—Nayyirah Waheed

"M-master! 'e's wakin' up, can you-"

"Out of the way, you're not helping," another voice grumbled, interrupting the former. John still couldn't see, couldn't feel anything but agony, but he was familiar with both of the voices surrounding him.

"Moira? Y-you made it," John mumbled, trying to open his eyes. The second they cracked open, a blinding light seared them shut again, leaving John wincing and struggling to escape it. He tried raising his arm, but it was immediately pinned down to his side, to whatever soft surface he'd been moved to.

"You're the one that had to fight to make it, John. What the hell happened to you?"

"I- a woman," John gasped, forcing his eyes open. Around himself, he did not find the cold comfort of a café breakroom but instead the posh interior of the Brighton Manor. He must have been taken here after he passed out, but that meant it had been far longer than he thought since then. He'd thought at first he was simply being rescued by Moira and his vampiress. Instead he was propped up on a bed with only a thin sheet atop him, his clothes still on but thoroughly torn and shredded where he'd been hit - the chest area of his shirt was a ragged patch at best.

"Yes, the Cabal have women, but I was not expecting you to be caught off-guard by that," Moira said dryly. "More importantly, that's the first time I've ever seen any sign of you taking real damage. I thought you were dead, John."

“What? Was it that bad?”

Moira glanced at John somewhat worriedly. “Do you not know? When we found you, you had a significant amount of blood loss, and you appeared to be having nightmares, despite apparently being knocked out. Highly unusual, but it seems the only way to describe the fear you were showing. Talking in your ‘sleep’, too.”

“Wow, I… I don’t remember any of that. I feel fine, now,” John mumbled, absently opening his menus and sorting through them. His health was fine and he wasn’t displaying any abnormal side effects or status conditions. With a bit of trepidation, he pawed at his chest. There was no hole and no sign that there ever had been. Whatever blood loss and injury he’d suffered - and whatever message that had been about Gamer's Body resetting - it appeared that he was now in one piece.

"You look fine, which raises all the more questions as to what exactly happened. Etriyya said it took them almost a full minute to break down that door with all the magical ice that sealed it - more than enough time for someone to finish off anyone who was **** with a wound as great as yours must have been to release that much blood. Who was this woman? If she were with the Cabal, we would've rescued a corpse."

"I have no idea, but she definitely wasn't Cabal," John agreed, nodding his head. He gave a quick recap of everything that she'd said and done since he first saw her, including the part where one of the Cabal soldiers attempted to interrupt and she annihilated him. Then he covered the strange crystal she had placed in John's chest and how he'd passed out shortly after from pain.

"That's… horrifying," Moira muttered. "You're lucky that you have your abilities to protect you. It would have taken a talented healer to prevent you from dying otherwise. And we found no trace of any object inside of you, either through physical or magical inspection, so either this person disguised whatever they did, or the object itself is powerful enough to hide its existence. Either explanation means that this person has access to some powerful magic, and has expressed an intent to use it on you for one purpose or another. What exactly did this woman look like, if not Cabal?”

John did his best to describe the woman, as hazy as his memory was. Most of her features - the shape of her nose, the angle of her eyes, the style she'd worn her hair in - all that was lost to him. What stood out were her almost otherworldly features. The dress that hung about her like darkness, the ice that clung to her and formed everywhere that she stepped, and most of all, that frozen expression, emotionless and unmoving. The only times she showed any signs of feeling at all were when she was disappointed, annoyed, or angry.

"…You're absolutely certain?"

"Yeah, why do you-"

John glanced up from the floor where he'd been intently focused while trying to recall details and found Moira standing in front of him as pale as a sheet. Her neck was so tense he could see every tendon straining against her own skin, and the moment she stopped speaking, her jaw was set against a fear that John had not seen on Moira in the entire time he had known her. John had seen Moira angry, worried, and even afraid.

Never terrified.

"Who is she, Moira?"

"One of the six who dare to call themselves Deities in the face of an actual goddess. May the Lady stand with us, and watch over us all," Moira prayed, clutching her shield just that much tighter to her side. "If your description is even partially accurate, it can be only one person. Himiko Nakamura. She's more commonly known as the Ice Queen of the West."

"Shouldn't that be the east? I mean, not to be a racial thing, but-"

"We don't know a great deal about her background, but although she seems to be ethnically Japanese, she holds sway primarily on the West Coast of America. For her to travel this far east means something has drawn her here."

"You think it was me? She seemed to be seeking me out, and Tricia said she didn't know how much information was on that drone…"

"No. She's known for patience; her tactical skill and planning abilities are nearly legendary, and she rarely leaves the relative safety of her own territory unless she’s up to something. If she's here, she's not alone, and there's no way that she would have come here so quickly. It's too rash, too many unknown factors and variables to going into territory so heavily disputed. She was already planning the trip to the store… she's just added you to the shopping list. Tricia is still setting up her laboratory in one of our spare rooms with what we were able to salvage from her home. Until she finishes, and you are given a full inspection, you are not taking part in any further missions. We have no idea what she did to you."

"Maybe Etriyya got there faster than she thought?" John said, glancing around. He'd been feeling somewhat good about himself, now that he saw he wasn't in pain and his body had recovered from its grievous wound… now, though, Moira's fear was starting to become rather contagious, especially as she described this woman. "Maybe she wasn't able to do what she wanted?"

"In Springfield, of all places, there is nothing she would be unable to do," Moira whispered, denying John his hope. "In my father's prime, at his peak of power and with the full might of the Golden Rose behind himself, he might have posed a threat to her. With the forces we have here in America, there is nothing we could do to stop her, much less scare her off in the middle of whatever she had planned. We will do our best to research magical items matching the description you gave. It is unfortunate your abilities were unable to give you the name of this object."

"Yeah, a lot of unfortunate shit happening lately," John mumbled. "I guess I'll go back to my little pocket world; haven't seen the Nekos in a few days. They've got food, but they're probably going insane."

"That sounds like a good idea," Moira agreed. "We won’t be able to contact you there - Tricia isn’t even sure the same modifications to your phone will work once she completes them. But you’ve earned a rest, and as I said, we will not be using you on the front lines until we have an analysis of this… thing inside you. And John… enjoy the break, don't rush yourself back into this war. You have been through more than I expected these past few days, more than we would dare place any recruit through in their first campaign. I have seen what happens when a man is pushed beyond the breaking point, when he is exposed to one too many horrors before he has hardened himself to the world. I would not wish that upon you."

"Thanks," John said, uncertain of how else to react. Moira patted him on the shoulder and was off, leaving him alone in the infirmary. John sat there for a long time, fingers pressing against the exposed skin where his shirt was ruined, contemplating how in over his head he felt at that moment.

"So… are you really okay, Master?" Seras said. Her eyes wide and her mouth finally unsealed now that Moira had left the room, she stepped closer and worriedly rested her hands on his arm.

"Well, like she said, we don't really know anything for sure," John muttered. "I need a new shirt. Let me requisition one, or however that shit works around here, then we'll head back and see the others. I hope they don't think I died."

"I… I thought you did," Seras whispered. John wasn't even sure she meant for him to hear it, but he did, and he couldn't ignore it.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Seras. Really, I mean it. I didn't think that we'd get into that much trouble."

"Well, you did!" Seras sounded a little annoyed, which surprised John, but mostly concerned. "An' I'm tired of sittin' around 'ere uselessly… I want to help you fight!"

"Seras, really?" John couldn't hide his worry. This was sudden - but then, so many things had been over the past week and a half. "I know you're worried, but the Order-"

"The Order won't turn down a warm, uh… movin' body, not with the way things are goin'. I don't care about them, but I'll 'elp 'em, if it means 'elpin you! I was so worried when they carted you in; if you 'adn't made it and I coulda done somethin' to stop it from 'appenin', I wouldn't'ave known what to do with myself!"

"I mean, I'm sure you would've been fine," John said numbly. The outpouring of emotion had come on strong, and John was admittedly unprepared for it. "You're a strong girl - I know this is still a new world for you, but-"

"Master, I can 'andle the world, but not without you!" Seras blushed as she realized what she said, pulling her hands back a bit and glancing aside. "You brought me 'ere, you've cared for me even though the only thin' I can do for you is fight, and even then you worried about me an' treated me like a person. I haven't made much of an 'ome here yet, but… I have one thing I care about, an' I don't wanna lose it! So let me fight beside you!"

"I need… I need a moment," John muttered. He was emotionally staggered, unable to process anything well enough to know he wouldn't say something stupid and screw it all up. He needed time to think. Think about how to tell her that he wanted her beside him more than anything… without being so direct and scaring her off.

Without telling her how terrified he was to have someone relying on him like that, and without showing how much that meant to him. Without confessing to Seras that, after knowing her for a week, there was nobody who made him feel more comfortable or safe than the woman relying on him for comfort and safety. Ideally, saying something other than how much the thought of her dying terrified him, and how he'd grown up in this world and had still shared more of himself with her than with anyone else, family included.

Yeah, something a little less sentimental than that felt right.

"Let's go to the camp, yeah? We can talk about it more there, I just…"

John didn't wait for a response, trying to keep his cool well enough to manage the spell. The world crumbled away around them, revealing a grassy field John was all too familiar with. He turned toward Seras, trying to come up with a way to express himself, but was thankfully interrupted.

"Myaster! Myaster you're back, I missed you so much, I thought you were gone foreeeever!"

John was quite literally tackled to the ground; despite her relatively lower level and physical stats, Maera had a lot of **** behind her as she coll John on the chest, driving him into the dirt. John flinched a bit at the sudden collision but was quickly reassured by the nuzzling face and the rough tongue that assailed him.

"Alright, alright, Maera! I missed you too, I'm sorry, a lot has happened since we left. There's a lot of bad things going on, I'm sorry I couldn't get back."

"Bad? What kind of bad?"

Maera said the words, but everyone froze. Lunaya and Mithra were there too, and both understood the words well enough to look at John and Seras with concern. Their life here may have been simple, but aside from the occasional dungeon crawl, it was relatively idyllic. John hadn't intended to bring the concerns of the outside world in, so he raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"Everyone is fine, right? We're here, that's all that matters. I'm just sorry I couldn't get back, that's all. We might be missing again for a while, though. We need to replenish the food stores, I'm guessing - probably running low, and-"

"What is Myaster doing that is so bad?"

"I'm not- woah, easy, Maera," John mumbled, as the Neko ground her cheek into his chest so hard it actually started to hurt a little, and it certainly couldn't have been very comfortable for her. "There are just some people that want to hurt some friends of mine. I'm just-"

"I can kill!" Maera offered, with the biggest and most genuine smile on her face. She looked the picture of innocence… except for the lengthy claws she hoisted up menacingly as she said those words. John narrowed his eyes a little as he saw Mithra mimicking the gesture in the background.

"Really, you'd help?" John asked, more surprised by Mithra than Maera.

"Myaster…" Mithra voiced, her words quieter and more coarse than Maera's soft but high-volume voice, "Myaster helps us, we help Myaster."

"By Gaia, but you must mean it to actually speak," John breathed, eyeing the black-haired Neko with surprise. "I didn't even think you liked me that much!"

Mithra flushed, only a little but enough for John to pick up on. "Mithra… can share."

"Share? You- ah, right, Caturday," John mumbled, his voice fading as he realized she was talking about her own sister. His morals and lifestyle might not have had a place in the Abyss, but that was still an odd thing to think about. He pushed Maera a bit until she slid off him, then climbed to his feet and smiled down at her.

"Well, I appreciate the sentiment, but it's a bit risky right now. There's a lot of fighting going on; it's not as simple as 'Maera kill'. Tell you what - Seras and I are going to go and get you guys some food. I need to make some armor… if I make some, and have some materials left, I'll make you some equipment too. Then you can join us."

"Myaster has sword," Maera interjected, pouting a bit as she tugged on his ruined shirt. "Myaster has magic! Maera wants to help, give Maera magic and sword!"

"That's…" John paused as the thought of Maera dressed up in Moira's gear popped into his head, the idea of the first ever Neko Paladin resonating in the deepest parts of his mind. "Let's put that thought aside for later - it's not as easy as you make it sound to get more gear, especially right now."

"Myaster just a big scaredy-cat," Maera pouted further, crossing her arms and sticking out her lip.

"Be that as it may," John grumbled, "we have work to do. Everyone relax - Seras and I will be back shortly, and then we'll have hours and hours to talk about this."

"Myaster doesn't talk," Maera continued to whine, throwing herself on the ground and hiding her chin under her crossed arms. John fought back the urge to laugh at the Neko's immature behavior, focusing instead on Seras.

"Come on, let's go, before she starts pounding her fists on the ground."

John mashed the buttons to create a Dungeon Barrier as Maera realized what he'd just said and started hissing in frustration. The sound faded away along with the world, as John's choices went into action. Despite his dismissal of the Neko, he was no longer so innocent. He wouldn't dismiss the possibility of help, even if it was dangerous, as long as the aid was not ****. It was for that reason that when he conjured the dungeon he set it to Minotaurs - a foe that he hoped would yield both the meat that he wanted for the Nekos and the leather for gear… even if it wasn't for him. He thought about choosing Dark Iron Dwarves as he had with Kim, but he hadn't even managed to talk Moira into showing him the smelter yet, so he was **** to stockpile resources he might never use.

They emerged in what appeared to be a mountain pathway, two rock walls lining either side with a gorgeous view down toward a valley on one side and a gentle incline up a stony hill on the other.

"Alright, once we get into the deeper parts, let's experiment with that Siphon transfer of abilities some more - I think if we get the timing down, that could be a pretty good tactic. Taking turns swinging at our foes actually works pretty well if we aren't super outnumbered."

"A-alrigh', but what about-"

Seras' words were lost in the overwhelming roar that echoed between the nearly parallel stone walls over and over until it became near-deafening. A second, only slightly quieter roar followed it, and from both ends of the pathway they were on, minotaurs appeared. John took up a defensive stance, and although she hesitated a moment, Seras put her back to his. The pathway was only a few feet wide - they didn't have enough room to do much more maneuvering.

"What about me fightin' with you an' the Order?"

"Seras," John began, doing his best to ready himself for the charge of the eight-foot tall beast that was lifting an axe the size of John's ribcage to strike at him, "is now really the time?!"

"I know when someone's tryin'a avoid sayin' somethin'!"

"I'm trying to avoid an axe more than anything," John shouted as he lifted his sword. He'd learned his lesson against the dwarf the other day - instead of parrying like he would a sword and risking the axe sliding off, John put extra power into his block. The axe struck on his blade and bounced backwards slightly; despite the creature's size, it was still only level 4. John had enough Strength to overpower its downward strike and used the opening to stab forward, in the way that Etriyya had taught him. It wasn't perfect, but it worked enough to pierce the minotaur's ribcage and slide right through its chest cavity.

54 DMG!

"Well, you rushed us in 'ere, so I'd say you rather fancy the axe than sayin' somethin', so what is it?!" Seras asked, perhaps a little more ferociously than she would've normally as she punched out, shattering the jaw of the overly tall beast in front of her. John pulled his sword free and stepped into a quick slash. It didn't have as much power behind it and he didn't actually land it as well as the stab, but the beast was so low level and so wounded that it finished it off. The taur crashed to the ground, dropping the axe and clutching at its chest. John ignored the EXP and the loot in favor of turning around to see Seras, but she'd already finished her own foe and was looking at him with a mixture of worry and disappointment.

"Come on, let's get going," John mumbled, turning and running up the mountain, hoping that it was the right way to find more.

"'Ey now," Seras cried after him, the sound of footsteps rapidly picking up behind John. Hoping she wouldn't notice, he Siphoned just enough Agility off her to keep ahead.

They crashed into a trio of Minotaurs coming to investigate the noise in a plateau higher up, only a dozen feet or so wider than the pathway below, blades and axes of the tall bull-men flashing at their evading bodies. John moved between them as best as he could, too eager to immerse himself in battle to be overly cautious. Their blows rained down, and he found his mana rapidly draining as he was **** to use Shadowform to avoid the strikes. Still, although he wasn't even entirely sure what he planned to say himself, he preferred the danger and the adrenaline to the strange dread that came over him when Seras pressured him. All the same he couldn't shake her, no matter how hard he tried.

"If you don' want me," Seras growled while thrashing a Minotaur's chest into a rough lump of blood and bone, "then just say so! I'll stay in the bloody mansion and try not to die'a boredom, but don't pity me like a right wanker 'oo can't take care o'erself!"

"It's not that - I know you can take care of yourself, you're doing that right now! You're one of the best fighters I know," John noted, as Seras finished her foe in time to grab the arm of the beast approaching her side, stopping its axe arm entirely and delivering a powerful elbow that staggered the oversized monstrosity.

"Then why can't I fight?" Seras asked, looking as if she were ready to stomp her foot as she pierced her entire arm through the gut of the Minotaur who had assailed her.

"It's not that you can't fight, it's just a lot to take in!"

"Tell me about it," Seras mumbled as the beast fell off her penetrating limb, landing on the ground and twitching for a few seconds, clutching at its wound before it finally fell still. "I've been tossed about a lot in my life, but this last week has been somethin' else entirely. All I know is fightin', all I've ever known is doin' what's right, so why… why won't you let me 'elp you?"

John had dealt with the remaining Minotaur, managing to cut its neck open. He wasn't sure if such blows meant much or if the HP damage he saw inflicted counted for them as well, but they were so low level that one critical strike was enough to end them anyway, or at least leave them **** to an easy follow-up.

Before he could try again to dismiss Seras' fears, two more pairs of Minotaurs entered the camp.

"Fine, fook it, let's try it your way," Seras shouted as they came at them. Just before she turned away, John saw a crimson streak flash through her eyes. "If I can't get any satisfaction out of you, I'll take care'o these rotten bastards!"

John embraced the silence, trying his best to come up with an answer that would satisfy Seras… something besides how afraid he was to have someone relying on him so completely.

"Seras, move!"

Seras twisted, and the blow that would've snapped her spine instead caught only her abdomen. John had to compliment her reflexes, considering he probably would've done the stupid action-movie reaction and turned just in time to see his impending ****. That didn't make him feel any better about seeing the blood spray, though… or seeing the head of the axe as it passed through her abdomen and out her front, leaving a gash almost six inches long and jagged. The twelve-foot tall beast behind her roared in triumph, its abominably muscled body rippling as the blow landed.

The cascade of emotions that had been toiling within John since Seras' outburst swirled through him while spinning on three different axes, the alternating paths washing around inside of him. They travelled through him separately, fear and concern and sadness all weaving their unique pattern inside him, but they all ended in the same place. Pooling together in his very soul, like a chemical reaction, a thousand different emotions combined and formed one thing.

Rage. A blinding rage, washing over his body with a warmth that could not only be in his mind.

Status Effect Gained: Shard of Bishamonten: Activated [10%]
Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Libido increased by 10!
Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma decreased by 15!

John blinked as he tried to read the words, but his feet wouldn't stand still. The menu bounced and jostled as he ran ahead, a forgotten piece of his vision as he charged forward, eyes locked on the minotaur whose axe was still being withdrawn from Seras' body. He was carried at an unnatural speed, the muscles in his legs bulging and the veins standing out even on his relatively untoned calves as he zipped across the battlefield. John felt like a full minute had passed as that message came up, yet it seemed time had nearly frozen.

John wanted to ask Seras if she was okay, or at least catch her, but all he could do was summon the will to tear his eyes away from the Minotaur long enough to see her wincing in pain, covering her wound with an arm. The sight of her blood, her torn body, and the ruined clothes he'd bought just for her sent the rage consuming him into a fresh frenzy.

John didn't realize until he was upon the beast that he'd dropped his sword, fingers shocked into inaction.

"I don't need it," he snarled in his own mind, "I'll tear him apart with my bare hands!"

John held true to those words. He lashed out with blow after blow, fists colliding with the Minotaur's torso. Every single hit he landed sent a crackling of bones and a wheezing from collapsing lungs through the area. John hit with so much **** that the significantly larger bull-man was sent tumbling to the ground with John on top of him. John lashed out over and over, despite the EXP notification that popped up after the sixth hit and the damage readouts that stopped at the seventh.

Even the message about the dungeon being completed and a new level being gained was ignored in favor of pouring out the well of emotions inside of him. He continued striking, the rage in his body slowly subsiding as he mushed the Minotaur's head into a fine paste. It never fully ebbed away, but it left him enough for him to awkwardly stagger away from its body, turning around to find the vampiress behind him.

Seras was panting, in a way that looked pained and yet sounded anything but. She said nothing but gazed upward at John's face and seemed to see something there that she recognized… and something she liked. John stared back as Seras pulled herself to her feet, pulling her arm away from the gushing wound in her side.

That pool of emotions came back as she approached, just as strongly as before. John hesitated for a moment, the barely-functioning higher levels of his brain afraid for a moment that it was rage. But it wasn't. It was something primal, something stronger than wrath, something that had felled far greater men than war, and perhaps more numerous.

John threw himself at Seras the same moment she leaped into his arms, feeling their bodies collide in a moment of primal need. Her ruby-red irises never closed, as if ogling his essence through the open windows of his eyes as her unusually long tongue entered his mouth, her need overpowering her shyness as she gave everything she could to her master. John stared back in acceptance, willing the understanding of his feelings that his words could not give at that moment, using his hands instead of his eyes to explore the body pressed up against his.

She was cold, but not frigid, and not unbearably so. It was no different than someone who'd been sitting in front of a fan; her skin was chilled but warmed to his touch, and the flesh behind it was supple and giving. If anything, her vampire nature seemed to egg her on - Seras slid against John's body as though attempting to prove her wound had not killed her, grinding every part of herself against John's needy torso.

"Seras, I…"

"You'd better not try to talk now," she growled, reaching forward. Her hands fumbled for a moment with the collar of his shirt, neither of them able to figure out the best way to remove it, wrestling with their inexperience at removing another's clothes. John was just about to stop trying to help and simply raise his arms when Seras grabbed both sides of the hole in his shirt and tore it entirely in two as if it were never there at all. Only his Pendant of the Loyal remained on his chest, and Seras didn't seem to mind that as she kissed and licked around it on his neck.

John followed her advice and abandoned words, pulling her to himself and swaying them both over to the side until he backed into one of the nearby rocks. His hands worked up to her waistline, grateful Seras had chosen one of her non-button-ups that day. He slid it upward, until the beginnings of a tan bra were uncovered. It was plain, functional, without frills… and the sexiest thing that John could remember seeing, because this was the first time Seras had wanted him to see it.

John didn't bother trying to lift the shirt off her entirely. Seras' sizeable chest formed a perfect shelf for the thick garment, leaving a still enticing amount of cleavage exposed as John reached around behind her. He didn't have much presence of mind at that moment, but he still struggled for the few seconds it took him to figure out the clasp in the back, some small part of his mind not wanting to ruin yet more of the clothes he'd bought for her. When it finally gave way, the fabric nearly shot out of his hands, falling forward and loosening the front dramatically. While the clothing was an excellent fit, Seras' impressive bust size was eager to escape its confines, and John was more than happy to help.

As he pushed the brassiere up to join the shirt, Seras' flawless breasts were finally exposed, their enormous weight bouncing against her chest as they slid free. Seras whimpered a little when John reached down to take one in his hands, finally taking his eyes off her ****, rose-colored irises to appreciate her figure. It was the first time John had ever seen them without Seras desperately attempting to cover them up; now, in this state of lust that had consumed both of them, she actually stuck her torso out to present them as best as she could.

"M-Master, I… I think I need… ahh!" Seras cut herself off as John leaned down, taking one of her darkly pink nipples into his mouth directly. He suckled on it for a long moment, tongue twisting in tight circles around the sensitive skin and trying his best to gauge her reactions as to what worked. Everything seemed to please her at that moment; she could barely draw breath, so heightened were her sensitivities.

"You'd better not try to talk now," John whispered huskily, smirking as he mocked the vampiress' earlier words. She nodded in acquiescence, and the need within John throbbed again. He leaned back and pulled his hand off her breast, freeing it up to travel downward. Across her taut stomach, the slight tone of her abs providing a pathway of sorts to direct his hand down until the body it crossed grew soft again. John's hands teased the hem of her pants, fingernails just dipping below the waistline as he leaned in for another kiss.

"M-m-master…" Seras whined as he pulled away, her red eyes half-lidded as she gasped for air despite not having moved in several minutes. John's entire world seemed to wash away as he delved further, fingers travelling to touch flesh famed for its innocence, soft and surprisingly trimmed hair bristling against his first knuckles.

John's world spiraled, spun and- no, that wasn't the strange well of emotion within him. That was the world, actually spiraling, and now fading away as the plains of his own personal world faded into view. John blinked a few times, caught off-guard and becoming again acutely aware of what they had been doing, where they were. Quickly glancing side to side, John saw Maera and Mithra tending to the fire, while Lunaya toyed with a handful of Puppy Chow. All of them glanced up disinterestedly, quite used to John's sudden appearances now that they knew he was around, and then he saw the true reactions. The widening of eyes, the smiles of knowing, and the excitement of an expected show.

And the screaming.

"AHHHH!"

Seras' red eyes flashed to blue far faster than they had ever soaked in the crimson of her bloodlust, her hands flying to cover herself with a speed that John didn't know she possessed. As if a spell had been broken, John's focus on his inner turmoil faded away as he heard that scream, causing him to shake his head and step back from Seras just a moment before she turned and fled the campsite.

Status Effect Lost: Shard of Bishamonten: Activated [10%]
Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Libido decreased by 10!
Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma increased by 15!

"What… the…" John stuttered and tried to do a manual reset on his mind to process what had just happened. Unable to do so he vainly pounded his palm into his skull, crying out in frustration.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!"