"Aren't we far enough?" asked Torryn at the back.
Everyone slowed down, Maya and Torryn sat down against the darkened wall, catching their breath.
The backstreets were extremely narrow, running while avoiding the trash littering the ground wasn't an easy task.
Breathing was also a pain, the rotten egg smell following them no matter how far they ran.
Torryn and Maya didn't seem to be bothered, while Aura's nose clearly looked uncomfortable.
"How... are you not tired?" asked Maya out of breath.
Mori and Aura looked at each other and shrugged.
"We only ran 10 minutes."
"Well... it felt like 30," said Torryn.
"So, this is a city, finally I set foot in one," said Aura while looking upward.
"We'll have time to admire it later, let's go back on the main roads. We need-" Mori paused.
Everyone looked at him, waiting for him to continue. After a moment, Aura broke the silence.
"Mori?"
"Huh."
"What is it?" asked Maya.
"Money. We have none."
"You guys are like super strong, don't you even have a little? How about you, Aura?" asked Maya.
"I didn't think about it," said Aura. "There's a lot of gold at the mansion..."
"I can use [Bad Omen]. What we do now won't matter much in a few days," said Mori.
"Really?"
Everyone turned around, behind them was the same person who had fallen from the sky moments ago.
Pink and smooth skin, her body's shape so perfect it was vulgar.
Her breasts were barely held together by her skimpy top, she was practically walking around in underwear, showboating her indecent figure.
Her thin waist just made her ass look that much bigger, and since she was rather tall, it just meant more to look at.
Torryn's eyes were stuck, unable to look away from that obscene body. Maya quickly used her hands to obstruct his sight.
Torryn tried to stop her, but Maya was stronger.
"Should I kill her?" asked Aura with her nails up.
"Kill me? We just met... and I saved you."
Her eyes were stuck on Mori, who noticed her irises were heart-shaped.
"She's a succubus, she has a passive charm spell. Keep Torryn's eyes closed. It wouldn't hurt him, but he'd probably do stupid things."
"What?!" said Torryn.
"I wouldn't mind if you did stupid things to me," she said to Mori.
"Alright, I'll kill her," Aura's nails grew taller and sharper.
"What's your name?" asked Mori, as he grabbed Aura's shoulder.
"Lilae, and I take it you're Mori."
"How does she know?" asked Maya.
"She's been following us," said Aura.
"And only Mori noticed," she said, slowly licking her lips.
"Thanks for the diversion," said Mori, "but I'll kill you myself if you get in my way."
Her casual expression faltered a moment.
"What do you want?" asked Aura.
"We could tell, you're kind of strong. However, you mustn't do anything rash in the next few days. I fear our plans might collide."
"Who's 'we'?" asked Aura.
"It's a secret," she replied with her usual erotic smile.
"Oh-hoh, is it?" asked Mori, laughing.
Clanking noises made Aura look behind her. Lilae realized something was up as she saw shadows moving between Aura's feet, but it was too late.
From under Aura, Mori's chains quickly went toward Lilae who had started her jumping motion.
Maya quickly grabbed Torryn and ran behind Mori whose chain had reached Lilae mid-jump.
Her upward motion was stopped like a dog getting yanked by a chain around their neck.
"Where are you going?" asked Mori with an arrogant tone.
"You little..." started Lilae.
Aura who had stepped sideways, quickly grabbed the chain and pulled it in one quick motion, her hands slightly burning as she touched it.
Lilae's expression was one of pure fear, as she hit the ground head first, her body laying flat on the cold stone.
Mori put his feet on the chain right in front Lilae's face, she tried moving but she was stuck on the floor.
"What a lewd smell, everything about you is vulgar," said Mori.
"Let me go! Ahh!"
Mori's foot was on top of her head, slowly pushing down.
"Why's my magic not working?! What did you do to me?!"
"Those chains have sealing properties, but they're weak. I can barely seal myself with them, it just means you're that much weaker."
Mori moved his foot from her head to her neck.
He applied pressure, making her choke while she drooled on the floor. Her hands were grabbing around, looking for a hold.
Using a second chain, he whipped her back, leaving a bloodied line behind.
As he did, a new feeling rose in him. Something he had never felt before.
He whipped it again, again and again. Her back was bright red, blood dripping on both sides.
Then her ass. He kept striking without thinking twice about it.
Mori's eyes were intense, fixated on Lilae who was making noises at every crack of his chain.
He was barely in control, as if violence was second nature to him. The chains were rattled, the clanking intensified and his cursed energy became heavier, leaking out despite his cloak and chains.
"Stop."
Mori's head quickly turned toward Aura who spoke up.
"You want what she's having?!"
Both his eyebrows raised as she loudly slapped him, adding some color to his pale cheek.
"She's clearly had enough."
"I decide what's enough."
Mori stared at Aura, who wasn't budging.
"Mori." Aura's tone was extremely dry, stopping at every word. "She's. been. moaning. every. time. you. hit. her."
Mori's eyes narrowed. He looked down, Lilae was out of it, her glazed eyes stared into oblivion while her legs trembled.
"Fuck."
He let go of her, undoing the chokehold he had on her with his foot.
Only the chain around her neck remained.
"I can't keep his eyes closed forever, guys," said Maya.
Mori turned around and kneeled in front of Torryn. He raised a finger, a small black flame appearing at the end of it, approaching it toward the middle of his eyebrows.
Maya quickly grabbed Torryn and took a step back. "What are you doing?!"
"A perception curse."
Maya eyes darted around, looking at Aura for comfort.
"Just do it, already," said Torryn.
"But," started Maya.
"Listen, at this point it would make no sense for Mori and Aura to do something to us. They probably wouldn't waste their time like this. Just let him do it, so I can finally open my eyes."
"Alright! Alright, just do it."
"Good," said Mori.
He touched the middle between his eyebrows, a small symbol appeared like ink on his skin.
"You're now cursed, Torryn. I'll tell you how to undo it later."
Behind him, Lilae was still softly moaning, they looked at her unsure what to do next.