Iris…
Her sister who’d been with her since she was born. She loved her sister very much, maybe not as much as Kevin, but Iris was still important to her. Out of all the people in this world, her fraternal twin definitely took second place.
Kotohime…
The one who raised her. A mother in all but blood. She was firmly ranked third on her favorite people's list, right after Iris and right before her mother.
Christine…
As far as favorite people went, Christine wasn’t really on her top five, but she considered the girl a friend. She knew that the yuki-onna still loved Kevin. Truth be told, she didn’t really mind. Christine wasn’t a threat, and so long as she didn’t try to steal Kevin from her, then the girl could do whatever she wanted.
All of them were currently up top, fighting against a threat whose killing intent was only outmatched by a Kyūbi. Lilian couldn’t help but worry about their fate. Were they even still alive?
“Hey!” Euryale shouted excitedly. “I think the air is getting cleaner!”
“And the tunnel is sloping upwards,” Ioxeia added. “That is a good sign.”
“An exit?” Menippe asked.
“Let’s hope so,” Thoe said.
“Come,” Polydora hurried her pace, “let us return to the surface!”
As Lilian followed the others, she thought about the people she loved, and her desire to leave this place and help them became the fuel that she used to push herself forward. She would not let them fight alone.
Wait for me. I’m coming to help you.
Iris and Christine had somehow located an exit and were now wandering through a heavily forested area. Trees thicker than an oni blocked their path. Brambles and roots caused them to trip. Christine had it easy. She wasn’t carrying anyone. Iris was carrying Heather in her tails and letting Phoebe lean on her, and having a completely naked girl rub against her was very distracting.
Unlike Lilian, who wasn’t actually into women, Iris was bisexual. She enjoyed the female body as much as she did the male body. Actually, she enjoyed the female body even more than she did the male. Kevin was the only male she would let touch her, because he was her sister’s mate. However, she wouldn’t have a problem if another female joined them for a little lesbian triple play.
I wonder if I can somehow convince Lily-pad to have a passionate night of romping with Amazon Girl and myself.
Ah, she could already imagine such a scenario playing out.
“Iris,” Lilian whispered, staring at her with a stunned expression and incredible longing. “I had no idea that you felt this way. You should have told me that you wanted to add another woman into the mix.”
Lilian was laying on the bed, bare as the day she’d been born. Her breasts, barely covered by thin strands of fiery silk, heaved with each inhale and exhale. Sweat trickled down her hips, evidence of their previous exertion. Lying beside them both, a naked Phoebe stared at them with barely constrained lust.
“I didn’t want to tell you,” Iris said, her voice also a soft whisper. “I was worried that you would think differently of me.”
“Oh, Iris.” Lilian placed her arms around Iris’s neck. “I could never think differently of you. I love you, after all.”
“Lilian…”
As she went down on her sister, Phoebe joined in, and their passionate cries echoed throughout the bedroom.
“Hey, Iris. I think I see something up ahead.”
“...”
“Iris?”
“...”
“STOP IGNORING ME DAMN IT!”
“Gya!” Iris shrieked as cold air blasted her in the face. Her hair froze over, turning into black icicles, and her eyebrows were flash frozen. “W-what the hell?! What was that for?”
“You were thinking about something perverted, weren’t you?” Christine asked through narrowed eyes.
Iris smirked. “You know me too well. I was actually thinking about how hot it would be if you, myself, and Lilian triple-teamed the stud in a passionate sex-a-thon.”
“Nya ha ha! Sounds like a good plan!”
“W-w-w-what the hell kind of daydream is that?!” Christine’s face turned the same shade as a boiled lobster. “Y-you—quit dreaming about perverted things, ya damn fox! And you shut up, you stupid fucking cat!”
“Are you talking to yourself?” asked Iris.
She hadn’t believed it was possible, but Christine’s face became even redder.
“Wha—no! I was just—”
Iris chuckled. Christine really was adorable. More than Phoebe, Iris wanted to take this girl to bed—preferably alongside Lilian.
“A-anyway,” Christine coughed into her hand and looked away, “I think I saw something over this way.”
“Lead the way.”
Christine glared at her, suspicion in her eyes. When Iris just smiled, she frowned and turned around, walking deeper into the forest.
She’s so tiny, like a child. Iris licked her lips. I think I’m beginning to understand those lolicons and their weird fetish.
There was something oddly attractive about such a small woman. Christine was cuter than anyone Iris knew. It was like the combination of her actual age and petite appearance created an unusual aesthetic that made Iris want to protect and tease her at the same time.
Brushing several branches aside, a small clearing opened up before them. The ground was mercifully free of roots to get tangled in, and a large cavern jutting up from the ground like the mouth of a massive sand worm loomed before them.
“A cave?” Iris said. “What good’s a cave going to do us?”
“Hey, I never said what I saw was useful; just that I saw something,” Christine said.
As Iris frowned, her ears twitched as they picked up the sound of voices—familiar ones, at that.
“Ah! I see an entrance!”
“Yay! We’re finally free of this cave!”
“Do not move so quickly! What if this is a trap?”
“You’re so uptight, Polydora.”
“If I am uptight, then it is because you make me uptight!”
Nine figures rushed out of the cave. Nine women emerged. One of those women was a familiar female with hair like fire and eyes like emeralds. She had an envious bosom and the black bodysuit she wore conformed to her thin waist and shapely hips like a glove.
“Lilian!”
Iris dropped Heather and Phoebe, both of whom fell to the ground like a sack of bricks, and rushed at her sister.
“Eh? Iris—doof!”
“Lilian! Lilian! I’m so glad you’re all right!”
“Ga… gu… ugh…”
“I was… I’m so sorry! You were pulled down that hole because I got careless!”
“Gua…?”
Iris cried on Lilian’s chest, her tears running down the waterproof fabric. Relief rushed through her like a maelstrom, bringing with it her tears, which she shed freely and without shame. Her chest, which had ached like a dull lance had pierced it, felt light and unburdened. Lilian was alive.
To think I ever doubted her, Iris thought. It’s no wonder Kevin and Lily-pad are such a good match. He never doubted her like I did.
“Iris?”
Iris sniffled. “Yes, Lily-pad?”
“My back… it hurts… and I can’t breathe… can you get off me?”
“Huh?” Iris needed a moment to realize what her sister meant. Then she remembered that she, in her joy, had tackled Lilian, who’d fallen back onto the hard ground. And now that she was paying attention, her beloved sister did appear to be in a lot of pain. “Oh, right. Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine…” Lilian mumbled as her sister climbed off her. “Somehow, I’m used to you bulldozing me over.”
Iris had the decency to feel embarrassed. It wasn’t like she ran over her sister on a daily basis. She was just so happy that she hadn’t been able to help herself this time.
“You okay?” Christine asked, helping Lilian stand up.
“Ugh… give me a minute to realign my spine, and I probably will be,” Lilian said, wincing as she leaned backwards. “Ooooh, that hurts.”
“I said I was sorry,” Iris mumbled, feeling like a petulant child who’d broken an expensive vase.
While this was happening, another tearful reunion was taking place.
“Phoebe! Phoebe! I can’t believe you’re here! I was so worried about you! Waahhhhhhh!”
Phoebe sighed as Polydora cried into her chest. Tears ran down her bare skin, and she winced when several rolled over her unhealed cuts.
“There, there,” she said, petting the older woman on the head. That just made Polydora cry even harder.
“We’re glad to see that you are alive, Phoebe,” Ioxeia said.
“Got that right,” Euryale added, winking. “You really gave us a scare, so try not to do it again, okay?”
“I understand,” Phoebe said, then paused, cocking her head to the side. “Hold on. What are all of you doing here?”
“What do you mean what are we doing here?” Thoe frowned as she twirled a strand of pink hair with her fingers. “We’re here to rescue you, of course. You can’t expect your friends not to come to your rescue when they’ve heard that you were kidnapped, right?”
Phoebe closed her eyes, and her lips gently curved upwards. “Yes, I suppose you make a good point. Thank you. I am truly blessed to have such incredible friends.”
“Heh, you got that right.”
“So, since we’ve rescued you now, does that mean we can leave?” asked Androdaïxa.
Just then, a massive explosion rocked the entire island. Everyone who was standing fell to their knees. Above the trees, rising like ashes from a volcano was a large cloud of smoke, and from that smoke, five gigantic snakes burst forth.
“That’s back at the base,” Iris mumbled, her eyes wide.
“Kevin!” Christine cried out.
Unlike the other two, Lilian said nothing. She merely started running in the direction of the snakes.
“My friends, we cannot leave yet,” Phoebe stood up, using Polydora to aid her. “Kevin Swift and Kotohime are currently fighting against a powerful opponent. It was Kevin Swift who came to my rescue. I cannot in good conscience leave him to battle this creature alone.”
“You can’t honestly be thinking about going into battle, can you?” Polydora asked.
“Polydora is correct,” Ioxeia said. “You are far too injured to enter the battlefield right now.” Phoebe opened her mouth to protest, but snapped it closed when she received a look from the others. “At the moment, your presence would only hinder your friends, who fought so hard to rescue you. Let us go in your place. We owe Kevin Swift for all that he has done for us anyway.”
“Very well,” Phoebe said, acquiescing to Ioxeia’s demand. This woman had helped raise her, and thus she could do no less. “I want all of you to assist Kevin Swift in this battle. Hebi is a powerful opponent, and he’ll need all the help that he can get.”
“Consider it done,” Polydora said, then she blushed. “H-however, I want it noted that I am only doing this because you ordered me to, not because I like him.”
Phoebe didn’t understand what liking him had to do with her orders, but she nodded all the same. “Duly noted. Now, then, Lilian, Christine, Ir… is… huh, where did they go?”
That’s when everybody else noticed it too. Christine, Lilian, and Iris were gone. The place where they’d been standing was empty, and the only person in the clearing besides them was a still-unconscious Heather.
“You don’t think they…?” Euryale trailed off.
“I do,” Thoe said, “they have clearly gone to help Kevin, which is what we should be doing now.”
The words jolted the yama uba into action. One by one, they readied their weapons. One by one, they began to trot into the forest. One by one, they prepared for battle—except for Phoebe, who stayed behind with Heather.
“Damn, those three move fast,” Euryale muttered as she leapt over a tree root.
“Indeed,” Thoe agreed, “and we had better move fast as well, or the battle will end before we even arrive.”
Kevin almost missed Hebi move. Had it not been for his instincts, bred from training with Kiara and Kotohime, he would have never been able to respond in time.
The air above him went woosh as something lashed at him. He could feel his hair being buffeted by the turbulent wind it created. Without even looking up, he aimed his guns at the airspace above him and unleashed a barrage of bullets.
“Water Art: Dance of Timeless Erosion.”
Moisture gathered in the air. Water coalesced, forming thousands of tiny droplets that surrounded the thing Kevin had pumped full of holes. As he leapt back, the water began to move, slowly at first, but gathering speed until it looked like a miniature whirlpool shaped like a football. The water then compressed, becoming smaller, tighter, and when the technique dispersed, there was nothing left of the snake that had attacked him.
“It’s not good to leave your guard open,” a voice said behind him.
Kevin felt a jolt travel down his spine. He turned his head to see Hebi standing behind him, but he couldn’t remember seeing the man move.
Hebi’s left hand shot forward. Shaped like a spear, Kevin understood that it would impale him if he didn’t get out of the way.
“Ikken Hissatsu.”
Hebi leapt back as Kotohime, her body spinning clockwise, jumped in front of Kevin and attacked with her katana. A small ripple passed through the space that Hebi had been standing on, but it didn’t seem to have enough reach to hit the man now.
“Hien.”
Bringing her wakizashi to bear, Kotohime spun counterclockwise. Another one of those ripples was launched through the space. It slammed into the first one Kotohime had made with her katana, creating a larger ripple, which shot forward at an increased pace and reached Hebi in record time.
Blood splattered across the ground as Hebi, seemingly unable to move away in time, only avoided having his head not cut off. His arm fell to the ground, severed at the shoulder. However, he didn’t seem bothered by his missing appendage. There was a wide smile on his face that bothered Kevin.
“Marvelous! Truly marvelous!” Black ichor exploded from the stump around Hebi’s shoulder as something burst out, another arm, which was drenched in various fluids. “To think you’d have reflexes quick enough to injure me! Such an impressive showing! Now,” his lips twisted into a hideous facsimile of a smile, “show me more.”
Kevin and Kotohime were forced back as several large snakes shot from the bottom of Hebi’s trench coat. They were the same albino creatures as before. They launched themselves at him and the maid like coiled springs, their mouths open, fangs dripping with venom.
Kevin aimed his guns at the snakes and pulled the triggers. He blinked when nothing happened.
Crap! I’m out of ammo!
“Kotohime!”
“Leave it to me!”
Kevin jumped back while Kotohime leapt in front of him. She stood before the incoming horde of snakes like a sentinel standing guard against the demonic forces of The Horde. Sheathing her two blades, Kotohime crouched low, and Kevin could practically sense her intentions from where he stood.
“Ichi no Ougi.”
Kotohime rushed forward at speeds too fast for Kevin’s eyes to track. Her katana and wakizashi slid from their sheaths, mere flickers of light, and suddenly, dozens of silver lines appeared alongside the snakes. Still flying through the air, the snakes fell apart, their bodies sliced into multiple tiny segments. The ichor from their bodies splashed against the ground, and Kevin wrinkled his nose when a putrid vapor wafted from the floor.
“An impressive display, but you’ve left yourself wide open!” Hebi crowed, cackling madly as more snakes appeared around Kotohime, surrounding her.
Acting quickly, Kevin clicked the release mechanism on his guns. Two cartridges fell to the floor. He brought his guns down to his thighs, where t
welve more cartridges, six on each side, waited to be used. After swiping his guns so the cartridges went inside of them, he pounded their butts together and heard a satisfying click.
The snakes lunged at Kotohime, who seemed ready to make a move.
There was no need.
Light flashed. Golden energy burst from black and silver barrels. Kevin felt gratified as each projectile exploded against a snake head, blasting them apart in a spray of gore. The acrid scent of blood thickened, clogging the air. Kevin ignored this and re-aimed his guns at Hebi, unleashing another barrage at the man. He became frustrated, however, when Hebi wove around all of his attacks, bending at angles that should not have been possible, even for a yōkai.
“Kevin-sama, behind you!” Kotohime’s warning forced Kevin to spin around and blast several holes into the snake that had been sneaking up on him from behind.
“You should worry about yourself, my dear,” Hebi said, suddenly standing right next to Kotohime. The three-tailed kitsune barely had time to raise her sword before something slammed into it. Kevin didn’t see what it was, but he saw the aftereffects well enough.
With a sound reminiscent of a gunshot, Kotohime was sent sailing backwards. Kevin’s eyes widened when she blew past him, but he didn’t have time to be shocked, because Hebi was now standing right in front of him—and he hadn’t even seen the guy move!
“Now, then, young human, let us see how well you can keep up with me.”
Kevin knew where Hebi was going to attack even if he couldn’t see it happening. He’d left a hole in his defense, on his left side, for just this purpose.
Twisting his body out of the way, Kevin avoided the thrust hand, though he could still feel it slicing into his bodysuit. It seemed this outfit really couldn’t stand up to cutting damage. Another attack came in, and Kevin avoided that one, too, sidestepping and slamming the barrel of his silver gun into the attacking limb.
Before the limb could retract, he pulled the trigger and had the satisfaction of watching golden energy crackle against Hebi’s forearm. Despite being hit point-blank with celestial energy, Hebi’s forearm remained undamaged.
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