Thirst

Maya lands after being tricked by the advocate. Her hair dances on the wind as she stands up, realizing she's at the very edge of the next layer. Standing atop a skyscraper, Maya gets a full view of the layer. Hundreds of flashing strobe lights filled the air and nightclubs as far as the eye can see.

"I should've seen that coming. But even more, I wish I'd told them about this layer. I just hope they don't make any mistakes they might regret… Forever." Maya says before jumping from the building.

Meanwhile… Seiren slowly starts to awaken. His eyes open to see Mera sitting at a table in front of him. He looks around, noticing that the two of them are in a small apartment complex. To his right, the kitchen was within view, full of new appliances. To his left, a couple of windows were along the wall.

"Welcome back, sleeping beauty. You were out for most of the day." She states.

"What happened? Where are we?" He asks.

She sighs.

"I don't know. Ever since I woke up, It's like I've had this weird fog in my head, I can't think clearly. I've been slowly trying to piece it together, but I've been getting nowhere." She states.

Come to think of it, I'm having trouble too. Like there's something stopping me. It's almost like I'm forgetting something. Seiren thinks. I don't know if it's just me, or if Mera looks somehow different. Maybe prettier? I'm not sure. Maybe it's the lighting.

"Seiren are you hot at all?" Mera asks as she fans herself down.

"Yeah, I definitely feel it." He states as beads of sweat begin to roll down his forehead.

Mera takes off her poncho, setting it on the chair next to her. She starts to vacantly play with her hair, looking as though she were lost in thought. Seiren found himself breathing slightly harder, unsure of what was wrong, when he looked upon Mera's figure, his face was slightly flushed. He leans back onto the bed and stares into the ceiling.

What is wrong with me? He thinks. Using his shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Mera glances over, catching an eyeful of his subtly toned abs. She gulps, then rises from her chair. She walks over and sits on the bed. Getting a closer look at Seiren's chest, she looks back at him.

"Looks like we don't keep any scars, despite all the damage." She says.

"That's true." He mutters.

Mera takes a finger and runs it in circles on the bedsheets.

"It's crazy that we've come this far. I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own." She admits. Seiren sits up, and the two stare intensely into each other's eyes.

"I feel the same way. We had some rough times, but there's no one else I'd have chosen to be my partner." He says.

Their faces creep closer and closer together. Their heart rates elevate.

"Let's not waste any more time." Mera whispers about half an inch from Seiren's lips.

The two lock lips, inexperienced as they both were. Mera found herself in a particular state of euphoria as she and Seiren's tongues danced to the beat of their hearts. As her excitement ran through her whole body, her hands went up, caressing Seiren's stomach as she gently lifted his undershirt. Her excitement began to evolve into a much simpler yet chaotic feeling.

Seiren could feel Mera's warmth on his skin. It was a pleasant sensation that had every cell of his body begging for more. Seiren wanted to experience more of it. Her hands would disappear from his torso and dance on random other spots along his stomach and chest. Each second without her warmth felt like he was drowning in a sea of forlorn ships. Her warmth appears again, this time on his hands. She guides them to her shirt and his heart rate soars. He returns the favor, running his fingers along her stomach and Mera lets out a slight whimper. Seiren felt euphoric and yet, despite the pleasure, there was a hint of unease. A small seed that lingered at the back of his mind. How simple would it be for him to snuff it out and opt for the easier path? Yet, Seiren's pace began to slow, his mental turmoil causes him to stop almost entirely. His every cell wanted to revolt, and even now his body began to shake from its rejection of his actions. But Seiren held on, remembering the reason he wanted to leave in the first place.

"What's wrong?" Mera said in a high-pitched tone.

"This isn't right. We should stop." Seiren says.

"You're being ridiculous." She says. "What're a few moments gonna cost us? We've already come this far, so why not rest a bit?"

"Mera. You're not acting like yourself. I wasn't either, we got swept up into the flow of this layer." Seiren says.

"What are you saying? Isn't going with the flow your specialty?" She questions.

"It is. But not like this. You've got to realize we've entered lust."

"I… I… I see."

During their conversation, Mera slowly began to cool down and when her logic returned, she buried her face in her palms.

I can't believe I did and said all of that…! How embarrassing! Mera thinks.

"Listen Seiren, the moment that we had wasn't my true feelings. So I don't want you to get the wrong idea…" She begins.

"I understand. We couldn't control ourselves." Seiren says, trying to hide even his embarrassment.

"Right! That's complete, one hundred percent, right!" She says.

He took that pretty well… Although I guess he's always been the understanding sort. Well, I guess it's just water under the bridge. Or not! Even if we both acknowledge it, its completely and utterly degrading. The fact that this layer can manipulate us to this extent is frustrating to say the least… Mera thinks.

Mera takes a deep breath and exhales.

"A-alright Seiren, we've gotta get back on track. S-somehow managed to avoid getting uh… entangled… That lingering haziness and lust are still there, so we have to be vigilant." Mera says.

"That's true." Unable to look Mera in the eyes he looks away.

"First we should get out of this apartment complex, then we should try and find Maya. We should also do some info gathering in case we miss her." She begins. "Now that we've gone over that, we should get going. I'd rather not spend any more time in this room."

"Yeah, uh… Let's get out of here." Seiren says.

Across from the bed was a dark wooden door, the two of them stood at the ready as Seiren slowly grabbed the doorknob.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were some sort of guards here. Seiren thinks.

He peers back at Mera and she nods. He slowly turns the doorknob, opening the door to the hallway. The walls were wine red with a brown carpet that ran down through each hall. There were hundreds of rooms evenly spaced, lecherous sounds coming from each. Seiren steps into the hallway first, checking both ends and letting out a sigh of relief. Mera followed after and the two of them slowly made their way down the hall. The sounds of naughtiness were enough to make their faces flush. Their overbearing impulses were battling against their desire to escape hell. And it was winning. As they came upon a door with a stairs icon, Seiren found himself dashing to open the door. He flung it open, rushed inside and Mera quickly followed after. He and Mera relaxed the tension in their bodies, Seiren falling back and landing on the top of the stairs and Mera leaned against a wall.

Just going through the hallway was too much. Less and less I can feel myself wanting to leave. Seiren thinks.

This layer is brutal. Despite not having been here for that long, it feels like this layer has had the greatest effect on us. All we can think about is sex. I can't wait to beat the hell out of the devil for subjecting us to this. Mera thinks.

The two of them take a few moments to regain their composure, then continue down the stairwell. After several flights of gray-colored stairs, they finally reach the bottom. Mera opens her mouth to speak and turned red after remembering what happened earlier. She takes a deep breath and sighs.

"So… This looks like the exit," Mera says.

"Y-yeah," Seiren says. Avoiding her gaze.

"Well, then, uh… Let's get out of here." Mera says with a sigh.

With the tension between them running high, it grew difficult for the two to communicate. Unable to forget the events that had just transpired. Deciding to continue in silence, they felt the ground shake the closer they got to the door. It kept growing in strength as they drew closer, that sound beyond the door rattling their bones. Seiren grabbed the handle and felt the powerful tremors through his arm. He swung the door open and they were blinded by bright flashing strobe lights. The flight pink and blue lights of the checkered floor tiles, caught their attention as they walked out onto it. They were surrounded by demons and humans, either dancing or performing much more promiscuous acts. Their attempts to ignore it were betrayed by the flushness of their faces. A powerful spotlight shines down on them as all eyes gravitate toward the duo.

"What's going on?" Mera questioned, holding her offensive stance and eyeing the demons around them.

"Don't know," Seiren says while sweating.

"Aw, sweetie. Don't look so tense." A demon says as she walks onto the dancefloor. Dressed in a see-through gown, there was fur to cover her nether regions, as scant as it was. She was accompanied by a demon wearing a speedo. His body was chiseled so finely it was as if his body were an impossibility. They both had light blue skin and long skin-colored tails that swayed behind them. Despite this, they didn't have any horns.

"Kinda hard not to," Seiren says.

She tosses her hair over her shoulder and looks at Seiren with puckered lips.

"I'd imagine some things are harder." She winks.

Seiren sucks his teeth.

"What is all of this?" Mera questions, while aiming at the woman.

The male strokes his beard, and smirks. Seiren's body begins to sway subtly.

"Lust is the pleasure capital of hell. Everything here is dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure. From the smell of you two… I can tell you've yet to indulge yourselves." He says.

"Sorry, but we won't be indulging in anything here," Mera says defiantly.

He laughs.

"Even if you say that your body doesn't agree. The both of you are trembling right now." He states.

"Why do you resist so much? If you just give up this useless fight, you can have us. C'mon, I don't bite… Unless that's what you want?" The woman questions.

"Don't think for a second that we'd accept—" Mera begins. She hears a clang as Seiren's spear falls to the ground.

"Sorry, Mera." Seiren mutters.

"Huh?!" She exclaims, throwing her arms back in surprise.

There's no way Seiren would just give up like that! Mera thinks.

Seiren takes a few steps toward the woman, leaving Mera behind. Caught off guard, Mera grabs his hand, but he pulls himself free regardless.

What is this fogginess… I feel really listless. Thinking feels really hard… I just want to sleep. Seiren thinks.

"Seiren what're you saying?! This can't be you talking! We've already come this far!" Mera shouts.

"I can't. She just smells really nice." Seiren says.

She smells nice? Is she using some kind of pheromone or something? If it's affecting his mind then all I need to do is reset it! Mera thinks, recalling when she was under Domino's illusion.

She takes aim at the back of Seiren's head, before she's able to shoot, she feels a strong tug at her eyelids. Her body grows incredibly heavy as she falls to the floor. She looks over to the male demon and notices his glowing eyes.

"Talk about a scary girl. It only took her a few seconds to catch on." The woman says. "Don't worry, I'll give your friend a good first time."

Mera's consciousness dances in and out as she starts to fade.

"Frey, she's all yours." She says.

You've gotta be kidding me. Mera thinks as she loses consciousness. Frey picks Mera up, draping her body over his shoulder.

"I haven't had any good prey in a while. This should be fun." He says.

"Just make sure you don't get too excited, you might end up killing her altogether." She replies as she runs her fingers through Seiren's hair.

"Like you're not gonna break this one." He mutters pointing at Seiren.

"You already know how my ability works. If his strength of will is strong enough, he can resist my commands. Once my pheromone is within his entire system, he will no longer have the will to resist any command I give him. Only then will the effects be irreversible. I just need an hour." She explains.

"With all the slaves you have, you could fight a war." He says.

"A war? Please. I'm just going to build the greatest harem to ever exist." She says with a chuckle.

Oh, what a waste of potential. He thinks.

Meanwhile, Maya was quickly searching through the layer.

If I remember correctly, this layer is only slightly bigger than the last, there are tons of people around, doing all sorts of things, but I don't have time to worry about that. Lust is technically divided into 3 parts. The succubi that own the northwest district, the Incubi that govern the northeast. And finally, The Forbidden. Ruling over the southwest and southeast, are a combo of succubi and incubi, that grew tired of old tradition and broke free. All that end up there, usually never come back. Trapped in a perpetual cycle of pleasure and pain. She thinks. I'll check the first two then swing down to the last. I really wish I remembered this sooner. I wasted too much time on Wrath and my memory got too hazy. But why did I suddenly remember? No use wondering that now, I need to pick up the pace.

Maya rushes through the layer, creating mini craters with each step she takes while running.

Back at Mera's current location, bugs and rats scurried about. The sound of screaming travels from down the hall, jolting her awake. Her hands were bound to a pair of chains connected to the ceiling.

She shook her head to try and get rid of the grogginess. Looking around she noticed her environment and sighs. "This can't be good."

"Pain is about as good as it gets. Are you afraid?" Frey says as he steps into Mera's cell.

"Where am I? And where's Seiren?" She questions.

He pushes a cart into the cell with him.

"You're deep underground. Don't worry about another man when your with me." He says.

Mera rolls her eyes.

"When I get out of here…" Mera begins.

"You're under the assumption that you'll get the chance to escape. I'm going to break you down, mind and all. You hell raisers, are some of my favorites to torture because you last so long. Life-threatening injuries heal in minutes, what better a person to torture than one that feels pain, and regenerates? It's like being able to reuse the same canvas over and over, now that's value." He explains.

"So I'm supposed to suffer because of your twisted sense of pleasure?" Mera questions.

"In short, yeah. But it's always the same with everyone bring here, they always accuse me of being the one in the wrong. I and many others of our kind were shunned, because of our thirst for sadism. We were ousted from the north, so we took matters into our own hands and took the south away from them. Demons who knew only pleasure could not cope with pain, and so they had no defense against us. Many of my incubi brothers here live for the pain of others, while the succubi manipulate their targets so they can do their bidding." He explains.

"There's probably nothing wrong with sadism, but manipulating and torturing people against their will, that's the problem! Why take it to the extreme?!" She exclaims.

"Because that's just what turns us on!" He exclaims.

He reaches onto the table picking up two, searing hooked blades. He struts toward Mera with a smile, and seconds later blood splatters onto the wall. Mera's screams echo throughout the dungeon. Bouts of laughter erupt alongside her screams.

"I think I just found your spleen!" He shouts. The laughter continues.

Meanwhile, Seiren finds himself inside the woman's quarters. She shuts the door behind them. Before him, lies a bed that stretches from wall to wall.

"Do you like it?" She asks. "It's big enough for all of my harem to fit. But for today… It's just me and you."

"—No." Seiren barely manages to get out.

"Still resisting? You have a strong will, it's cute actually. From the moment you two came here, I could smell the inexperience on you both. It's almost irresistible."

She walks over to Seiren and runs her hand across his chest, then whispers in his ear.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle."

Seiren's arms start shaking as he attempts to push her, but it accomplishes nothing. She laughs.

"Looks like the pheromone is doing its job well. Won't be long now, until you're mine." She says as she pushes Seiren onto the bed.

Can I really do nothing here…? Now more than ever I just feel like a spectator in my own life. If she succeeds then that's really all I'll ever be… He thinks.

"While you'll be having the time of your life, your little girlfriend will be having the worst of hers!" She says with a twisted grin as she straddles him.

Come on body! Do something! Move! I can't let this happen! I've got to get to Mera! Seiren thinks.

His body lays there as she runs her hands across his stomach, slowly inching toward his waistline.

As Seiren can only watch the scene unfold before him, he spots something from the corner of the room. A bright white ball of light. It engulfs his entire vision, as everything fades to white. Seiren opens his eyes to find himself within an endless space. Seiren spins around to see it stretch on almost infinitely in all directions. A golden-colored form descends before Seiren in the shape of a woman.

"I didn't think it was going to be this difficult to match wavelengths with you." She says.

"Who are you?" Seiren asks.

She floats around Seiren shifting her body around, in various twists and turns.

"Don't worry about that. I'm the dregs of a woman long past. I've come to aid you in your time of need." She says.

From the distant edges of the space, Seiren felt a presence steadily inching closer. Crawling on all fours covered in the black mist were hundreds of the woman straddling him.

"The pheromones are moving in to snuff out the last bit of your consciousness. Once that's gone, you'll be nothing more than a puppet." She explains.

Seiren materializes the spear from his clothes.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Seiren says as he starts prepares his stance.

"There's too many for you to handle. Leave this to me. It's the reason I've been here in the first place." She says.

"Are you sure?" He says.

"Think of this as me repaying a favor." She says. "This is the only time I'll be able to help you. After that, making it to your friend is on you."

A favor? When have I done anything for her? Seiren wonders.

"Once I free your consciousness, prepare to attack instantly. You'll fail if she has the opportunity to use the pheromones again." She explains. "Good luck."

Seiren nods.

The woman balls her hand into a fist and the mind space begins to compress. As only his consciousness is able to escape, he manages to get one last look at the figure, noticing a small wedding band on her ring finger. He surges through his own mind passing through his own memories of his mother, then through memories of his time with Mera. His eyes shine with a renewed vigor as for first time in the layer, the haziness in his mind clears.

I understand this layer now. It obscures the things that push you to escape. Makes it difficult to call upon these memories. These sparks of will and hope. Then uses lust to blind you. Make you follow the path of least resistance and great pleasure. That's the true danger of this layer. I was caught off guard before, but It won't happen again. He thinks.

His consciousness emerges at the surface, and he regains control of his body. The first thing he feels is a hand reaching into his pants. Shadows begin to gather from the room and into his body.

"Get off!" Seiren shouts. The amalgamation of shadows take the shape of his mother's car, as it flies out of his clothing, quickly growing to its original size and slamming into the woman on top of him. She lets out a shrill scream as she slams through the wall. Seiren rises to his feet and shadows reach up from the floor to fix his clothing back. He pulls out the spear and lets out a deep breath.

Let's find Mera. He thinks.

Seiren runs out of the room, and looks down both halls, before deciding to run down the right side. The surrounding walls and doors whirred past as he dashed as fast as possible.

Back in the room, however, the woman emerged from the wreckage. After wading through debris, she gnashed her teeth in seething rage.

"I won't let you get away after what you've done to me." She states. Releasing a pheromone from her body, causes dozens of sounds to erupt from the hallway as men and women alike poured into her room, then kneels before her.

"My precious harem, I want him eliminated!" She exclaimed.

"If it's your wish, my lady!" They exclaim, wasting not another second to start down the hall to chase Seiren.

Erstwhile, Mera hangs there almost lifelessly drenched entirely in her own blood. Deep gashes ran down her back and legs, while her hands and fingers began to regenerate from nothing. Her eyes were glossed over and her expression vacant, as though she had been somewhere else entirely.

"Hmm… Seems like I've filled my canvas. For now, we'll take a break and pick back up, when you've recovered." He says. He takes his cart and travels down the hall, all while whistling an upbeat tune.

She hangs there for a moment before the life is breathed back into her body. She starts gasping and nearly chokes on air as she finally snaps back. She let out a violent cough as she slowly began to regain control of her body. She grits her teeth to point her jaw creaks and clenches her fists so tightly she draws blood with her own fingernails.

As angry and beat up as I am, I need to try and stay calm. First and foremost I need to get the hell out of here. The chains and the bars on my cell are the two things barring my escape. So I need a way to deal with them. I'll need some sort of blade strong enough to cut through. Mera thinks.

Mera begins to mumble to herself for a few moments.

Ugh. It's so hard to think properly with these injuries. I've got to suck it up. Alright. The answer to this problem, funnily enough, lies with my viewtube watch history. With enough pressure, water has enough power to cut through metals. I just need to focus on controlling the pressure. She thinks.

She closes her eyes letting her stored water gather at her index finger. A large blast of water flew out.

I don't want that. I need to make it smaller and smoother She thinks.

The blast slowly reduces itself to about two inches from her finger.

This should do it. She thinks.

She reaches down with her finger and runs it along the cuff on her wrist. Slowly the metal starts to give as she can feel the splitting. Before long, she manages to split the entire cuff, allowing her arm to fall to her side.

That's one. She thinks.

She refines the process a little more before reaching over and cutting through the other cuff, in half the time. However, she unwittingly falls face-first onto the hard stone floor.

"Gee Mera… Think about how you're gonna land before you smash your nose on the ground." She says. She rises to her knees, noticing her limbs tremble as she attempts to move.

My entire body is screaming out in pain, I'm tapped out so I've got no continues. Only two clips remaining, but I have to go. I can't just leave Seiren there. And to think only a few layers ago, I really was ready to leave him. Mera thinks.

She struggles to her feet, letting out heavy grunts, as more blood escapes her wounds.

Unfortunately, I don't have the time or the luxury to wait for my regeneration to come back. I'll have to grin and bear it. She thinks.

She walks over to the bars on her cell, feeling the thickness on her fingers and sighing. She raises her arm into the air and water forms along the edge of her hand. She swings her arm down in a diagonal motion, slicing straight through each of the bars like butter. She hits the locking mechanism, causing the jar to open slightly.

Tidesplitter takes roughly half a clip to use, so I should use it sparingly. She thinks.

She slowly pushes the gate open, looking down both sides of the hall. In the distance, all she can see is the billowing of a dim flame. She enters the hall and decides on moving toward the flame. However, a few feet before her lies an intersection. Mera stops near the corner, as an incubus turns the corner. They both spot each other and their eyes widen with surprise. He quickly reaches toward Mera, wrapping his hands around her neck. Mera rips the water out of their body through his mouth, as his grip loosens. He falls to the ground. She takes a deep breath.

It's convenient when I need water in a pinch, but it won't work against stronger enemies. Luckily he was on the weaker side. She thinks.

She finally turns down the corner, then continues to hobble down the dark corridor, sounds of whimpers resound from the cells she passes by. Her eyes widen as she sees the damage done to each of the people there.

I can't help them. I can barely take care of myself right now. She thinks.

As she struggles past the row of cells, she hears a voice.

"Please help me!" A woman shouts.

Mera grits her teeth as she continues to hobble past. She remains resolute as she comes across the next intersection.

Once I've found Seiren, we can come back and free them. For now, I must wait. Also, that incubus won't get away with this. Mera thinks while gritting her teeth so hard she cracks a molar. She looks both ways, noticing the path to the right is a dead end.

Looks like I'm going left again. I really hope these halls lead me somewhere.

The woman in the cell watches as Mera prepares to leave. In a fit of desperation, the woman also steels her resolve.

If I'm gonna sit here and rot, there's no reason why she shouldn't too! The woman thinks.

She takes in the deepest breath possible and screams at the top of her lungs:

"Guards!!!!! There's an escapee here!"

Mera's eyes widen with surprise as she hears footsteps coming from behind.

Shit! Mera thinks.

She quickly limps around the corner, noticing some boxes in the hallway, she knocks them over behind her, blocking a portion of the hallway. The incubi come running down the hall and find the hallway empty. They look at each other before approaching slowly.

"Where is she?" One incubus wonders.

"Leave it to me." The other says. His eyes pulse with a bright pink color. It extends throughout the hallway like an electrical pulse before fading at the edge of the hall.

"Hm… I got nothing." He says.

As they turn away, Mera, had been hiding under a blanket behind a box. She shoots up, with her face flush, with both finger guns aimed at the incubi. They both turn to get a bullet to each of their heads. As their bodies drop to the ground, a shadow dances out from around the corner, a third formerly hidden incubus, Fray. Foot-long claws extended from his hands as he made a beeline for the surprised Mera.

I won't be able to react in time! She thinks.

She barely manages to move her hand in front of her, turning it into a tidesplitter as quickly as possible. The demon struck her with a downward slash, but Mera was only able to guard her head. He cut a deep gash running from her chest to her stomach. She falls back onto the cold hard ground. Mera heaves for air, as the incubus stands over her. She raises her hand to him. He slams his foot down on her arm, and a cracking noise resounds. Mera lets out a loud groan.

"GRRRRAAAAHHH!" She shouts.

She raises her other arm. The demon's claws extend and stab straight through her arm.

Yikes… I'm losing a lot more blood. This is looking grim. This might be the end. She thinks.

"I won't let you die just yet! Scream more! Suffer more!" He shouts while laughing hysterically.

He slams his foot into Mera's knee as it shatters.

I won't even give you the satisfaction. She thinks.

He stares down at Mera's face as she resolutely remains stone-faced. He shatters her tibia and nary a sound passes through her lips. She continues to glare at him in defiance.

"Ah, so that's what this is. I was overly excited at the thought of a new canvas, but I don't particularly need to keep you around. I trust you've seen a few more of the other canvas' that I have?" He asks. He drops low, til he's face to face with Mera. "What's losing one canvas? Especially one, that won't cooperate."

Groups of Incubi arrive behind him, after all the commotion.

"Go ahead, threaten me. I'm not afraid. If your gonna kill me, you'd better make it snappy. Who knows when the tables could turn?" Mera says.

I'm just blowing out hot air at this point. I'm all out of steam, They've got Seiren, even if I beat him, I'd have all those extras to fight and we have no idea where Maya is. It's checkmate. We weren't together long, but for the first time, it was nice having someone by my side that I felt like I could trust. Goodbye Seiren. Mera thinks.

"It's over." He says. He raises his claws into the air. Then points them at Mera's throat. Mera closes her eyes as she awaits death. The ground begins to shake. In the distance, loud booms resounded one by one causing the ground to continually shake.

"What is that?!" Fray questions.

Silence returns to the area. But like thunder breaking through the clouds, the wall bursts open in a cloud of dust. A pair of feet land on the damp ground.

"Who are you!" Fray shouts, his weight suddenly disappears from Mera's body as his screams go down the entire hall. The resulting force causes the dust to clear, revealing Seiren's figure standing in the light from the hole in the wall. Mera's eyes widen as she sees him. Overwhelmed with a multitude of emotions, Mera fights back the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Geez, I thought you'd become some kind of sex slave by now. But, I'm glad you're okay." She says with a sigh of relief.

"I couldn't let that happen. How could I let my partner…" Seiren began. His eyes widened, and his mouth hung open when he saw the state of Mera's body.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Mera says, noticing his expression. "That said, my body's finally starting to relax now that you're here, I feel like… I'm getting really tired."

"You rest up. I'll take it from here." He says as he kneels next to her.

"I'm sorry." She mutters before fully blacking out.

The harem that had been following Seiren arrived with their master in tow. The incubi helped Fray to his feet as he rushed forward.

"Freya, I thought you took care of him!" He shouts, removing Seiren's spear from his stomach.

"He's a slippery one. But with our combined forces, I won't allow either of them to escape!" She shouts.

"You might as well give up, with me and my sister's combined might you stand no chance! You're completely surrounded!" Frey adds.

Images of my Mera flash through Seiren's mind. From their first encounter all the way up to now.

I don't even know when it happened. When Mera became important to me. We've been partners for a while now and at some point, she snuck up and tugged at my heartstrings. I wouldn't call it love, and this isn't the lust talking. She's genuinely someone I appreciate and respect. This isn't the place to sort such feelings, but, seeing her like this leaves me feeling really angry. Seiren thinks.

Seiren silently stands there before Mera's broken and beaten body. A veil of smoky darkness began to fill the air like thick smoke. The air grew cold as the siblings felt a chill down their spines.

What is this sinister energy filling the air…?! Freya thinks.

Seiren looks back slightly before a wave of darkness bursts forth from his body. The pressure alone knocks everyone in the vicinity onto the floor.

Fray immediately rises to his feet.

"I'm not scared of you!" He shouts.

Seiren shoots him a glare and his whole body freezes. Due to the darkness of the room, all he could see were Seiren's cold glowing eyes. A pillar of darkness erupted from his location as he grabbed Mera's body.

How could he be this strong?! There's no way someone should be at this level yet! Fray questions within the depths of his mind.

The pillar of darkness rises high into the skies, catching the attention of several others in the vicinity.

"There's no doubt about it. That's Seiren. I need to hurry!" Maya says as she starts running toward the building.

Seiren stands up with Mera's lifeless body in his arms and looks back at both the twins.

"Once I've made sure she's taken care of…" Seiren begins in a calm tone. He gives them a full-on glare and gnashes his teeth before speaking again. "I'll come back and do the same for your entire species!"

The words that pass through his lips have everyone in the room, still with fear. Seiren bends his knees as if gathering strength, then launches himself into the sky. Frey clenches his fists to the point where he begins to bleed. He lets out a primal shout, before looking over at his sister.

"To be dealt this level of disrespect! Promising the genocide of our species, like this is a fucking game?!" Frey exclaims.

"That human got way too full of himself, Frey. Sure his power may have been strong, but together, we're stronger brother. Why don't we use that…?" She says with a wide grin.

"Oho! You read my mind! That little insect won't even know what hit him."

"He'll be trapped in a never-ending nightmare of pain and pleasure." The two join hands and their bodies begin to merge together, in a flash of light. The remaining demons around them, look on in horror, as they watch them become something entirely different. Their shadow lingers on the wall, revealing a grotesque pulsing lump that floated in the air.

Meanwhile, while falling, Seiren looks down at the unconscious Mera.

She's in such a bad state, that I feel like I could breathe on her and that'd be the end. If I hadn't been taken in by that pheromone none of this would've happened. Seiren thinks. He lets out a heavy sigh as he lands outside the building. He looks around, noticing no demons in the vicinity, and notices something approaching from the front at high speed. At first, his guard was up, but he relaxed his body as he realized who it was. Maya came to a screeching halt, tearing up bits of the ground as she stopped. The first thing she notices is Mera's body, which leaves her surprised, but she quickly refocuses on herself.

"We need to go someplace quiet and give Mera time to regenerate," Maya says. She looks up at Seiren.

So I was right. Seiren was somehow able to draw out the full power of his hell flower. Something is incredibly wrong though. It's not supposed to feel this sinister. It's almost like a grudge. I've never seen anything like it. Just being near him is giving me goosebumps. How long is it going to last? And just what side effect is he going to suffer for such a boost? Maya shook her head. For now, I need to focus on getting to safety.

"Follow me," Maya says.

She takes off running with all her strength and surely enough, Seiren is able to keep up with her with no effort. She leads him to a large building far in the distance. Another nightclub.

The layout is almost the exact same as the other one. Seiren notices.

It held a tall structure to one side and a square shaped building attached to it. As Seiren expected, the square room was a dancefloor, which meant the other side could only be where the bedrooms were. They walked along the dance floor and Seiren placed Mera on one of the booth seats at the back of the room. Maya sits on a collapsed pillar in the center of the room. She stares out at the sky from the gaping hole in the ceiling and sighs.

"I'm sorry. I should've realized the advocate would try something to get even. It's one of the oldest tricks in the book and I fell for it hook, line, and sinker." Maya says.

"We all make mistakes. But it's how we correct them." Seiren says. He tries to walk past Maya but she grabs his arm.

"Where are you going?" Maya questions.

"To crush them," Seiren says.

There's no doubt about it. There's something wrong here. Seiren isn't like this normally, could this change in his power be amplifying his emotions? I've never seen this happen until now. Maya thinks.

"Seiren there's no reason for you to go back. The path to the next layer isn't even there. Sure, Mera got injured badly, but that's no reason to stick your neck out unnecessarily. She'll be fine with some time to rest. Didn't you want to get back to your mother?" She questions.

Seiren looks back at Maya and a large shadow hangs over them. They gaze up at the large bulbous mass floating in the sky. Its fleshy color, allowed them to see its insides through its translucence.

"Found ya!" A disembodied voice calls out from the floating monstrosity.

"How did they find us?" Maya questions, then she looks to Seiren.

He's been releasing that energy this entire time! They were able to track him. Maya thinks.

"Now that the situation is like this, we have no choice," Maya admits.

First, we need to get it away from here, we can't have Mera getting hurt as collateral damage. Maya thinks.

"Seiren follow me!" She shouts.

Mera's hand twitches as Maya leaps into the air cocks her fist back. Then punches, splitting the air, and colliding with the blob. The shockwave rippled through its gelatinous body before sending it flying almost a mile. It skids across the ground before coming to a halt.

Maya lands outside with a slimy goo on her hand. She feels strange energy emanating from her arm, then she grips her head in pain. Her body heat begins to rise and her breathing becomes heavy and rapid. Maya lets out a smirk and almost laughs.

I haven't felt this… excited in a long time. I almost forgot what it was like. Maya thinks.

"Seiren watch out, its skin is covered in an aphrodisiac of some kind. It's pretty potent." Maya says.

Seiren nods.

The creature rises up from the ground and Seiren takes a deep breath.

Here it comes. He thinks.

"It's gonna take more than brute strength to finish us!" The blob exclaims.

"Okay," Seiren says.

Seiren launches toward the blob and using his spear, he runs through the length of its body. However, a strong mist erupts from the gash left by his spear, enshrouding him.

"Try evading that!" A mostly female voice shouts.

"Seiren?!" Maya shouts. Right as she's about to clear the mist with a clap of her hands, she notices movement in the smoke.

Since my brother and I combined, my pheromones became even stronger, now I can control pleasure itself! Try surviving an endless cycle of pleasure! Freya thinks.

"I had a feeling this might happen," Seiren mutters.

Seiren emerges from the smoke with a spinning slash, cutting deep into the flesh of the blob. Tearing its entire side open. More smoke erupts, yet Seiren simply lands back on the ground near Maya.

"I was saving this for Coma, but…" Seiren begins. He grips a black mask held to his face by shadows. "Nebula mask."

I took the concept of a black hole when I made this since it absorbs 99.9% of toxins and irregularities in the air. Seiren thinks.

He tosses a mask to Maya, who quickly puts it on.

"Playtime is over." He says. He becomes enveloped in the wave of darkness. The darkness begins to form the shape of two giant macabre arms with insanely sharp claws behind him. "Here I come," Seiren mutters before launching himself once more.

He hovers in the air over the demon and multiple protrusions begin growing from its body. They shoot upwards toward Seiren like a barrage of elongated spears. Seiren begins knocking them away using the massive arms of darkness. While Seiren spends most of his time on defense, Maya runs up from below and leaps into the air from its shadow. She winds back her fist and launches a powerful uppercut. The shockwave from the blow shatters all the nearby windows and glass.

Although I'm a little hesitant to rely much on Seiren for this fight, it's also an opportunity to see a fragment of his strength. Maya thinks.

The blob goes soaring toward Seiren at a breakneck speed. Using one of the arms, he grabs all of the protrusions with one gigantic arm and is surprised when another speed past him. It clips him, taking off his entire left arm. He grimaces in pain, and within seconds another appears as if from out of nowhere.

Even his regeneration got boosted…? When we were training it'd take him at least two minutes to regenerate an arm. Maya thinks.

Seiren glares at the demon as his arm starts to turn the same black as his inky, malevolent darkness.

"You'll pay for that." He says.

He grabs its speeding body with his other giant claw and starts applying pressure to both sides. Slowly its body begins to stretch apart as a tear appears at the center. Seiren smiles as he completely rips it apart. Blood begins to rain from the sky as it bursts, and Maya looks on in awe. Swipe after swipe, Seiren continues to attack, his vicious claws tearing the shreds into even small ribbons.

I was too naive. It looked like Seiren had retained some semblance of control over himself, but that was just him exercising what little self-control he had left. Maya thinks.

She watches as Seiren revels in the excitement of his kill while drenched in its blood.

Seiren lands on the ground with a slam, kicking up dust and debris. Some of the ribbons land onto the ground and pulse with light, before the siblings come tumbling out of thin air. They land on the ground, exhausted and covered in their own blood.

"We were no match…" Freya says while struggling to breathe.

Fray lays there in silence.

Maya watches as Seiren walks through the cloud and stands over the demons.

I'm gonna have to knock some sense into him. Maya thinks. As Seiren ends the lives of the demons with a swipe of his claws. Blood splatters on the rocks nearby. While blood is still raining from the sky, Seiren looks up and grins widely while extending both his arms and the shadow arms floating behind him as if basking in the excellence of his kill. Drops of blood land on his face, as he licks some of it.

"Seiren," Maya calls out. She speeds into close range, only inches from his face, and slams her shoulder into his chest. The shockwave, sends the air into a frenzy, despite the reaction, Seiren backs away, while struggling to breathe.

Normally that'd have sent him flying. Let's keep attacking. Maya thinks.

Maya continues with a spinning backhand to Seiren's face, a punch to his stomach, and finally, a ground-cracking low kick aimed at his shins. Shadows propel Seiren forward like a jet, as he swings forward, slamming her with a headbutt. The hit sends Maya reeling, as she walks back.

My vision's blurry. That attack shouldn't have done that much damage. Wait a minute… The aphrodisiac is still affecting me! It's made me at least a tad weaker, but at Seiren's level of strength now, that may just prove to be enough. She thinks.

Seiren's arms get engulfed in darkness and they turn into claws as well. He dives toward Maya and assaults her with a barrage of slices at all angles. She maneuvers back while dodging and confidently knocking his slices aside. The darkness on his arms continues to grow all the while, traveling up to his face and splitting into veins.

Damn, Seiren's speed is something else. It's taking a lot to stop his attacks. Maya thinks.

Mera comes running out of the building, noticing Seiren and Mera scrapping.

"What happened?!" Mera shouts.

Seiren turns his attention to Mera and launches himself toward her.

"Mera! Look out!" Maya shouts.

I can't delay any longer! She thinks.

Red veins cover Maya's body as she nearly causes an earthquake dashing past Seiren and grabbing him by the throat.

"Come back to your senses already!" Maya shouts.

She slams Seiren into the ground dragging him through the concrete and rocky terrain, leaving a long trail of debris and concrete fragments. Seiren lets out some low groans, as Maya jumps into the air, dragging him along. Then hurls him toward the ground like a falling meteorite. He crashes into the building Mera had just come out of. The resulting shockwave sends wind flying out violently as Mera shields herself from the debris and wind.

Just what the hell happened while I was out?! Mera questions.

Maya lands near Mera and takes a deep breath.

"Hopefully that's enough to snap him back to his senses," Maya says.

"What happened to him?" Mera asks.

"Something… Corrupted him. I don't know if it was his emotions running high, or something else. But it happened after he got you out of that nightclub. It's like the darkness is affecting negatively." Maya explains.

Wait a minute… Maya explained to us how each element has its own strengths and weaknesses. Darkness is that which obscures, it's often associated with fear of the unknown, despair, and even death. Mera thinks.

They hear some of the rubble moves and brace themselves. Seiren comes stumbling through the cloud of dust and collapses on his knees.

"Seiren are you okay?" Mera shouts.

Seiren holds up his fist and holds his thumb pointing down. He starts throwing up onto the ground.

"Come on, we should check on him," Mera says.

"Alright, but we should be cautious."

They make their way over to Seiren. What Seiren is spewing was completely black and devoid of all light. Mera quickly runs over to his side and kneels next to him. After throwing up, he begins coughing violently. She rubs his back as he struggles to breathe. Seiren sits back against the wall, and they peer at his face. His left sclera is still black and his iris was blood red. The darkness from the rest of his body had all but disappeared.

"How are you feeling?" Maya asks.

"Like crap." He says while palming his forehead.

"I would be too if I just spat that out." Mera remarks. "Thanks for saving me earlier."

"Of course," Seiren says.

Mera notices his body trembling.

Seiren looks like he's completely shaken up. I want to do something for him. Mera thinks.

Mera leans back against the wall and extends her legs out. She looks over at Seiren and pats her lap with her hand.

Seiren looks up at her and tilts his head in confusion.

"You can lay your head here and rest a bit. You seem a bit tired." She says.

Maya notices and smirks a bit.

"While he's resting, I'm just gonna scout a little bit." Maya says, before heading off.

Seiren obliges and rests his head upon her lap.

"Close your eyes." She says.

He listens and shuts his eyes. He feels the light breeze roll in, then he feels a new sensation. He feels Mera place a finger on his forehead, and water begins to caress his face. Back and forth, left and right the water gently flows as Seiren takes in a deep breath. Slowly he feels himself begin to drift as if all his troubles melt away. His trembling comes to a stop and his breathing becomes calm.

"I'm sorry you guys had to deal with me like that," Seiren says, while unconsciously making a sad expression.

Mera taps his forehead.

"Don't give me that puppy dog look. Don't be so hard on yourself because something like this happened. We're partners. It's okay for us to rely upon each other." Mera says.

"But…" Seiren begins.

"Nope! Listen, Seiren. I trust you with my life. It's crazy because we've only known each other for a few weeks. But, you're much stronger than you give yourself credit for, hell, if it weren't for you, we'd never have gotten this far. It's natural that we help each other, that's what friends do."

He pauses for a moment as if stunned, then smiles.

"Thanks, Mera." He says.

"Anytime." She replies.

Following their conversation, Seiren had made a full recovery, his eye back to normal. With Maya and Mera by his side, they marched forward to continue their journey through lust. Seiren reaches for his spear and nothing comes out. He tries several times over and over, but to no avail.

"What's wrong?" Mera asks.

"I can't use my hell flower." He says as he's sweating.