Day 11

"...Which means that the corruption will spread, eventually overtaking the natural mana production of a human. If that happens... She will transform into a mamono by default."
"...Geez. Now forgive a sailor his frankness," Thomas started, "But that does sound rather unpleasant."
Ofelia sighed, turned around and took a step away, "...That... Is precisely what I thought it was gonna be like... When it happened to me."

"...Oh." Thomas's chest sank with the realisation that he had inadvertently touched on a personal issue. He looked in Simon's way, who returned his look by shaking his head.
"Thomas... Why don't you go and collect some firewood?"
"Ah... Oh! But of course! This won't take a jiffy!" Thomas walked out into the forest, but kept shooting glances over his shoulder looking concerned.

The crippled knight rolled towards the dark priest overlooking the landscape beyond the top of the cliff on which they stood. Layers of clouds rolled out from beyond the horizon, the warm colours they caught from a sun settling behind the horizon contrasted with the indigo sky brought down by the dusk.
Simon rolled next to her, gently touching her hand and stroking her knuckles. She clutched her hand around his, and squeezed.
"I was scared of how unpleasant it was going to be. Terrified really... But everything else around me was already so unpleasant. But beyond the transformation... At least there was hope."
"You've lived through a lot. I know your life before the Fallen Temple was... Difficult." Simon said in his most comforting voice.
"It's still difficult," The twilight reflected from the warm purple of Ofelia's eyes, "But what I have now is purpose... And because I have that, I can carry on."
"Is Pandemonium calling to you? Now that you have found a bethrothed?" Simon asked.
Ofelia nodded silently.
"But you won't ever go there?"
Ofelia squeezed her lover's hand harder, "I already resolved not to leave his world behind. Not until I have found my own Promised Land. That's why I became a dark priest to begin with. And that's why I chose someone who would also never stop fighting as my lover."
Simon pulled her in so as to lean into him, standing nearly nose to nose, "You do know you changed my life...? You did more than that. You saved my life!"

The succubus's melancholic visage transformed into an adoring smile as she stared into her husband's charming eyes. All her fingers of both hands dug into the fallen knight's bright hair and pulled him gently as their lips joined together. She held on to his head, and didn't let go. His hands ran across her back, holding on to her as she pressed her body against his.

Thomas grumbled and spat under his breath as he made his way further into the forest and uphill. He oh so obviously didn't fit in with them. He didn't fit in with this whole world of monster girls. Nothing about it made sense.
First she told him that demonic energy amplified mana production. Next she told him it extinguished it.
Which one was it?

It was so much easier in the old days. He had done everything he was expected to do. As a kid he went to school twice a week, even though he had to walk nine miles back and forth. He left his family's farmland for the city on his fourteenth birthday, when it was clear they would be unable to support him. He promptly found a job as a cabin boy, which he would perform diligently to the best of his ability. He read Order scriptures every day ever since he learned to read at the age of seventeen.
He fell in love, got married and watched his wife die from the Consumption when their son was still an infant. Being a single father and a sailor turned out to be a match made in hell, and all the meanwhile Thomas could only think about his beloved Mildred and how he missed her. Yet he persevered, because he couldn't leave behind those who relied on him.
Before he knew it, his son had left the nest, and he retired from sailing. He suddenly found himself with all the rest of his days all to himself, and he came to realise that he had always lived for someone or something else. He had no idea how to live for himself.

But Thomas was not one to settle for that. He made up his mind, and went out into the big, wide world in order to find his new place in it.
Thomas sat himself on a stone and rested his chin on his palm, his elbow itself prodded on his lap. He was so foolish thinking the world had room for a dainty old fool like himself, who never even had any idea what monsters were or the role they played in the world.
At that point, more than ever, Thomas wished he could once again be with his beloved Mildred.

From behind the treecrowns a pair of red eyes peered out, looking at the pouting incubus with a glare flickering between expressions of curiosity, admiration and resentment. With the speed of an arrow a black blur swooshed from branch to branch, conceiling itself behind the foliage as it got closer and closer to the man sitting on a stone, until it was perching on the branch closest to and above him.
"You've gotten yourself quite the bit away from home, haven't ya hotshot?"

"Huh? I beg your pardon?" Thomas frantically looked around.
His eyes locked on to a short woman with black-feathered wings instead of arms and black claws instead of legs that held on to the branch above him. Croptop and miniskirt of leather were plastered on her pearly white skin and hugged her petite yet discernable curves. As dark and light shades dominated the majority of her attire and plummage, the most colourful aspect of her was her head, as eyes of brilliant red beheld Thomas with a piercing gaze, like a pair of saucers of milk with a single redcurrant floating in each plate; and her short hair of hot pink hanging down her neck.
"You know this is where the Urim Sisters fly, right?" The harpy woman kept looking at Thomas with unblinking eyes, "We don't like strangers marching in to our territory like they own the place. You do realise that, right?"
Thomas groaned louder. That was exactly what he didn't want to hear at that moment, "I'm so sorry then... Guess I'll just go roll over in a ditch... "
"Aww, come on! Don't be like that!" The harpy dropped down quickly and safely because of the flapping of her wings, "Just that you gotta be on guard all the time. You know what I'm saying? Some stranger comes into your territory, and you've got no idea if it's gonna turn out they're intruders or prey... I mean friends. So you always gotta check them up to make sure they're not gonna be trouble."
"I just want to be by myself for a moment." Thomas buried his face in his hands, "Not gonna be any trouble here."
"Oh, hey! I believe you! I know my own type. Birds of a feather, and all that. But really now, when you think about it, someone who was gonna be trouble would be able to say the same thing just as easily. So I wouldn't be doing my job if I took you at your words. So here's what I was thinking... I'll take you back to my nest, and then I can explore your body with mine. Then I'll know for sure that you're not up to anything questionable, and then I'll just let you go on your merry ways. I mean, maybe... We'll see how it goes."

Thomas looked up from his hands with an annoyed expression. From what he was told about mamono who live in the wild, this behaviour constituted subtlety.
"Miss Bird-lady... I thank you for your interest, but I happen to be married, so..."
The harpy bit her lips, "...Yikes. See, the thing about that is... I can tell whether you've got a mate or not. And darling, you ain't got a mate. I can smell it on you. I mean, don't take it the wrong way... It's not that you reek, or whatever humans think about things that smell. It's just how us harpies tell these kinds of things. I don't smell someone else's scent on you, so you, good sir, are lying. Now I really think you're up to something! Wouldn't you just like to settle this in my nest? It'll all be quick and clean, and no fuss. What do you say?"
Thomas turned to face the harpy with a stern expression, "Forgive an old sailor for getting pedantic, but I'm married because I made a promise. Not because of the smell. Unless you're saying that you can smell a promise, I kindly ask you to get out of my hair."
"Whoa there!" The harpy extended her black wings and folded them back, "No need to act so hostile! I was just, you know, looking out for my flock! This is our space, you know? How about you treat me with a little bit of respect?"
"If you want me to leave, just say so." Thomas rose to his feet and moved out.

"Now, now! I didn't say that!" The harpy flew up and landed in front of Thomas, "I'm just saying, spending the night with the host of this territory... That's not too much to ask, right? You've been really rather rude here. And yet, in my infinite patience, I'm still willing to give you a chance. So you're up for that? Let's lay down our differences, and our clothes, and we can all forget about this ugly misunderstanding."
"Leave me alone." Thomas sighed in frustration, "Please."
Thomas tried walking around the harpy, but she merely flew in the way once again.
"Now, hold on there! Hold on! Just one moment!" The harpy reached her wings out, "No, this is getting personal to me. I consider myself a people person, and I... Ehehe... I make it something of a matter of pride to be able to settle disputes. If I let you leave here while there's still enmity between us... No, that won't do. That'd be like a tear on my very identity. So why don't we just kiss and make up? Just one kiss. One. And then we'll see where we'll go from there. Sounds good?" The harpy puckered her lips and closed her eyes.

Thomas groaned in annoyance. Not only did he upset his close friends with his big mouth, but now this harpy couldn't stop pestering him. He unsheathed his sword, raised it over his head and slashed downwards. Before the descending cut could connect, the black harpy opened her eyes and flapped away with a terrified screech.
"EEEEEYAAKK!!! What do you think you're doing!? I knew you were up to no good!" The harpy looked down on him as she soared a good distance above him.
"It's your fault for not taking a hint!" Thomas waved the sword at her, "Now take that as a warning. Next time I'll take off one of your wings!"

Ripe with righteous indignation, the harpy flew off into the distance as she kept screeching, "EEEEEYAAKK!!! EEEEEYAAKK!!!"
Thomas sheathed his sword and sighed. Perhaps he flew off the handle there, but he was not in the mood to deal with that kind of trouble. Maybe next time she would think twice before bugging people just minding their own business.
Thomas looked over his shoulder, finding that the bird girl had returned, soaring in the distance. Some people just don't know when to give up.
Not just that, but she brought a friend. Two friends actually. And those two friends brought two friends each... At least.
Thomas had no idea how many harpies were heading towards him, but he knew that any minute an entire flock of angry bird-women would descend on him unless he could make himself scarce quickly.

He turned on his heel and ran for all he was worth.
"EEEEEYAAKK!!! EEEEEYAAKK!!! EEEEEYAAKK!!!"
The once peaceful forest was filled with angry and horny screeching from countless harpies pursuing him from behind. Their looming shadows were fast approaching. The foolishness of the hope of outrunning fliers struck him immediately. All he could do was stand his ground. Thomas stopped and turned, unsheathing his sword in a cutting motion that ended in him standing in a high guard.
The harpy he was aiming at nimbly dodged out of the way, as if the drag from the slice itself carried her away. The talons of her friends dug into Thomas's swordarm, while another grabbed him by the other arm, and one more grabbing his shoulders... Even more managed to grab his legs. The pain made itself conspicious in its absence. Just like with demonic silver weapons there was a throbbing heat and a numbness.

Thrashing around as he might, he was unable to toss any of the harpies away. As slim as they were, their ferocity knew no bounds. Thomas felt his feet leave the ground, before they let him go tumbling down and landed on his back. Immediately after they fell on him with a fury, poking and prodding and scratching at him. He was surrounded from all directions by predatory birds who piled on top of him.
He folded his arms in front of himself to shield his face, but that wasn't what the bird girls were after.
"EEEEEYAAKK!!! Trying to cut us down in our own forest, are you!?"
"Think you're a tough guy, do you? How tough are you now!?"
"Ehehehe! Look at him squirm!"
"Now we'll just take what we want from you!"