Citrinas I

Arch-Imago Citrinas isn't imposing, not on her own. She's wearing a robe and wizard hat, neither of which have been washed recently. Her dress rides low on her cleavage, exposing most of her D-cup breasts. You'd guess that she's in her late twenties.

To your slime senses, the mana crackling around her is terrifying. Gods are bright with mana, like being in the same room as a sun. Citrinas is practically exploding with it, like being in the same room as a strobe light -- so many brilliant clashing auras you can barely look at her. How many buff spells must she be running?

But the thing that really scares you is her eyes. She looks detached, aloof, uncaring. Not bored, exactly. But when she looks at you, she's not seeing a person. She's seeing an object, which could be torn apart or destroyed at her own whim.

Your God's Eye skill activates, and you check her stats. Hit points 135 million. Mana 5.6 billion. Forty-seven different buffs, including Dragon's Physique, Phoenix Down, Barrier of the Seven Veils, Discern Lies, Reshape Reality, Orb Of Finality, Absolute Terror Field... the list goes on. Seven major artifacts, twelve minor artifacts. Celerity Seven.

(Below, in the miniboss room, Leraje is making preparations for her Void Beam spell. You whisper: "Leraje? What's Celerity Seven, and why isn't it listed as a buff?" Leraje shakes her head and shrugs.)

Your vision overlay blinks a message: "Adrenaline overload: conditions met. Activate Final Form?" You mash YES. It won't help in combat, not against that, but the stat boost can't hurt.

Final Form doesn't seem to change your shape much, but you get a gratifying stat boost. Your max mana hits eight million, and you watch as your mana pool fills from your node below Northhold.

"You're the light slime," Citrinas tells you, in almost a monotone. "The one that knows the ritual that binds the goddesses. Is that true?"

Lying to Citrinas is dangerous. It's the thing that everyone you've talked to has agreed on. You choose your words very carefully. "I've witnessed a magic circle that bound the Dark Goddess Carnachias. It removed all her mana and cut her off from the Well of Divinity. Part of it is reproduced here, though there may be errors."

She nods. "Antimagic IX, and a spell I don't recognize. Five errors in transcription, plus the missing segment. Why is a segment missing?"

(Below, you nudge Redhoof and Leraje frantically. "She's asking hard questions! I can't lie to her yet! I need mana! Give me mana?" Redhoof presses a hand to your body, and a cool stream of mana flows to your pool. Leraje glares -- she has her own preparations to do -- but she does the same.)

"I can arrange for the missing segment to be filled in, given time," you say. "Perhaps we could bargain?"

Citrinas glares at you. Beams of **** strike at you from all sides -- invisible, impossible to dodge. The magic rips deep into your body, and your hit point bar drops by half.

By exactly half, you realize.

"Do not evade my questions," Citrinas tells you, in the exact same tone. "Why is a segment missing from the circle? Answer clearly and completely."

"I asked two of my allies to engrave the circle," you admit. "They worked for most of the day, but did not finish. I was occupied with a different task which I viewed as quite important."

(Below, you whisper: "Ten seconds until I have to lie! Give me whatever you've got! Quick quick quick!" Leraje hisses in irritation. She aborts her own preparations and puts both hands on your body. Mana surges into you. A notification blinks: Mana Corruption: 2%)

"What was the task?" Citrinas asks.

And you lie to Citrinas.

Your mana is eight million now, and your antimagic power lets you ignore all spells that cost less than your mana reserve. How much did Citrinas use to cast her lie detection spell? You're about to find out.

"I know the True Name of Carnachias," you lie, "and I was attempting to communicate it. The True Name can only be communicated sexually. Unfortunately, none of my chosen targets were intelligent enough to comprehend the Name, so my efforts were wasted."

And... Citrinas just nods. "I see. I had wondered why you were performing so many sex acts. I reviewed the reports carefully."

You just sit there, too relieved to speak. It worked! It worked! You beat the lie detection spell!

"Well, then," she says. "The course of action is clear. Give me the True Name of Carnachias. Immediately." She starts to strip.

You have to push just a little bit more. "There's a problem," you lie. "The True Name is considered an aphrodisiac debuff. You cannot receive the Name unless you disable your debuff defense."

Citrinas frowns -- the first real emotion you've seen on her. "That seems very unlikely," she says. "[Negate Resistance]. [Supreme Dominate Monster]!"

A mental **** strikes you from nowhere, overwhelming defenses you didn't even realize you had. Your will is utterly crushed; you're helpless before her orders.
[Status gained: Resistance[All] -400%]
[Status gained: True Mind Control]
[Status removed: mind control status negated due to immunity]
And then you're fine again.

Citrinas keeps talking. "Direct order: tell me the true and complete nature of the True Name of Carnachias."

Giddy with relief, you repeat the same lie. "I was given the True Name of Carnachias as a reward for actions when I arrived from Earth. The Name can be used to seal her divinity and powers, temporarily or permanently. As protection against spreading, the Name is considered an aphrodisiac debuff by the system, and can only be communicated through sex. Only persons with vast intellect may comprehend the Name."

Citrinas nods. "Understood. Direct order: give me the True Name of Carnachias immediately. Use techniques that are at least as pleasant as those you used earlier today. Assign no debuffs or negative conditions other than the Name."

Well. You lunge at her.