your best to follow.

As you and Zeke get closer, the pulsing veins- like cracks in space- grow larger, and larger.

Zeke rears back, kneeling down, power surging through his body.

"You four!" He roars. "Get away!"

He leaps- and one of the robed figures lash an arm out at him. A wave of mana washes over you, and Zeke gets blown back in mid-air, eating dirt.

The four robed figures slowly turn, to face you. They're all wearing stone masks, feminine in appearance, with wicked daggers on their hips. You can feel the anima roiling off of their skin. Corrupt, boiling mana filling them from within. It's not natural mana- but power taken from other humans. Power gained from eating the soul of another, their capacity amplified to many times higher than a normal mage.

Warlocks.

One of them steps forward, and a feminine voice rings out from underneath the mask.

"Children of the Association!"

Behind her, space finally crumbles, and a large, bipedal demon stands behind her, wrapped in heavy metal and with large, curling ram horns coiling out and behind its helmet. Rather than instantly attack the humans near it, it kneels slightly, crouching on the ground. Twisted bone cleavers sit in each arm.

"Behold! You may retreat with your lives." She calls. "To face us is to die!"

At your side, Zeke stands, ready to fight. Heat washes over your back, as Marie's hands blaze into fire.

"They're all ready to fight. No hesitation." Sin whispers in your ear. "Are you?"


>Mana: 8/10
>[Write-in] How do you intend on fighting, if at all?

>>3780463
How good are our illusions?

Can we absorb energy from the parasites mid-combat?

My suggestion is to cloak ourselves and gank one of the cultists. Use more illusions to hide the others and misdirect the attacks of the demon and the cultists.

Also, call them punk-ass bitches who had to resort to cannibalism in order to gain any real modicum of power. Call them pathetic, weak, etc. Via auditory illusions, of course.

>>3780463
>plant ideas into their minds to have them expect the opposite of what we're really going to do. And when they start to doubt the voice in their head, do exactly what we've whispered into their ear.

>>3780463
Make an illusion of few more people on your side

You step back, and with a thought, you wreath yourself in mana, isolating your anima from the outer world. Pulling it around you like a cloak, you fade from view- hiding yourself both with physical senses and spiritual ones. Like a veil, but stronger.

You barely duck out of the way as spears of flame blast over your shoulder- Marie's work, tearing into the sky and arcing down to crash down upon the warlocks and their... pet demon. Two of the warlocks raise their arms, magical shields forming into the sky, flooded with more mana than a normal mage could bring to bear.

But Marie is stronger than one would think. The spears of fire come crashing down, smashing into the shield with force and heat few can bear. One of the warlocks fall to their knee, the shield ringing loudly and beginning to fall apart. A third warlock steps forward, reinforcing the other two warlocks with her own shield.

Marie grits her teeth, breathing heavily, and throws more spears of flame. This time, you can outright see the magic clash with more than just your spiritual senses.

The sound of screeching metal brings your attention to the center of the battlefield. The demon and Zeke are already in the middle of fighting, Zeke's one sword against the monstrosity's two axeblades. Sparks fly as Zeke protects himself with nothing but his sword, parrying each blow as it comes. The fourth warlock- the leader, the one who spoke- brings forth power in her palms, wrapping it into a sphere to throw at Zeke- and you shove your own mana into her spell.

It detonates in her hand, and she screeches, stumbling back. Her gloves are seared, smoke flying from her palms, and she glances across the battlefield, looking for you.

Instead, she finds Jeremy, and flings lightning his way. Jeremy ducks, and the blast rocks his sedan, leaving a large scorch mark where it landed. He returns with a much weaker blast, and the Warlock simply blocks it, before throwing her own magic again. The warlocks' shields are still holding, but they can't do much else with Marie bombarding them. Zeke is matched equally with the demon, and Jeremy is playing dodgeball with the leader.

Time for you to step in.
Under the veil of magic, you reach down, into the parasites, and flood them with your own mana. You're not amazing at spiritual manipulation, but a freestanding illusion is much easier if they have something to anchor it to. And the parasites are good enough. You wrest control of them

From everyone else's perspective, ceramic golems climb out of the ground, and their arms raise. They begin lumbering toward the three warlocks, coming closer and closer. The magic you've stuffed into the parasites forces them to walk forward under your will. The warlocks keep looking between Marie's unending blasts of fire, causing the shields to tremble, and the summoned minions, lumbering their way.

>Continued!

>>3780628
One turns to face the summoned minions- That moment is more than enough for you to slide some more mana under the other two warlocks- shields, weakening them from within, when Maria's next barrage comes slamming down. Both shields break under her barrage, and the lances of fire come crashing down on their heads.

The warlocks are blown aside, tumbling to the ground. One struggles to get back to their feet- and Marie snarls. It's quite a sight- Marie tears the heat out of the air, frost crawling along the ground around her as it all wells up into her palm- the fire from her previous attacks streaming back into her hands.

"Get the demon!" You hiss in her ear, an application of your mana, while you bolt toward the one remaining warlock. The warlock stumbles to her feet, dazed and confused- and you grab the back of her neck. Your anima clashes against hers, and her eyes widen- before your mana slithers down into her psyche. Her eyes glaze over, and a moment later, she sees your clubmates as friends to be protected- and instead of the leader, she sees her most hated foe.

The leader shields herself from the sudden assault of your new minion, while Zeke and the Demon continue to clash. Zeke parries a particularly heavy blow, stumbling back, panting for air-

When a spear of flame the size of a telephone pole slams into it, heat and fire erupting into its body, fragments of metal shooting out everywhich way. Zeke barely covers himself with his sword, batting away a fragment or two that got a bit too close to his face.

Then he gets to his feet, and turns toward the leader. The leader takes a deep breath-

And you feel anima wash over you- even from this far away? It's like the leader's power is swelling, encompassing the entire park. It's immense- the power of a dozen human souls, all consumed. It swells. You bring up your aura, protecting yourself from her anima, and you can see your clubmates doing the same.

The leader hisses, something low and in latin- and a second later, she's gone, as are the two unconscious, burned warlocks.

The one that survived- your minion, illusions in her soul- screeches. "That BITCH! She got away!" The masked woman- the warlock- turns to you. "But at least you guys are alright. She didn't hurt you, did she? Oh god, are you guys alright?"

"... What's with her?" Zeke asks.

You may have overdone the illusion. But it's only a warlock- Mages rarely consider them people- they're certainly not protected from the rules, that's for sure.

"What interesting magic you used." Sin hissed. "Just a bit more, and she'd be yours. Maybe forever..."

>Mana: 5/10
>[] Magic. She's our best friend now. We should question her.
>[] If you told your friends this warlock was actually a normal mage doing infiltration, you could give her instructions to meet up with you later.
>[] Kill her- she's just a Warlock, after all.

>>3780670
>[] Magic. She's our best friend now. We should question her.

>>3780670
>[x] Magic. She's our best friend now. We should question her.

>>3780670
>If you told your friends this warlock was actually a normal mage doing infiltration, you could give her instructions to meet up with you later.
No reason not to get her on our side

>>3780670
>[] If you told your friends this warlock was actually a normal mage doing infiltration, you could give her instructions to meet up with you later.
Our first minion!

"Magic," You say, turning to them. "She's our best friend now. We should question her."

Marie and Jeremy look at eachother, and simultaneously nod.

"Where should we take her?" Marie asks.

"Not the clubroom. We can't let anyone know where that is." Jeremy says.

"My house isn't too far from here," You say. You turn to the warlock. "Excuse me, but could you come with us?"

"Oh, sure! We're friends, aren't we? " The warlock says, seemingly cheerful. She looks around- "Oh, the mission's over." - and takes off her mask- and it's a stunningly pretty blonde underneath it.

You end up squished into the back, between the warlock and Marie.

"So, what's your name, anyway?" The warlock asks. "I'm Allison!"

"Tanis," You say, and Zeke and Marie both turn their heads to look at you, "So, what was that mission you guys had to do?"

"Well, That Bitch said we had to summon a demon, build some forces for combat." Allison says- you can hear her distaste for 'that bitch', but that might be artificial. "I said no, because we knew the association was in town, but they all voted. I'm not even any good at spiritual manipulation. They didn't even have to take me, but nooo, I'm the only one that can see the lesser demons, nooo, I'm the only one with a strong enough anima to scoop them all up. Ugh."

"Can you tell me more about your magic group?" You ask.

"Well, our circle has twelve people," She says. "There's That Bitch herself, Shannon, and then a bunch of other guys. We're all Warlocks- we follow the true path of magic, and Shannon tries her best to teach us how to use our new power."

"The true path?"

"Ohmigod, you haven't heard? Well, you know how mana works, right? The part where you can't cast a spell if you don't have enough mana for it, right?" Allison says. You roll your eyes, but Zeke leans in. "The True Path is the path of a warlock! If you absorb the soul of another person, you can keep more mana in your soul at once, meaning you can cast more and more powerful spells! your anima is stronger, your mana is stronger, and it's good for you!"

"It's not good for the people whose soul you eat." Marie snaps. Allison frowns for a moment.

"Yeah, but they're just mundanes. they don't really use their souls anyway. Trick is, rather than just eating all of it, you just take a huge chunk. The mundane gets better eventually, and you get more powerful! It's what the lesser demons do."

You all get to your house, and you lead Allison all the way down into your Atelier. She grins, looking around.

"You've got a pretty nice workshop, down here!" She says. "A demonstone, a bunch of magic item creation tools... Ooh, you even have a cage for lesser demons!" She says, gesturing at your cage. The parasites inside sit curled in small balls, conserving their power.

"Looks like you have her pretty handled." Jeremy's voice whispeers in your ear. "I don't want to destabilize the illusion by asking anything, so you should probably do it.

>[Write-in] Ask more questions!

>>3780852
>where is your base located. Your HQ
Seems obvious

>>3780852
>I'm the only one that can see the lesser demons
I wonder if she can see Sin, if she can we should give her a hint no to talk about her.

"You can see parasites? I mean, the lesser demons?" You ask, gesturing toward the cage.

Allison nods. "Yeah! It's just a natural talent of mine," She says. "Most warlocks have to absorb the right kind of summoned demon to do it, but I was born with the ability. As soon as I was awakened, I could see them."

You examine the cage, the parasites curled up inside, and back at Allison. You'd had to work hard to see the parasites- it took a complex ritual, a hefty amount of mana, and you had to catch one without even being able to perceive it- and it's a lot harder when you have to do the same ritual on a cage that could easily be empty half a dozen times. But you restrain your jealousy.

"So, where does your circle hang out? Your HQ?"

"Well, I'm not supposed to tell anyone..." She says, trailing off. She frowns for a moment, as if she's coming back to herself.

"Oh, then don't worry about it," You say, shooting her a smile. Now to reinforce the spell- "We're friends, I wouldn't want to push you on any kind of secrets."

Behind you, Zeke leans close to Marie and whispers something.

"Alright, that's fine," Allison says, sitting back in one of your chairs. "Still though, nice workshop. Do all of you guys work on this, or is it just Tanis?"
"It's just mine," you say, settling back. You give Jeremy a glance, and shrug. Through your magic, you send him a simple whisper- That you probably can't push her too much on this without her breaking the spell. You could probably dig in some more, do a more... complete rewriting, and get more information.

Jeremy nods, message received. He takes a deep breath and sighs. "Sorry, Allison it was nice to meet you, but, me and these two need to go. Tanis can take you home."

He gives you one last glance to tell you that you know what to do.

"Alright! Nice meeting you guys too!" She waves, and the three of them leave. "Yeah, I probably don't have to be back for another few hours. That bitch tried to teleport me back, but fuck her, you know?"

"Yeah. She sounds like a jerk," You say- Though Allison hadn't said anything about her.

Now. You're alone, except for Allison, yourself, and the Sin that is grinning and suddenly bouncing in your lap.

>[] Delve into her memories. This isn't an exact science, and you're not the best at spiritual manipulation, so whatever's left.. probably won't even be a person anymore. But you'd know everything as she knows it. [-3 mana]
>[] Brainwash her. It might take a long time, and it'd drain you of mana, but in the end you'd have a loyal warlock, unable to consume souls further and following your every will. [-5 mana]
>[] Just do it with your own hands. You can feel Sin's glee from here [Channel Sin]
>[] Call the association- tell them they have another warlock to execute.

>>3781162
>do it with your own hands means to kill her, by the way. Just making sure you're aware.

>>3781162
>[] Brainwash her. It might take a long time, and it'd drain you of mana, but in the end you'd have a loyal warlock, unable to consume souls further and following your every will. [-5 mana]
Not exactly the pinnacle of morality, but meh.

>>3781195
Actually now that i think about it, brainwashing is probably better than turning her into a husk. So yeh. Brainwash it is.

>>3781162

>[] Brainwash her. It might take a long time, and it'd drain you of mana, but in the end you'd have a loyal warlock, unable to consume souls further and following your every will. [-5 mana]
More edge than I'm usually comfortable with, but maybe we can make something that isn't cookiecutter.

"Hey, Allison, do you have family?" You ask, all of a sudden. She raises her eyebrows.
"Not anymore," She says. After a moment, she raises her hands. "No, I mean, um. I don't really talk with my mom much anymore. I came over here for school, and then, um, I saw someone without any Lesser Demons attached to them- back then I called them clingers- and, well... That bitch showed me magic and ruined my schooling. I haven't been back in months."
"You're not even staying in the dorms?"
"No, the circle all stays, uh, at our base. I'm sorry I can't tell you much more about that." She says.
"Don't worry about it," You say, leaning forward to touch her shoulder. "We're friends, aren't we?"

She smiles and nods, and you touch your anima to hers.

Allison's soul is convoluted, twisted and gnarled- multiple souls welded together, strands of her original soul stretched out like the roots of a tree. Your first spike of mana bores deep into the very core of her, the heart- and Allison's body collapses, completely unconscious- a sleep deeper than possible without magic, to the point where it takes you a small spell simply to keep her neurons firing and heart beating.

You can even feel fragments of the consumed souls, still remaining- fragments of memory, of emotion, even a small amount of awareness. Trapped, and screaming. No smarter than a bird or fish, but still there. You scoop it out, carefully putting it out of its misery, breaking down those fragments into raw spiritual force. Like mortaring bricks together, you first piece together fragments of her soul, into a more sane, ordered structure. Her memories, the memories of her victims, and her emotions- all of the requisite spiritual organs where they belong...

And then time for your dirty work. You dive deep into her emotions, supplementing it with the emotions of her victims. Tweaking and rewriting, tearing chunks out. Her respect for her circle of warlocks, twisted toward you. Her loyalties, amplified, laser-focused on you- her entire self-identity, rerouted, tweaked slightly. Most importantly, you're barely able to find memories associated with her soul-eating. Both those from her and her victims. You tear out the pleasure she got from the feeling of power, and replace it- this time with the anguish and terror her victims felt.

Your work takes hours. By the end, your anima is sore, and your head pounds. You pull away from Allison, and Sin is- apparently bored- reading through the titles of your books, careful not to touch them, lest she wipe off even the slightest amount of dust. Through the high basement windows at the top of your workshop, you can see moonlight streaming in- it's late.

As someone with such a strong will would, Allison awakes immediately, eyes fluttering open. She stares at you for a long, long time, her easy smile nowhere to be found- just dead, green eyes.

"Allison?" You ask. Like a switch is flipped, she smiles softly.

"Master," She says.

>Continued!

"Where is the base for your circle of warlocks?" You ask.
"They're not my circle. Not anymore," She says, "But I know what you mean. Shannon's patron has hidden a small building within the barriers between reality, where demons gestate," Allison says, and you hiss. That's some complicated- and powerful- magic. "The gateway can be found only during the full moon, or through direct teleportation. The gateway can be found on the southside, off of the boardwalk."

Teleportation? That's a pretty serious magic. Space-time is something most mages don't like to mess with. As for a gateway like that... Sounds naturally-occuring, rather than something made.

"Who in the circle can use teleportation magic?"
"Shannon, for sure. Her patron too. I heard Amy's learning, but last time she tried, Davin had to regrow her fingers. But that was a few weeks ago. Amy probably knows by now."
"What do you know about Shannon's patron?"
"He's..." Allison shudders, "scary."
"What do you mean?"
"He's grafted demonic parts into his body. A-and his soul. He- he lives in the barrier, where demons grow. It's just... disgusting. It's horrible."
Much like Allison's soul, then, you don't say.
"What's his name?"
"I- I never caught it. She just calls him Master, and we were all supposed to too."

"What are you good at? Magic-wise?" You ask.
"Anima!" She says. "I can supercharge my strength, but more importantly-" She doesn't even move, or gesture, but you can see her anima reach out a single, long tendril, poking at one of the parasites. "I can reach outside of my body with it."

You shudder- You've seen her soul, but only something like this shows you just how inhuman she is. The anima is what connects one's soul to their body- in an in-between state, both spiritual and physical in unusual ways. To be able to leave the physical matter behind, and send out only the spiritual aspect... But with that sort of thing, she'd be able to use a hyper-efficient form of telekinesis, within a short range of herself. No wonder she was the only one still conscious after Marie's barrage- everything within her area of control is her 'domain', and attacks have to push through meters of her energy before they can even touch her.

Allison looks away from you for a long moment. You sit back, relaxing, digesting what she's told you so far.
"Hey, Tanis?" Allison asks. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"What?"
"Like, umm, cleaning? Or cooking? I don't know how to cook very well, but- Or your workshop! It's really dusty in here, and there's scorch marks all over the place. I'm not very good at transforming things, but I can make a few repairs."

Sin is suddenly standing in front of her, staring carefully at her ear from the side. She turns to you, grinning- and then Sin is gone again.

>>Mana: 0/10
>[] Could you go pick up some parasites for me? I need to feed off of them. [Mana +6]
>[] Yeah, I could use a clean workshop
>[Write-in] Something else entirely.

Soooooo how are we playing this?

Be a complete hypocrite, some kind of ubermensch, or just take every advantage for sweet patron powers?

>>3781509
I'd say draw a line at innocent people. Those parasites and Warlocks are fair game in my opinion.
>>3781469
>[x] Could you go pick up some parasites for me? I need to feed off of them. [Mana +6]

>>3781516
Okay, I'll be a bit more direct:

She has no place to stay, is creepily devoted to us, and is hot. Is this going to get fucky?

>>3781469
>Let's figure out a place for you to stay. Maybe even a makeover too, so it'll at least be somewhat difficult for the circle to recognize you.

>>3781469
>Could you go pick up some parasites for me? I need to feed off of them. [Mana +6]

>>3781521
>Is this going to get fucky?
I think Sin will be terribly disappointed if it doesn't and so will I

>>3781521
This is a CHRISTIAN Mongolian basket-weaving image board. There will be no fuckery here.

Seriously though, the quest would probably need to be moved to Fiction.Live for that.

>>3781805
strictly speaking, you can get away with a LOT on this board.

I'm fine with whichever, but I just want to avoid waffling between contradictory paths God forbid we try to be nice and actually BELIEVE that it excuses the whole brainwashing thing.

>>3781805
>If there is fuckery afoot, we'll just fade-to-black through it. We'll be fine.

"Could you go pick up some parasites for me?" You ask, "I need to feed off of them."
"Sure thing!" Allison says, shooting you a smile.
"I'll give you the cage, just give me a second."
You reach out, sticking your fingers through the bars to the cage, and begin your work on the parasites you'd captured. You tap into their cores, breaking them to pieces- and absorbing the mana contained within.

Your hands shaking, alien energy raging through your body, you carefully pick up the now-empty cage and hold it out to Allison. She twirls it around her finger, pulling her hood up and slipping her mask on.
"Uh, do you have anything else to wear?" You ask.
"N-not really." She says, giggling anxiously.
"When you get back, we'll have to do something about that," You say.
Allison just nods, and cage in hand, flutters up the stairs, out into the night.

You slump back in your chair, taking a few moments to breathe. Sin is just grinning at you, smile wide.
"What?" You ask.
"And here I thought you'd be boring, lover," Sin purrs, "I never thought you'd take such an opportunity for yourself."
"It's pragmatic." You say, crossing your arms. "It was that or kill her, which would be a waste."
"You don't need to explain yourself to me, lover." Sin whispers, suddenly at your neck, lips and teeth nipping at you. "I'll always accept you."

===

When Allison returns, you're already done making food. By sheer habit, you made an extra plate for your other guest- Sin- meaning three plates sit cooling on the counter by the time Allison opens the door, cage full of frantic parasites.
"Ooh, you made food!" Allison says, slipping off her mask. There's a shimmer of light as she does.
"I did," You say. "One of those plates are for you."
"Does, uh, anyone else live here?" Allison asks, eying the spare plate.
"No."
You don't elaborate.

>Continued!

>>3781943
Allison nods, and the two of you begin to eat. Sin sits at the third plate, but doesn't partake. Now and then, you reach into the cage, just enough to consume more and more power from the parasites. Eventually, the cage is empty and your plate is clean.
"Do you have any money?"
"Yeah! How much do you need?" Allison asks. With a shimmer of light, she pulls a purse out of thin air. You find yourself nodding, a little impressed. Matter conversion isn't easy.
"I was asking for you," You say. "Sometime tonight or tomorrow, you should probably get a change of clothes or two. You can't exactly walk around in a robe and mask all day, and we don't want the warlocks to find you."
"Alright, I will." She says, nodding.
"We'll also need to find some place for you to stay..." You say.
"I can't stay here?" She asks. You don't have a good answer for that- there's no strong reason she can't stay...

But at the same time, you're curious about what she meant by the Warlock HQ being in the 'barriers between reality'. If you could make your own little base in there, you could do so much more research... A normal mage might worry about not being able to absorb mana from the environment there, but you don't have to worry about that- not with Sin at your side. Furthermore, now that you're back with the Association, you're going to need to fight more demons- and for that, making some magical equipment would be handy. The warlock mask has a pretty subtle veil, and you might be able to make your own, but strengthen it to the point that even mages can't see you... Or perhaps a weapon of some kind...

>>Mana: 6/10
>[] Send Allison shopping and work on pocket dimension research.
>[] Get Allison's help with pocket dimension research
>[] Send Allison shopping and work on magical equipment [Mana -3]
>[] Get Allison's help with magical equipment [Mana -1]
>[Write-in] Something else.

>>If you guys want to make some magical equipment, make sure to mention what it is you'd like to try. The simpler stuff is easy enough, but more complex gear could take multiple sessions of crafting and research to finish.

>>3781949
>>3781943
God damn it, I forgot my trip. Oh well. Just confirming that these posts are me.
Not that I really need to, what with ID codes and all

>>3781949
>Go shopping with Allison
It's probably the best way to keep her out of trouble in case any warlocks see her.

>>3781986
Yeah, I'll support this. I'll add

>Absorb more parasites on the way out

Would it be possible to absorb Mana from a full demon?

>>3781949
>Go shopping with Allison

>>3781949
>>Go shopping with Allison

>Sorry the post took so long- I'd chosen the wrong time to clean my keyboard and underestimated the time it would take for the keys to dry. I'll start writing the next post now!

"Well," You say, getting to your feet. "Let's get going, shall we?"
"Where are we going?" Allison asks, getting to her feet.
"Shopping." You say. "How good are you at matter conversion?"
"I can do it! I just have to force a lot of mana into it. But that's not a problem," She says. Right- as a Warlock, her mana capacity must be much, much higher than any normal mage. She'd be a walking black hole for the mana in the air- one of the many reasons Mages don't bear to deal with them.

Luckily, you're something different.

"Works for me," You say. "I've got a pretty big luggage case under the stairs. Mind converting it for me?"
"Sure!" She says, running downstairs. You note that she's abnormally agile, and graceful-,moving as if she were amplifying her anima all the time. Like a dancer. You begin cleaning up after dinner. A few minutes later, even you feel the sudden lack of mana in the air, like the humidity had all been sucked out and you're breathing in parched air. Light shines out from your workshop, and Allison runs back up.

"Done!" She says. She gestures- and with a flash of light, the luggage appears. A moment later, it vanishes back into light, settling into her mana again. "If, uh, it's not a problem, why did you have me do that?"
"Same concept as your purse. Now you can use it as a container for things. That way we won't have to lug everything home."
Your hands in your pockets, you and Allison walk out into the night, the robed figure fluttering in front of you. She twirls in the night sky, enjoying the brisk air. It's something that assuages your guilt, at least slightly- you hadn't destroyed her ability to enjoy herself. Not that she deserves it, being a soul-eater.
"Can you veil?" You ask.
"Sorry, Tanis. I couldn't figure it out." She says, shaking your head. You sigh, and shrug. May as well walk normally, and be hyper-vigilant about the warlocks. You keep an eye out, and a spell ready to fly, but as the two of you walk, nothing out of the ordinary arrives. In fact, there aren't any pedestrians nearby either.

Eventually, you make your way into the mart. It's one of the enormous ones, open all hours and sells essentially everything ever created by humankind. Not the best quality, and probably bad for the economy, but you don't care- you don't have a lot of money to spend, and you only need to get her the bare minimum. Plus, nobody else is open this late.
Allison wrinkles her nose. Apparently this place is too low-quality for her. But when she notices you looking, she looks away, cheeks red.
"Let's get you a few sets of clothes." You say. "And anything else you might need."
"Sure thing," She says, and you immediately take off.

The entire time she's shopping for outfits, you carefully keep an eye on her actions and expressions- anything, even the slightest hint that your spell may not have taken effect properly. But nothing is out of the ordinary- she's acting exactly like she should.

>Continued!

>>3782931
Eventually, the two of you walk out of the store. Allison's mask and robe are hidden away, already energy-converted with her other belongings, and she's wearing a skimpy skirt and midriff-bearing blouse. She doesn't seem to care too much about the cold, stepping out into it without even a shiver.

With more anima than a human should have, she's probably resistant to cold, or damage- Generally healthier, stronger, more sensitive than normal. Stronger sight and hearing- Almost like when you focus your hearing or focus your anima into your limbs, but all the time- and with every limb.

"She's the perfect bodyguard," Sin whispers. "The perfect weapon for you to wield. Shield and bloody, wicked sword, all in one."

While you walk, there's not a lot to say. Allison seems cheerful, but she's not speaking up much- it gives you time to think. If you could feed from a parasite, and the warlocks- who have done almost as much research on parasites as you have- consider them demons, then... that practice you designed, filtering a parasite's spiritual power away and into yourself...

Could you do the same with a demon?

You consider it, but you just don't have enough information. You know where to start, but it's harder than just deciding to research it- You'd need to find a demon of your own to capture, and somehow keep sealed while you experiment on it. But controlling a demon- You're not sure how you'd do that. Mages of old have tried, but illusions and binding spells never last long.

"Hey, Allison?"
"Yeah?"
"How was your circle going to control that demon?"
"I don't know. Shannon knows, though- she was the one who does that. Her.. horrible patron, that supposed 'master' knows too. He's always followed by two of them. There's a tall one and a fat one."
She tries gesturing with her hands, as if that helps you imagine the warlocks' Master's demons, but it doesn't illuminate much.
"Let's just go to bed when we get home" You sigh.
"Alright!" Allison responds.
"Moving a little fast, eh, lover?" Sin hisses in your ear, giggling. "Not that that's a bad thing. Women love a-"
"You'll be sleeping in the guest room," You tell Allison, cutting Sin off. The ruby-eyed goddess cackles, giggling as she slips behind you and vanishes.
"Sure thing!" Allison says again, as if she had a choice.

===
>>Mana: 7/10

The next morning, you wake to the smell of fried egg and Sin's weight on your waist. When you get upstairs, into the small kitchenette, Allison is there, having just finished a pretty simple breakfast. The bacon is a little charred, and it doesn't look like she spiced the egg at all.. But she tried.

Now you only need to figure out what to do with her- You're going to have to meet with your club today, probably after classes. But how to deal with Allison...

>[] Take her with you, under veil- though you'll need to be the one to cast that on her. [-1 Mana]
>[] Leave her home
>[] Have her come in after classes.
>[Write-in] Something else?

>>3782980
>[] Take her with you, under veil- though you'll need to be the one to cast that on her. [-1 Mana]

>>3782980
>[] Take her with you, under veil- though you'll need to be the one to cast that on her. [-1 Mana]

>>3782980
>[] Take her with you, under veil- though you'll need to be the one to cast that on her. [-1 Mana]

>>3782980
>Have her come in after classes.
There's no need to have her with us at all times

>>3782980
>[] Take her with you, under veil- though you'll need to be the one to cast that on her. [-1 Mana]
She can sit in the class or chill in the clubroom making stuff, I guess.

>Sorry for the wait!

"Alright, let's get going. I have classes, and you're coming with."
"Alright!" Allison chimes in. After the two of you get ready, you reach forth with your magic, wreathing her in a veil. It's a bit of a challenge, stretching your mana out so far to encapsulate all of her anima, but eventually the magic goes through.

"Sustain that with your own mana," you say. "I trust you know how?"
"Yeah." Allison says. "Though we don't really use these very often."
Of course not. Combat veils- making oneself invisible to mages- would be worthless, since a warlock was easy to find- what with the vacuum of power surrounding them.
"Should be good enough to keep the mundanes from seeing you," You say. "I can't really hide you from mages."
"Okay." She says, and the two of you head out.

===

Classes are pretty normal, even with your invisible, intangible friend following along- then again, it's not like it's much different than when you went after godbinding Sin. You're getting a little used to having people invisibly following you.

"So, the monster hunters recruit you yesterday?" Max asks, leaning back in her seat.
"Yep," You say, and wiggle your fingers to show off the ring sitting there. "They never should've kicked me out in the first place, anyway."
"Yeah, I agree." Max says, hand slapping onto your shoulder. "Shoulda' just let those idiots suffer without you, to be honest."
"I was tempted, but... Can't really do it by myself," You say, "I'm not that strong yet."
"Yet?"
"I've got some more things to work on." You say, with a grin.

===

When you finally make it into the clubroom, the rest of the Association are sitting in their chairs, chatting, but the moment Allison comes in behind you- they all stand, Zeke's sword in hand and Marie's fingers beginning to heat up.
"No need for fighting just yet," You say. "Everyone, this is Allison. Allison, this is everyone."
"Why did you bring her here?" Marie snaps.
"Well, did you guys want to interrogate her? She does know all of the enemy's secrets."
"Not all of them," Allison says- she's still smiling, as if Marie's hostility doesn't even phase her. "But many, yes."
"You're on our side now? As a warlock?" Marie asks, glaring.
"I belong to Tanis." Allison says, smiling proudly at that fact. "I'll do anything he asks of me, and right now he wants me to answer your questions."
She even correctly assumed what you wanted- Good. Her loyalty isn't literal, or stupid- she's able to accurately assess your wants. Useful. You really outdid yourself with her.

Jeremy looks between you and Allison, and then back to the pretty blond- and back to you.
He steps forward, and grabs your collar- somewhere between shocked and horrified.
"Tanis, what did you do?" He asks, in a low voice. "That's a human being!"

Marie and Zeke are carefully interrogating Allison- none of the three seem to notice you and Jeremy.

>[Write-in] How do you respond?

>Sorry for the wait!

"Alright, let's get going. I have classes, and you're coming with."
"Alright!" Allison chimes in. After the two of you get ready, you reach forth with your magic, wreathing her in a veil. It's a bit of a challenge, stretching your mana out so far to encapsulate all of her anima, but eventually the magic goes through.

"Sustain that with your own mana," you say. "I trust you know how?"
"Yeah." Allison says. "Though we don't really use these very often."
Of course not. Combat veils- making oneself invisible to mages- would be worthless, since a warlock was easy to find- what with the vacuum of power surrounding them.
"Should be good enough to keep the mundanes from seeing you," You say. "I can't really hide you from mages."
"Okay." She says, and the two of you head out.

===

Classes are pretty normal, even with your invisible, intangible friend following along- then again, it's not like it's much different than when you went after godbinding Sin. You're getting a little used to having people invisibly following you.

"So, the monster hunters recruit you yesterday?" Max asks, leaning back in her seat.
"Yep," You say, and wiggle your fingers to show off the ring sitting there. "They never should've kicked me out in the first place, anyway."
"Yeah, I agree." Max says, hand slapping onto your shoulder. "Shoulda' just let those idiots suffer without you, to be honest."
"I was tempted, but... Can't really do it by myself," You say, "I'm not that strong yet."
"Yet?"
"I've got some more things to work on." You say, with a grin.

===

When you finally make it into the clubroom, the rest of the Association are sitting in their chairs, chatting, but the moment Allison comes in behind you- they all stand, Zeke's sword in hand and Marie's fingers beginning to heat up.
"No need for fighting just yet," You say. "Everyone, this is Allison. Allison, this is everyone."
"Why did you bring her here?" Marie snaps.
"Well, did you guys want to interrogate her? She does know all of the enemy's secrets."
"Not all of them," Allison says- she's still smiling, as if Marie's hostility doesn't even phase her. "But many, yes."
"You're on our side now? As a warlock?" Marie asks, glaring.
"I belong to Tanis." Allison says, smiling proudly at that fact. "I'll do anything he asks of me, and right now he wants me to answer your questions."
She even correctly assumed what you wanted- Good. Her loyalty isn't literal, or stupid- she's able to accurately assess your wants. Useful. You really outdid yourself with her.

Jeremy looks between you and Allison, and then back to the pretty blond- and back to you.
He steps forward, somewhere between shocked and horrified.
"Tanis, what did you do?" He asks, in a low voice. "That's a human being!"

Marie and Zeke are carefully interrogating Allison- none of the three seem to notice you and Jeremy.

>[Write-in] How do you respond?

>>3784482
>I saved her, if anything. Would you have preferred that I reported her to the Association so they can just execute her?

>>3784482
"Correction, it WAS a human being. Now it's a Warlock. As far as I'm concerned, it gave up its right to be human when it started eating other people's souls.

I can dispose of her if you really want, but I feel that would be a waste. I'm not even abusing her or anything."

>>3784482
>Would you prefer I killed her? There's a lot more things I would personally gain if I did that.
>Warlocks are kill on sight, we need information, and this causes both less suffering while being more reliable than torture.
>She won't be eating anyone's souls, heck she'd properly risk her life to stop that from happening in front of her.
>Unless you want to petition for some sort of Warlock POW classification in the greater association, Warlocks are exempt from basic human rights. The only danger is the temptation to treat humans the same way.

>>3784482
What did you guys want me to do before you all left?

If i dived into her mind to get what information I wanted it would have shredded her mind and left her a husk. Then what? carry around a vegetable or just dispose of her?

Or should I have slowly befriend her to the point she trusts me enough to spill all her secrets, then after she has outlived her usefulness, do I turn her over to the Association to be executed? Not even I can be that cold. If I were, then I'd have left you all to die fighting that demon.

Shes better off serving us and paying back to humanity after what shes done. If you want to kill her, or send her off to be executed then you do it by your own hands.

"Correction," You say, "It was a human being. Now it's a warlock. As far as I concerned, it gave up its right to be human when it started eating other people's souls." Jeremy frowns, but you lean forward. "She won't be eating anyone's souls now. Hell, she'd probably rick her life to stop that from happening in front of her. She's better off serving us and paying back to humanity after what she's done. If you want to kill her, then send her off to be executed."
"..." Jeremy is silent. You take a breath, and lock eyes with him.
"Or you can do it with your own hands," You finish.
"You made your point," He says. "You're sure she won't be hurting anyone?"
"Not if I don't tell her to."
"Then I guess we'll just have to deal with her," Jeremy says.

By the time you're done with your heart to heart with Jeremy, the other three have pulled out a map of the city, and Allison had marked out the exact location of the Gate. On top of that, you notice a few marks for demon emergences, complete with dates and times.
"Yes, I remember that one." Allison is saying, pointing at one of the sightings. "I didn't partake, but I remember the rest going out to prepare. This was before they figured out I could see Lesser Demons."
At this point, Jeremy walks back to the table. "So, what did you guys figure out?"
"About half of the increase of demon emergences are due to the warlocks artificially summoning them," Marie says. She's got a small graph next to her, and is scribbling things down. "Even if we ignore the ones they summoned, there's still a lot more emerging than they should. The warlocks are part of the problem, but not all of it."

"Shit," Jeremy says, tapping at the table. "And here I was hoping it was just the Warlocks, as horrible as that sounds."
"At least we know where to start," Marie says. "The warlocks know more about demons than we do. They have a library, right?"
"Yeah," Allison nods, "Shannon also has a study, and she has some books her master gave her. I didn't read a lot of them, but there is a few old tomes on demonic entities."
"Then that's somewhere to start. We need that information." Jeremy says. "The only problem is actually dealing with the warlocks. There's ten of them. Eleven, if you count that Master of theirs."
"He's not always there," Allison says, "But it's hard to know when he leaves and comes back."
"On top of that, we have... two combat-capable mages, and Allison here." Maria says. "Jeremy sucks at combat and Tanis has his problem."
"I can try making a call to the rest of the Association," Jeremy says, "Get some more mages."
"And what if they ignore us like always?" Zeke asks, sighing.
"Yeah. that's a problem," Jeremy says. "But we need those books, and we need to stop the demon summonings."

>[] We can lure the warlocks out in small groups. Divide and conquer.
>[] Full moon is in a week. We can enter their gate and siege their stronghold.
>[] Perhaps we could sneak in somehow...
>[Write-in] Another plan?

>>3784654
>Perhaps we could sneak in somehow...

>>3784654
>[] We can lure the warlocks out in small groups. Divide and conquer.
>Only Shannon and her master can control the demons. We take Shannon out, and the fight becomes a free for all, and I think they'll have a bit more trouble teleporting without their subleader.

>>3784654
>[] We can lure the warlocks out in small groups. Divide and conquer.

>>3784654
>We can lure the warlocks out in small groups. Divide and conquer.

Ambush them during their summoning attempts.

We should at least let the Association know that Warlocks are operating in this area.

>>3784724
+1

"Well, we should at least let the Association know," You say. "But here's an idea; we can lure the warlocks out in small groups, or ambush them during their summoning attempts."
"That's a plan," Marie says, frowning. "But it's hard to tell when they're doing it until they're almost done. By the time we get there, demon will have emerged."
"Uh, could we do anything about the fact that warlocks suck up all the mana in the air?" Zeke asks, "Like, even now, I can feel Allison taking it all up, and she's not casting anything."
"Sorry," Allison says, somewhat sheepish. "My anima requires an upkeep."
"Yeah, we can feel it when they're near, but that isn't very useful. It's a big city," Jeremy says.

"What if we built a map?" You ask. They turn to face you. "Back home, my demon-crystal is attached to a scrying map. What if we made a new demon-crystal, but instead of demons, we set it to find a lack of mana?"
"Even with a dozen warlocks, they wouldn't make a void large enough for a crystal to sense," Jeremy says. You just grin.
"Normally, yes," You say. "But here's the thing. Their base is in the barrier between worlds. No mana reaches it, right?"
Allison nods.
"So it's a complete void. No mana at all. So when their leader teleports, it opens a hole between the barrier. With the aura she had to emanate when they all ran away, the hole would be easily big enough that all of the mana would be sucked out- like unplugging a drain."
"Allison?" Jeremy asks, and the girl turns to face him. "When this Shannon teleports, does the warlock's base flood with mana?"
"I think," Allison says. "It's hard to say how much, since it's all gone in a little bit, but..."

"It's worth a try," Jeremy says. "I'll go start working on it. Zeke, just stay ready. Marie, can you contact the Association and tell them what's going on? "
"Sure thing," She responds. Then she gestures at Allison; "Should we..."
"No need to mention her."
"Do you want some help?" You ask Jeremy, while he collects a handful of glass beads.
"No, I've got a good idea of what this will take. It might take me a few days. We just have to stay on our toes until-"

The demon crystal flashes, flickering light hiding in its heart. It begins gleaming brighter and brighter, and Jeremy just sighs, pressing his fingers into his eyes.
"You guys go." He says. "I can contact the association. Like Marie said, I'm useless in combat."
"It's your car, dude," Zeke says- and jumps when Jeremy throws the keys at him.
"Just go."

>Continued!

>>3785201
Big boss is probably going to show up.

No way this is gonna be just a milk run with more warlocks.

>>3785201
The plaza is large, with tall skyscrapers surrounding you. People are walking about each and every way, and Zeke is honking the horn rapidly, trying to push past people. Eventually, he just jumps out.
"Marie, give me a veil."
"What?" Marie asks, looking around. "What do you mean?"
"Just slap one on me, and make it strong," Zeke says. She touches his shoulder, wreathing him in a veil. For a moment, it's hard to perceive him, even knowing he's there. And Zeke grabs at the invisible field of energy wrapping him- he pours power into it, inflating the veil like it's a balloon- and then he thrusts it forward.

A shockwave of power rages forth, and Zeke snarls- He twists at the air, anima dancing a few inches off of his skin, and a second later-

There's a long veil, hovering in empty space in front of the car, straight down the street. The mundanes wandering across the street blink, and carefully step out of the veil, dizzied and confused. For a moment, like parting the sea, the crowd is parted. Zeke slips back into the driver's seat, and punches the pedal. Jeremy's shitty sedan makes a sound like a go-kart revving up, and you're off.

On foot, the three of you run toward the center of the plaza, where the Demon is emerging. There are no warlocks around. Mana is flowing normally in the air, and people seem to be walking around with their souls intact.
The center of the plaza- the fountain- has a bead of glowing light floating above it, pulsing veins of power surging in and out of existence around it. The people around here are having a good time- shopping, going out on dates, eating out... Not many are near the statue, their hindbrains making them uncomfortable there despite their inability to perceive the demon, but... They're too close.

"I'll have to put up a veil big enough to get them away," Marie says. "It'll take everything I have. It's up to you three."

Zeke sighs, but shoulders his sword. "Don't worry. I have this."

Allison just glances at you. You nod, and she puts on her mask. Her anima begins to swell, thrashing limbs twisting. Marie goes to one knee, hands on the plaza pavement, and a pulse of energy comes off of her in waves. The veil is thin, but large- large enough that the mundanes begin ambling away, their movements and actions hazy.

A long, thin hand punches a hole in space above the fountain. Covered in sea-green scales, the beast steps through. Two legs, two arms, a tail. What it has instead of a head is a set of a half-dozen knives, ambulatory and attached to the end of short, inky tendrils. It stomps down, heavy foot slamming into the fountain, cracking it, as the creature gets its bearings. It seems to 'sniff' at the air, looking this way and that- before noticing Zeke.

Then it rears back, leaning away from him- and thrusts its face-of-knives at him.

Long, thin blades shoot out like bullets across the plaza, and Zeke is wreathed in a storm of steel.

>[Write-in] What are you doing?

>>3785238
>[Write-in] What are you doing?
Mess with its perceptions and make it seem zeke is more "below the beast" as it gets closer so it shoves its head into the ground and get stuck.

I assume the shopping mall has concrete floors?

>>3785243
This but make it look like he ran past the knives and got under the demon.

>>3785357
Sure?

>>3785357
Actually scratch that, something different entirely hit it with a stronger blast while it's distracted and then give the illusion of you running around it while you go invisible.

>>3785238
>It seems to 'sniff' at the air
We may need to trick its sense of smell, try manipulating it into sensing a strong scent from the opposite side of Zeke

A smelly Anima bait on the ground?

>>3785238
>Hit it with a fireball

>>3785425
It seems the have sensed Zeke is the biggest theat, so if we make an illusion of stronger anima presence it might drop its guard against Zeke

Okay so whats the plan guys? Attack or distract?

I advocate for getting its face stuck in the ground or the wall or a pillar/column. Then wail on the damnable thing.

>>3785470
>I advocate for getting its face stuck in the ground or the wall or a pillar/column.
I can support this, it's better than starting with a direct attack

>>3785238
>Interrupt the regrowing of new knives, causing them to get stuck within the face and tendrils.

>>3785470
Agreed. Maybe conjure an illusion and make it impale the concrete

Zeke braces himself, sword held in front of him. His anima blazes, arms and eyes gleaming with inner light. Small, superhuman movements from his hand begin parrying knives- first dozens, then hundreds of them, metal flying every direction. You reach out with your magic, and throw a balled-up illusion into it- the smell of anima.

The demon stops firing, for a moment, and Zeke finally has a moment to breathe. The demon stumbles to the side, shaking its 'head' as if to shake off the smell. You didn't get it right- The demon's aware the smell is wrong, but sense reality through it. A second later, the illusion wears off. You throw a second one- but it doesn't seem to work. The Demon's adapted, and you're not sure how. You could probably figure it out with a few minutes of personal contact, but the demon would probably kill you first.

Before the beast gets its bearings again, Allison runs forward, alien tendrils of magic burrowing out of her flesh. Her anima writhes and slithers like a living thing, the tendrils coiling up and shooting out toward the demon. It responds by a twist of the head and a blast of more, never-ending knives. They don't even make it close to Allison- Her anima slows the attacks the the point of uselessness.

"Get close!" You yell, running toward it. Allison nods, grinning widely, and runs toward the beast. Noticing its projectiles didn't work, the demon rears back, 'face-knives' pointed outward, and it begins to slam down, head-first toward her.

Simultaneously, with two blasts of force, you shove Allison away with one hand and slam the demon's head into the concrete harder. Knives pierce into the stone, and the demon leans back- the tendrils connected between the knives and its neck pull taut, and it struggles to break free for a moment, pushing against the ground with its hands.

Allison rears back a fist, her anima coiling around her hand, wrapping it up, blazing with the inhuman power she wields- and she swings. There's a heavy boom from the air, a shockwave sending you stumbling.

Allison's hand is in its palm.

The demon is still trapped, body hunched forward, with its 'head' stuck in the ground. Tendrils writhe as it tries to wiggle itself free- but it still has a pair of hands and arms. It closes its fingers, and Allison screams as bones crack. It heaves, hard, and whips her at Zeke. The two collide, and Zeke's sword goes sparking against the ground.

A second later, the Demon is on its feet again, now 'facelesss', dozens of knives bristling between its fingers. It drops a few as it turns toward you, lumbering closer.

Allison and Zeke are down, though quickly regenerating. Maria is still focusing on her veil, dead to the world.

You're alone.

>Mana: 5/10
>[] "Heeey, Lover. Do you want some help?" [Channel Sin]
>[] Speed Allison and Zeke's healing [-2 Mana]
>[] Evade the beast until you get some help [-1 Mana]
>[Write-in] Something else. [-? Mana]

>>3785768
>[] "Heeey, Lover. Do you want some help?" [Channel Sin]

>>3785768
>Chain Lightning
here's hoping those muscles still run on electricity

>>3785768
Lighting bolt?
if we have that ability.

>>3785768
>[] Speed Allison and Zeke's healing [-2 Mana]
>[Write-In] Attack with more blasts of Force, aim for Joints [-1 Mana]

Let's hold off on channeling Sin until we're out of Mana.

>>3785802
+1

>>3785802
Do this if we can't shoot any lighting bolts or electricity.

It lumbers toward you, slowly trodding along, as if learning to walk. It suddenly leans forward, one palm to the ground for a second. When it gets up again, its legs have changed, mutated- And now it's moving faster.

Shit. You run toward Zack and Allison, and a few quick, sharp knives stab into the concrete where you once were. Slowly, the knives in its open hand are lifting into the air of its own accord, spinning in a lazy circle around it. Without its face, it can no longer create a 'storm', but it doesn't seem to care. A few more knives launch themselves at you, faster and faster.

You grit your teeth, welling mana up in your body, and you thrust out with a palm. White lightning blasts from your hand, trailing electricity, and slams straight into the creature's chest. It's body seizes, steaming and smoking, the creature's legs curling up underneath it. It twitches on the ground for a second. With your other palm, you throw force. A bolt of power crashes down on its arm. A savage crunch pulverizes the joint, and it goes limp. The demon slowly recovers, getting back to its feet. When it's back balanced again, you throw another blast of lightning.

But the demon is learning. The levitating knives coalesce in front of it, creating a disc of metal- your lightning blows them apart, knives scattering, but the demon is unharmed.

Its scales begin to peel away, opening small holes in it's body. Peering, golden eyes begin to pour out, the demon's form contorting. Its limp, broken limb falls off, thumping against the stone, and fresh new limb begins to grow. The knives pick themselves up again, and begin orbiting the demon, picking up speed once more. It picks up speed, legs morphing and contorting so that it can move faster, ever faster.

You don't have a lot of time. You turn to Zeke and Allison, running toward them. Allison is limp, but her anima is thrashing, flailing wildly. You reach thr-

The demon's hand slams into you, blowing you away. You cover your head and spine with your anima, bracing for the landing- and you bounce along the pavement, scraping your arms and chin badly. While you're recovering, white-hot pain slams into your back, a knife slamming home. You force anima into the wound, allowing you to keep moving despite the injury. You roll out of the way of a few more, barely able to get up to your feet in time. The Demon is moving fast, its arm already regenerated, but it's almost out of knives.

You could probably protect yourself long enough to wake someone, but it would all but drain you of mana.

>Mana: 3/10
>[] "As sexy as you are covered in blood, darling, I'd prefer it not be yours. Let me help you. Let us kill it. Let us eat it." [Channel Sin]
>[] Wake Marie. It means the falling of the veil, and you'll reveal the Demon to the mundanes, but... It's better than everyone dying. [-2 Mana]
>[] Heal Allison, Covering self with shield [-3 Mana]
>[] Heal Zeke, Covering self with shield [-3 Mana]
>[Write-in] Something Else.

>>3785888
>[] "As sexy as you are covered in blood, darling, I'd prefer it not be yours. Let me help you. Let us kill it. Let us eat it." [Channel Sin]
Alright Sin, might as well. Have at em

>>3785888

>[Write-in] Something Else

We've still got 3 Mana. Immobilize it with chains of force and try to drain the thing dry.

>>3785888
>>[] "As sexy as you are covered in blood, darling, I'd prefer it not be yours. Let me help you. Let us kill it. Let us eat it." [Channel Sin]

We don't really have any way to deal lasting damage to it and healing either of them would just put us back a step before we're in the same situation again. Besides, shouldn't they be getting up on their own soon anyway?

>>3785940
>>3785938
Actually, switch my vote to this, if we can manage to drain mana mid combat we'll be a lot more effective as a mage.

>>3785888
>[] "As sexy as you are covered in blood, darling, I'd prefer it not be yours. Let me help you. Let us kill it. Let us eat it." [Channel Sin]
Fiiine

>>3785888
>[X] "As sexy as you are covered in blood, darling, I'd prefer it not be yours. Let me help you. Let us kill it. Let us eat it." [Channel Sin]
I wonder what it tastes like? Is it spicy at all?

>>3785888
>Ready another lightning bolt, but this time try to magnetize the knife shield he puts up to pull out the rest of the knives the demon has.
>Get Allison between us and the demon, use her thrashing anima to trip the demon and buy some time get in close
>Shine a flashbang into its eyes and ears

>>3785888
>>3785981
>>3785938
I'll change to this, because we are too proud to ask for help just yet.

>>3785942
Wait a minute, couldn't we channel Sin to help us with this plan? Using Hunger so consume it's essence?

>>3786174
That "so" is meant to be a "to".

>>3785938
Also, if this ends up putting us above our maximum we can just use the excess for a flamethrower attack because it hasn't been exposed to that damage type yet.

>>3786174
Sin ought to be sharing half the power she gains with the consumption.

>Sorry about the wait, I was running an RPG, but we can keep going now:
>[X] Immobilize it with chains of force and try to drain the thing dry.

>Since this is something with a pretty solid chance of failure, we'll be rolling a percentile dice.
>Roll a 1d100
>I'll be taking the very first response quoting this post!

Rolled 8 (1d100)

>>3786357
>1 roll
uhoh

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>3786357

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>3786360
You've doomed us all!

>>3786367
looking at the other 2 rolls, I'd say I've doomed us about as much as everyone else.

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>3786368
Not as much as this roll.

>>3786360

You get to your feet, teeth gritted. More knives shoot toward you, and you stumble out of the way, your head getting a bit woozy. You're still a bit rusty- you haven't fought properly in months. A few more knives shoot out at you, as the demon stomps closer and closer. You slow one down with a quick spell, and knock it into the other. Finally, the demon is out of knives- they're all slammed too deeply into the concrete for the creature to push them down.

The demon charges, bulldozing toward you at full speed. The concrete shudders under your feet as it gets closer, almost into arm's reach. A hand rears back, about to swing.

You grit your teeth, welling up all the mana you have left, and flashforge a set of chains out of pure magic. Shackles forge themselves around the demon's wrists, and you pull.

The chains attach themselves to the ground, and the demon comes to a hard stop in place. A second later, it's on its knees- struggling against your implacable will. Then it's on its hands as well, fingers digging into the concrete as you force it below the ground.

You carefully walk forward, feeling your spiritual force draining along with your magic. If you get too dry, you'll lose consciousness. But you don't care. You pour all of your anima into your head and your legs. Enough to walk, and enough to stay conscious. You carefully lean forward- and press your head against the warm texture of the demon's flesh.

Human Anima meets Alien, and your world expands. You see the contorting soul of the demon, whirling lights and desire for human souls, and you reach deep, deep into it-

>8

And back in reality, knife-tipped tendrils shoot straight out of the beast's neck, whipping and thrashing as they shove you bodily back, pinning you into the ground. Your arms and legs are pierced, bleeding swiftly. You struggle to get up, but your arms and legs aren't working anymore. The tendrils let go of the knives they're holding, and return to the demon developing new knives as they reassemble into its 'face' once more.

Chains snap, and the beast gets on its feet again. It lumbers toward you, sniffing again. It looks down at you, as if appraising you- And then it turns.

Toward where you recall Zeke lying.

The last thing you see before you lose consciousness is the sound of Zeke fighting, sword flashing with light as he fights...

===

When you wake up, you're on a rooftop somewhere. Allison is protectively hovering over you, tendrils from her anima shoving power into your wounds, slowly and painfully healing them.

The plaza downtown is in flames. Helicopters are surrounding the fire, and firetruck sirens are blaring. Maria is curled up near the edge of the building. She's sobbing, tears rolling down her face. She holds the scuffed, half-destroyed remains of Zeke's sword to her chest.

"Is..." You ask, Throat dry.
"The Demon is dead," Allison says in a low voice, quiet enough where Maria can't hear, "And so is Zeke."

>Mana: 0/10
>[Write-in]

>>3786395
>Ask Allison to lift you up and hobble over to Maria
>Get the three of you back to base.

>>3786395
>Well fuck...

>>3786409
This, honestly. We just lost a friend, and while it was the demon's fault, we're the second person responsible. We fucked up.

Ask sin if there's anything we can do? Maybe a god knows how to bring back the dead? Even if we'd be insane to try it I feel the thought would briefly pass our mind.

>>3786504
Wanting to bring your friend back is probably pretty sinful. Greedy at the very least. I'm sure there's SOMETHING she could do about it.

>>3786408
>>3786409
>>3786504
>>3786515
Support.

"Well... Fuck," You say, and you try to get up. Your leg gives out from under you, but Allison is already helping you stand, attending to you. She helps you limp over to Maria, and you gently slump down next to her. Your wounds are still patching themselves together.

You push your fingers into your eyes.

Zeke- Ezekiel- He was the only one who always believed in you. Even when they kicked you out, Zeke wandered to your house to encourage you, keep you looking for a way to come back.

Magic can do anything if you know how, but... You don't know how to bring him back. You don't even have the slightest clue. And you don't even have mana anymore.

"Sin?" You ask, your voice low. At your request, your godbound appears, flickering into your vision. Her ruby eyes are dim, and her everpresent grim is gone.
"I'm sorry, Lover," She says. "I can't help you with this. Life doesn't belong to me, and neither does Death. But I saw what he did, while you bled out. He died like a warrior. Fighting for what he believed in."
"Greed isn't enough?"
Sin's eyes glitter, and she gently grabs your hand. "There's a reason I only mentioned murder, lust, and hunger, beloved. The other 'cardinal sins' are mine, but... You don't have the strength for it. I need more greed or envy than your mortal heart can muster. And even then I can only give you power. Do you know what to do with that power when you have it?"
"What happened? At the end?" You ask her, all but mouthing the words.
"He fought. He took a mortal wound. He kept fighting. His soul leaked out of his body, and he used it like a weapon when his own didn't suffice." Sin says, clinically, "He woke the fire girl, and the two of them were able to reduce the monster to a stain on the stone. In the end, his body... burned away along with the demon."

With that, you go silent again, and Sin squeezes your hand for a moment- some comfort- before she flickers away again.

"Let's... Let's get back to the clubroom," You say. Allison's anima wraps around you, gently lifting you into the air. Maria doesn't respond as Allison gently picks her up as well. She steps off of the building, and mana pours around you, slowing your fall.

>Continued!

>>3787048
>Whoops, forgot my trip again.

By the time you get back to the clubroom, Jeremy is quiet. His ability to sense things through magic is extreme- He probably knew Zeke was dead before you did. Allison and Maria are in the bathrooms, the former taking care of the latter. Zeke's sword sits in your hand, still-warm.
"The demon had adaptive powers," You say. "Everything I threw at it, it would protect itself against the next time around. Lightning, force... And Maria was busy upholding the veil, so..."
"Yeah." Jeremy said, quiet. "You shouldn't have had to fight by yourself. None of you should have."

It was your fault. You'd had it incapacitated. It was unable to resist. You could've attacked, but instead, you got greedy...

Jeremy closes his eyes for a long, quiet moment. A second later, he opens them again, full of the determination that had him becoming your leader in the first place.
"This just makes hunting down the warlocks more important," He says. "The more variant demons, the more risk we have to face. We need to stop them."
"How?" You ask, "We just lost our best fighter."
"We make weapons," Jeremy says. "More than just the sword. I know your grandfather made the association a bunch of designs, back in the day. Or we find some recruits. Ideally people who already know about magic, so we can ask them to join before we awaken them... Or, hell, do you have something more exotic up your sleeves?"
An image of your altered godbinding circle burns in your mind, but you disregard it- Being bound to Sin wouldn't do much for a normal mage- they're almost always on full mana anyway. The extra power from Channeling Sin wouldn't do much for them. A warlock bound to Sin would be a terror, though... But you're not willing to become one.

Not yet.

>[] You do have your grandfather's designs- and more than that, you have your own improved versions. You can make some powerful weapons, with enough time.
>[] Max has always had a strong anima, and she stumbled across you during your experiments, a few months ago. She's aware of magic, and would make an ideal recruit.
>[] Allison... What if you made more of her? Loyal soldiers, soulbound warlocks, unable to disobey you... Killing two birds with one stone. But first you'd have to capture a warlock or two.
>[] That time you'd made the parasites into hosts for illusions... What if you did that on a more permenant scale? Except instead of illusions, you made them into... familiar beasts. Disposable minions. It would take a lot of mana, though.
>[Write-in] Something else, perhaps?

>>3787062
>[] Max has always had a strong anima, and she stumbled across you during your experiments, a few months ago. She's aware of magic, and would make an ideal recruit.

Let's start with this but I do want to pursue multiple avenues.

>>3787062
I like all the options.

What about enchanting regular weapons like guns or magic imbued rockets firing from an RPG?

>>3787062
...what if we turned the parasites into some kind of magical weapons instead of familiars?

>>3787085
>This is generally what the plan is. Mundane technology is good, but if you can augment it with magic it's even better. This is a major part of the plan for that option.

>>3787092
>This is possible as well! Symbiotic weapons would have the advantage of being much easier to use, once learned- they'd act off of your anima, meaning you could augment it when needed. And for someone like Allison... But working on that would mean you wouldn't have the time to make 'normal' magical weapons, or the parasites to make minions.

>>3787085
>>3787092

Howabout we start with recruiting Max then start working on Weapons, Familars, and Weaponized Familiars?

>>3787100
This sounds like a good enough starting plan.

As a side note, our dear wife seemed to imply that Zeke COULD be brought back, we're just currently incapable of doing so. Don't worry Zeke, we'll figure out how to bring you back. Eventually.

>>3787100
I was thinking about that, but Max might get in the way of things.... Then again, easy recruit. I think recruiting Max should be a free option.

Getting more warlocks as our servants would be more useful in the short term.

>>3787117
True, but we need to find those Warlocks first.

Also, we can train Max up to try and replace Zeke.

>>3787130
She seems more like the stay at base support type. Hell we can't even fight as well as Marie, and we were no where near zeke's level, so getting make to replace zeke sounds ill conceived.

>>3787150
getting Max to*

>>3787150
>It's hard to say what specialization a mage will have before they've awakened. It all comes down to natural talent.

>>3787062
>[] Max has always had a strong anima, and she stumbled across you during your experiments, a few months ago. She's aware of magic, and would make an ideal recruit.

>>3787062
>[] Max has always had a strong anima, and she stumbled across you during your experiments, a few months ago. She's aware of magic, and would make an ideal recruit.
I'd rather grab warlocks but Max is easy and safe. Hopefully we don't get her killed like we did with Zeke.

>>3787155
>Max
I think shes going to be somewhat like Allison. A natural at seeing and sensing hard to detect things.

>>3787062
>[] Allison... What if you made more of her? Loyal soldiers, soulbound warlocks, unable to disobey you... Killing two birds with one stone. But first you'd have to capture a warlock or two.
>>3787161
Max is a newfag tho. She'd need training and shit. Brainwashing minions might be dirty magic but it's a quick way to build our numbers

>>3787161
>>3787573
>>3787062

I'll change to warlocks if it can win, but I'm not sure its really in character for us. At least not just yet.
>[] Allison... What if you made more of her? Loyal soldiers, soulbound warlocks, unable to disobey you... Killing two birds with one stone. But first you'd have to capture a warlock or two.

>>3787573
>>3787583

I don't think it's a good idea to go chasing warlocks so soon after losing Zeke. We could easily get into a bad situation and lose another teammate.

>>3787777
well if no tie breaker comes then we just go with recruiting Max, how about that?

Last time it was because we got greedy and selfish with mana expenditure and gaining power.

"Max," you say, and Jeremy looks up at you. "Max? That goth girl you were hanging out with?"

"Yeah," You say. "She stumbled across me doing an experiment with some magic last year, and since then we've been chatting about magic. She's not awakened yet, but she has a strong anima, and no parasites- she'll probably awaken on her own in a few months, actually."
"Perfect," He says. "That works perfectly. Do you think you're fine to train her?"
"More than fine," You say. "If you'll recall, I trained all of you. Except for..." You trail off.

The only one you hadn't trained much was Zeke. He was a natural.

Jeremy swallows. "Alright. Can you talk to her about it tomorrow?"
"Yeah," You say. "And until then, I think I know what I'm going to work on. I have an idea for some weapons. But I'll need Allison, and I'll need to do some experiments."
He nods. "Do you need any supplies? I'm not sure we have enough funding for more than one or two.."
"No, I'm not making them out of anything," You say. "Unless you count making it out of parasites."

Jeremy stares at you for a long moment like you're crazy.
You just get to your feet, and make your way toward the girls' bathroom. You have an assistant to find.

===

The parasite in front of you is pinned in place, silver shackles holding it in place. You poke at it, connecting with it's meager anima. You still don't have the mana necessary to deal with it much, or to make any changes, but your fractions of a moment in a demon's soul gave you some insights.

The parasites are truly 'lesser demons'. At the heart of the demon you had contact with was the same as the heart of a parasite, only stronger by magnitudes. The difference is that a parasite is just that- a feeder, designed to latch onto a human being and merge their animas together. But in the demon, you saw- for only a moment- a machine in its soul. A 'schema' for a spell. A power. And if you tweaked it right, built your own 'machine' out of the parasite, and had it attach to a mage...

"So?" Allison asks, eyes bright.
"It's possible." You say. "But I need mana to experiment properly."
"I could get you more parasites?"
"Maybe," You say, thinking.
"If there's any way I can help, feel free!"
You already fought a lot today, but it wasn't true warfare- true murder. You don't have a warlock or demon to face, so that's not a problem. And eating won't work- You're not hungry enough.

>[] Feed on half of the parasites, and experiment on the other half. Not enough to finish anything, and you'd get a minimum of mana, but you think you'll figure it out in time. [+1 Mana]
>[] Just get some sleep. Sin can grant you a bit of power when you're sleeping. It's not a lot, and you won't get any work done tonight, but you'll have mana for tomorrow. [+3 Mana]
>[] "Ah, Allison looks very alluring, don't you think?" Sin purrs in your ear, hot wet lips nibbling at your neck. "And she's willing to do anything to help you. Anything." [Channel Sin]

>>3787967
>>[X] "Ah, Allison looks very alluring, don't you think?" Sin purrs in your ear, hot wet lips nibbling at your neck. "And she's willing to do anything to help you. Anything." [Channel Sin]
Yes... anything. Anything at all. Horribly sinful and vile stuff. Like loving hugs, and handholding. Or maybe even telling her we appreciate her and what she does for us if we're feeling absolutely degenerative. Also the actually lewd shit you're probably thinking of.

>>3787967
Be honest with me Sin, what happens when I channel through you?
Do you corrupt me ever so slightly every time i channel through you, or ... do you add corruption intentionally?

>>3787981
threesome with Max and Allison.

>>3787985
>Not having Sin participate to make it a foursome Your sins are weak brotha.

>>3787993
Sin's a cuckqueen who likes to watch.

>>3787967
>[] Feed on half of the parasites, and experiment on the other half. Not enough to finish anything, and you'd get a minimum of mana, but you think you'll figure it out in time. [+1 Mana]

>>3787967
>[X] "Ah, Allison looks very alluring, don't you think?" Sin purrs in your ear, hot wet lips nibbling at your neck. "And she's willing to do anything to help you. Anything." [Channel Sin]

>>3787985
Channeling doesn't seem to actually change anything about the mind beyond amplifying the emotion of whatever act you're channeling with. Although, engaging in certain behaviors and emotions is will make you more likely to engage in similar behaviors and emotions in the future, but that's just how minds work.

>>3787967
>[] Just get some sleep. Sin can grant you a bit of power when you're sleeping. It's not a lot, and you won't get any work done tonight, but you'll have mana for tomorrow. [+3 Mana]

>>3788053
Yeah, it's like murder. No demon corrupts you when it gets easier to kill. It's just your brain adjusting to the feeling.

Plus I doubt our wife would corrupt us when she most likely thinks we're already perfect.

>>3788064
She should turn into a fancy waifu weapon for us to use to kill demons.

>>3787967
>Could Allison just share her mana with MC?

>>3788964
We can only drain mana from demons remember? also

>not completely restoring mana by indulging in carnal lust

>>3788981
We only know that that works, not that it's the only way. Sin can give mana just fine.

The issue seems to be more about connecting one's anima with something else, and seeing how godbinding works, I don't see how it has to exclusively kill the donor.

>[X] "Ah, Allison looks very alluring, don't you think?" Sin purrs in your ear, hot wet lips nibbling at your neck. "And she's willing to do anything to help you. Anything." [Channel Sin]

"Don't worry, husband," Sin whispers, voice sultry and low. "I won't mind."

You tell her what you want, how she can help- and her cheeks go red, blushing deeply.

"If- If it'll help.." She says, and carefully, almost warily, steps over to you. She begins to unbutton her blouse...

===

The air is hot and heavy, the jungle trees surrounding you and aloud with the sound of wildlife. A pile of rocks, long spears, and hewn stone makes a tower, atop which stands your goddess, beautiful and gracious. The bodies of those who failed her are spiked on the spears, gored to death by an enormous beast. Your goddess- beautiful and smiling- has her mouth and chin covered in their gore. Her silken white dress is long-since stained, and in her talons is the heart of your predecessor. Her forked tongue dances along her lips, and her tail whips from side to side.

You wear nothing, your skin thick and rough from years in the wild, calluses built up from the injuries of thorns, sticks, rocks, and bramble, from years wielding a crooked stone spear to hunt your competitors- to kill and murder your clan for this chance. Your goddess, beautiful and beckoning, reaches out her other talon down toward you. You step forward, and feeling your skin slice open on the obsidian rocks, you begin to climb.

When you get to the top, a taloned hand reaches down to you, taking your hand. With no effort, your Goddess pulls you to the top. She pulls you close-

Your goddess, beautiful and terrible, drives a spear through your chest, pinning you in place, while she climbs atop you, biting at your neck...

>Mana: 10/10

===

The parasite under your hand is one of the last ones remaining, but under your command- and the influx of power from Sin, you're able to bend it to your will easily. It looks something like an open ribcage made of mottled black steel, a long, sleek, deadly tail slithering out of the back. The parasite writhes, the 'ribs moving on its own, but the thing doesn't have the anima to control its own body. Without anima, it's not even truly physical- you're having to focus your power into your hands just to touch it, and keep it away from bonding with you. The moment it bonds, it won't be usable for anyone else anymore, and you'd meant this for a certain person.

"Uhh, Tanis?" Allison asks. You glance over at her- she's just out of the shower, wrapped in nothing but a towel. She looks somewhat uncomfortable, being so revealed, but she isn't doing anything to change that. "H-how's your work going?"

"It's about done," You say. "This one looks actually usable. Would you mind being my test subject?"
"No, of course not!" She says. "I'll try it out. What, uh, exactly is it?"

"You're an Anima specialist, right?" You ask. Seeing her nod, you continue. "That means you're going to be our vanguard, and so I made your living weapon first. It's called..."

>[] "Parasite Armor!" Defensively focused.
>[] "Incarnate Blade!" Offensively focused.
>[] "Soul Reign!" Mobility focused.

>>3789629
>[] "Parasite Armor!" Defensively focused.
Sounds sexy.

>>3789629
>[] "Parasite Armor!" Defensively focused.
With the demons getting buffer, she needs to be the last one to get knocked out.

>>3789629
>[X] "Parasite Armor!" Defensively focused.

We can't have our tank getting knocked down early.

>>3789629
>[] "Parasite Armor!" Defensively focused.
She-Venom get!

"The Parasite Armor." You say. "When you pour mana into it, it actualizes, creating new mass for your anima to inhabit. Try it on!"

"So, uh, how do I.."

"Let it touch you. Like a normal parasite, it will try to feed off of your anima. You'll need to let it. The rest should be instinctive."

She steps forward, and carefully touches it. It latches onto her wrist, and the 'ribss' scrabble along her body, crawling into place. It knocks her towel off, and fastens itself onto her waist, the 'ribs' reaching around her midriff. The tail suddenly begins moving, lashing out side to side. Before Allison can get too embarrassed by her state of undress, more and more mass begins pouring out of her parasite weapon, developing into a full set of insectile, chitinous armor. Talons over her gauntlets, and thin tendrils hanging from her sides.
It seems to be working properly. Allison bounces on her heels. As her anima thrashes within her armor, thick plates grow in response to wherever her anima happens to be focused at that moment. When she focuses it into her hand, the thin gauntlet becomes an enormous set of claws, wickedly curved. When it's focused into her legs, her feet grow thick, plantigrade claws dug into your concrete floor.

"This is amazing!" She says, stretching out her limbs. "I feel a lot stronger."
"Yeah," You say. You'd taken some inspiration from the concept of power armor for this, "But the most important thing is its defensive qualities. You should be all but indestructible with that on. The only thing you'll need to be careful of is anything spiritually-based."
"Alright, I'll be careful." She smiles. "Now, uh, how do I take this off?"
"Withdraw your mana and anima from it entirely," You say. She concentrates- and then a moment later, she's completely nude again- the parasite carving a small tattoo at the small of her back- a coiling, brambled shape. She squeaks, and runs into the other room. There's a flash of light as she manifests her suitcase, and then a few minutes later she comes back in, this time wearing her normal ensemble.

"Is there anything else I need to know?" She asks.
"Just one thing. It adapts," You say. You were only connected with that demon for a short time, seeing the structure of its soul, but you saw its ability. One you'd been able to memorize and implant into the living weapon- It, and all other living weapons you make- they'll all have the power to evolve.

In fact, you still have more time before you need to go to bed. You can get started on something new;

>[] Make Marie something to increase her already-incredible firepower, so she can wreak ulltimate destruction.
>[] Marie needs utility. With flight, she can orbit the battlefield and attack from afar.
>[] Jeremy's senses and scrying ability are already very good, but if you could improve that...
>[] Jeremy needs some kind of combat ability. And you know just the thing.
>[Write-in] Get started on something for yourself, or something else...

>>3789894
>[] Jeremy's senses and scrying ability are already very good, but if you could improve that...
What this team needs is coordination. Being able to get a tactical view and telepathy support would go much further than another body in danger.

>>3789894
>[] Jeremy's senses and scrying ability are already very good, but if you could improve that...
We'd be driven to protect our people i think after Zeke died. We won't fail again.

>>3789894
>[] Jeremy's senses and scrying ability are already very good, but if you could improve that...

>>3789894
>You were only connected with that demon for a short time, seeing the structure of its soul, but you saw its ability. One you'd been able to memorize and implant into the living weapon- It, and all other living weapons you make- they'll all have the power to evolve.

So, Tanis is some level of magical genius to be able to pull all this shit off. Has he always had the issue with his magical organs?

>>3790232
I'll bet 5 mana points that our parents or grandad, or their associates locked away our powers for some reason or another.

>>3790474
I bet 5 mana Tanis is a Homnculus or something.

>>3789894
>[] Jeremy's senses and scrying ability are already very good, but if you could improve that...
Battlefield awareness is key.

We need to make a weapon for ourselves soon if we're going to be in combat all the time.
Anybody have any ideas?

>>3790805
I made a list at the end of the first session.

Frankly, there's too much freedom to choose if we aren't restricted by theme. We need to know a little more on what MC is suited or has a preference for.

>>3790805
Could go full Symbiote. A sentient suit of armor that handles combat/defense while we focus on casting.

>So, I'm going back to work again now that my vacation is over- it mostly means I won't be updating midday, usually after 16:00 PST, at least weekdays. Might be able to get posts done in the mornings, though.

>>3790232
>You've always had this issue; Until now, you've been dealing with it by converting your own spiritual force into mana, which is unhealthy, extremely painful, and takes a long time to recharge.

The next day, you make your way to class with a new addition to your bookbag- a seemingly empty cage, your completed project for Jeremy in hand. You're getting a few strange looks, but most of them end up disinterested again- this isn't the first time you'd You eventually sit down next to Max, and she eyes the seemingly empty cage. You'd left Allison home today, confident she won't get into trouble.

"What's that?" MAx asks, the only one actually willing to straight up ask you.
"Well, if you want to find out, you'll have to come with me after classes," You say.
Max raises an eyebrow, but shrugs. "Sure."
Your attention is barely focused on classes all day. For almost all of your spare time, your fingers are inside the cage, touching the parasite- continuing to work on it even now. It's already able to adapt, and evolve, but you need to give it more.

But time, like all things, passes you by, and you find yourself waiting at a seemingly solid wall with Max.

"This is the illusive secret monster hunting base you were telling me about?" Max asks.
"Yep," You say. "This is a veil."
She pushes her palm into it, feeling the rough stone the illusion gives her, and she frowns.
"It's a bit too solid to walk through, man."
"Just... force yourself to believe it's not there," You say. "Ignore the evidence of your eyes."
Max closes her eyes, focuses, and reaches out a hand... and it slides through the veil.
"... That was easy." She says, and steps through without hesitation. You follow.

Jeremy and Maria are there, the latter curled up in the beanbag where Zeke norm- used to sit. while Jeremy is poring over the data on the demon emergences, when and where, and lately, details on the unusual powers they have.
"Oh! You must be Max." Jeremy says, getting to his feet. He holds out a hand, and Max warily takes it.
"What's this all about?" She asks.
"Well, mostly, we're asking you if you want to become a mage and help us fight monsters." You say, cutting short the 'traditional' invitation.
Max blinks.
"Don't you need, uh, an anima? And mana and all that? I have no idea how to do any of that."
"It comes naturally, once you're awakened." You say. "And part of the offer is not only awakening, but training."
"... And what do I get out of it?"
"All-mighty power, mostly," You say. "And we also get paid- this club is like a little 'branch' of a big association out east, and they're loaded, so they're pretty generous with their cash."
"... And the catch?"

>[Write-in] How to word 'you have to fight the monsters that killed zeke yesterday' without scaring her off?

>>3791483
>well you get extra homework everyday
>also, even after whatever training you get, our enemies are always going to default as bigger and badder in raw power and endurance
>There's a bunch of complicated ethics stuff too, yknow teens risking life and limb before they're old enough to drink, but we can handle the navel-gazing until you're settled in.

>>3791483
"There used to be four of us."

So uh, going to sleep shouldn't cause the parasite gear to form up unconsciously, right?

But I'm a little worried about cases where anima involuntarily leaks out, like in serious injuries.

Is everyone limited to only one parasite weapon? Because I feel getting everyone a suit of armor first would be the smart thing.

Also, I assume Allison's armor looks like a Guyver.

>>3791596
>Everyone is limited to only one living weapon; it drains too much spiritual force otherwise
>And I originally envisioned it as a witchblade, but to each their own

>>3791750
I think the witchblade comparison is more apt. It gets just the right amount of body horror aesthetic for a demonic symbiote weapon.

>>3791521
Supporting.
We shouldn't lie about the danger

>>3791521
+1

>>3791521
Supporting this

>>3791750
What about really power people who generate alot of mana?

Is it possible to combine demon Armour and weapon to one entity in future?

"There used to be four of us." You say.

At that, everyone goes silent.

"... Oh." Max says, with a nervous glance toward you. "I... guess, uh, you're really monster hunters, huh."
"It's just... tradition," Jeremy says, "Mages since the dawn of time have been charged with the duty of protecting mundane people. Our association especially so- It's our duty, especially to deal with the demons that normal people can't deal with.

"So... If you guys are going to teach me how to become a mage, I have to fight?"

"Well, me and tanis were talking about it, and you're likely to awaken on your own anyway," Jeremy says. "So we might as well awaken you anyway, even if you don't want to fight- just in case you end up in danger somehow."
You give Jeremy a glance, and he shrugs almost imperceptibly- that's pretty unusual. The more active mages in an area, the less mana the city has in the air. Because of this, the association usually doesn't awaken anyone unless they've already accepted to join.

But Jeremy cares more about protecting mundanes than following the tradition.

"So, these demons... how strong are they?" Max frowns.
"They're always going to be bigger and badder than us," You say. "Both stronger than us and harder to put down. Normal strategy is to bring three mages for a guaranteed victory... But lately, they've been getting stronger."
"And what... what happens if we don't fight them?"

"Do you remember five or six years ago?" You ask. "What everyone called that gas fire downtown?"

Max shudders, but slowly begins to nod. Too many people died there. You were still underage, and your parents went alone, being the only combat-capable mages in town, and they didn't have a third person to round out the team.

Most importantly. it wasn't one demon emerging into the world, there. It was three.

"... I'm in." Max says, finally.
"Are you sure?" you ask. "It will be dangerous."
"My sister was in that fire. She hasn't been the same since. If I can make sure nobody else goes through that..."

You take a step forward. "You're a good person, Max. Are you ready?"
"No time like the present," She responds.

You well up your mana, your spiritual force, into your hand. It begins crackling, sparking with light, and Max's eyes widen as she ses it- she'd never properly seen you doing magic directly.
"You'll be thrown into a sort of fever dream," You say. "Your anima doesn't know you, so it needs to meet you. Thinnk of it as a lifelong partner- a pet dog who will never abandon you."
"O-okay." Max nods. You bring back your hand- and then you thrust it into Max's soul. The chains in her heart snap loose, and Max slowly tumbles to the ground, unconscious.

>Continued!

>>3793442
You gently settle Max onto the couch, and step back. She's asleep deeply- no twitching or thrashing, which is a good sign. Then you turn to Jeremy.

"So, in other news, I have a weapon completed for you," You say. "You were talking about something more exotic? I made a living weapon."
"... I'm going to regret asking, but what did you make for me?" Jeremy asks.

You pull forward your silver cage, the living weapon writhing inside. It looks somewhat like a crown, a diadem. Everpresent open eyes sit like jewels in the steel, twitching and looking about.

"What the hell is that thing?!" He asks, taking a step back from it.
"Oh, you can see it?" You ask. "This is the Crown of Eyes. Until yesterday, it was a mere parasite. I've since made some changes."
"What the hell..." He looks closer into it.
"The parasite portion binds itself to its victim's Anima. So I took that ability, and made it subservient to the one it's linked to. And on top of that, I'm able to do a lot of things with it... Go on. Try it on."
"Do you have a way to get rid of it if it tries eating me?" Jeremy asks.
"Yeah," You say. It might take some time for Allison to arrive, but you're sure Jeremy would live until then. But that's dependant on you messing up.
And you almost never mess up.
"It's worn on the head? How is this a weapon?" Carefully, Jeremy takes it out of the cage, looking it over.
"It's more than just a weapon," You say. "It's a tool. I designed it to optimize with what you're already good at."
Carefully, gently, he puts it on. It digs in, and Jeremy hisses with pain, but a moment later, it's in place; the tines on top of the crown pierce out through his long hair.

"Oh. I see now. I see what you mean," He says. The third eye in his forehead rolls to the side. "This isn't making my combat any better, but in combat... I could pay attention to the entire battlefield, and-" For a flash of a second, you see a copy of Jeremy standing there, his arms spread wide in a T-pose. "And I can project images. So if I get good enough... I could give you all warnings, guides on enemy weakpoints... "
He withdraws his anima, and the crown of eyes fades from view, burrowing into a small black marking on his temple.
"Elegant," He says. "Not only can I see parasites, but I can see through anything that doesn't have a spiritual aspect. Through the ground, through walls... This is a kingly weapon, Tanis."

"Make me one." Maria suddenly says, her voice low. She has large bags under her eyes, and her frilled white dress ensemble- normally flawless and as perfect as she tries to be- looks askew, like she'd slept in it and came back to the association anyway.
"Are you okay?" You ask. Maria frowns, glaring at you.
"I want one that makes my attacks more powerful. Can you do that?"

>[] "I was planning on making one to give you mobility. Should shore up your weakpoints."
>[] "I was already planning on it."
>[Write-in] "I was planning on making my own first."
>[Write-in] Something else.

>>3793459
>"I was planning on making you one that lets you multitask. Move and shoot. Heal and shoot. Veil and shoot. You get the idea. Don't go burning yourself out too fast, though."

>>3793459
>[] "I was already planning on it."

>>3793459
>[] "I was planning on making one to give you mobility.
But if you want firepower I can do that. I haven't started yet.

>>3793475
Could we experiment with this one? Making something more intelligent and adaptive?

>>3793459
>"I was already planning on it."