Nil Riiche shows you her saintess mark

You'd managed to withstand the false saintess's magic combination, but just barely. Your party was wounded and tired from the bevy of black Devilbolts with no clear way to press an attack. Nil Riiche, on the other hand, looked as though she'd barely expended effort summoning those spells. You'd always heard that the saintesses were humanity's only defense against demon-kind-- the few who were strong enough to challenge a cyclops army or an almighty vampire. How could there be an opponent who could toy with them?

You hadn't expected anything like this when you'd accepted your first mission and by the looks on the faces of the other saintesses, neither had they.

The silver haired woman smiled, approaching you as you kneeled with your sword in both hands, dug into the dirt to keep you from falling back against the winds. Nil's magic whipped around like a tornado, seeming to affect everything but the two of you-- there was no way for the others to approach. Before you could formulate a strategy, the funnel surrounding you blew the saintesses to the corners of the cavern, along with the heavily injured Mertz. The few wine barrels and bottles that hadn't been damaged in the conflict were smashed, coating the entire passageway in ****. If she used her fire again now, the whole place would turn into a furnace.

Instead, she moved to you alone, using all of her wind but none of her Devilbolt. The woman placed one finger underneath your chin and tilted your head up as you clenched your teeth and dug your blade out from the ground. You made one more **** swing at her, but the wind blew hard against it-- it was a wind-**** like nothing you'd felt before. Her hand reached to cover yours. It was amazing that these slender fingers, gloved in a noblewoman's lace, were capable of such a brutal attack.

With her hands, she slowly guided your sword towards her breast, as though bidding you to run her through, just like you'd been trying to...

... and instead, she dragged the blade down her bodice, slicing it open to allow her shapely, uncovered breasts to spill free. Excited, pink nipples stood out against the extraordinary paleness of her skin. This, along with her broad grin, showed you just how much this sadistic display of hers had aroused her.

"I want to thank you for an entertaining evening, squire. Your saintesses, too, but you especially," she murmured, dragging the blade lower to continue cutting through her blouse, all the way to the belly. When it was done, she used her closed parasol to slowly nudge aside the left side of her bodice. "Think of this as a sign of my gratitude. A little hint of what's to come..."

It was there... but that couldn't be... could it?

The glowing, golden hand-print just beneath her left breast was like the mark of the saintess. She hadn't been a false saintess after all, despite what the church's information had said... she was a true saintess!

"This is not the mark of Geod. This is the mark of the demon lord, though his hand looks much the same, doesn't it? Have you ever wondered why the few were spared from the barren plague?" she whispered into your ear. "I am a dark saintess, faithful to the demon army. A demon-friend, as you call them, though clearly more powerful than their average ilk. And the truth is... your destiny, as with all of the saints, is to copulate with me. To give birth to the material form of the demon lord. The fantasy told by your church... that sweet lie of theirs... is a **** misdirection."

She brought her lips directly to your ear. "The seed of a squire... belongs to me." She bit your earlobe playfully, then drew back, grinning wolfishly. "But now is not the time to savor it. Do not spill it wastefully. I'll be back to claim what's mine at another time."

The winds that were spiraling all about the cavern focused into a gentle cradle for her, allowing her to seem as though she was floating mid-air. "I'll leave you Mertz, now that he's outlived his usefulness, and I'll abandon my little plan to turn all of the slum's people into demon-friends. For now. Ta-ta, squire." The saintesses were on their feet and entering battle positions, but the woman was out of sight in mere moments.

You couldn't make heads or tails of what just happened. Her words had to be lies... right? Could the dark forces of the demon lord really have their saintesses? Not knowing what to believe, you told your ally exactly what she'd revealed.{if Helmid = True}

"A... 'dark saintess?' Such a thing... cannot be. The handprint we know is proof of Geod's love. We saintesses practice all of Geod's teaching and use all of his techniques, fueled by his own power. Put what she said out of your mind. Demons revel in lies and deceit-- that's all it is," Helmid reassured you, resting one hand upon your shoulder. "I am dearly sorry that you were **** into such a difficult position in your first outing, Sir Lavender. There is one truth we cannot deny. This 'dark saintess' is more powerful than any in the demon army that we have faced up to this point."

Her smile brightened as she squeezed your shoulder. "I am happy you're safe. When she cornered you, I thought... Think what you may about my husband and I, but the truth is, you are like a second husband to me now. That means your well-being is my chief concern. Of course, I would protect any citizen of the kingdom, but..." She paused, closing her eyes with a pained expression. "You appear to be the target of a dangerous class of demon. Rely upon me. Confide in me. And we will get through all of this together."{endif}{if Amulette = True}

For once, the party's witch appeared to be at a loss for words. Hearing what you had to say, she frowned, then turned her attention to the dark flames still flickering dangerously all around the cavern. "Such stupendous sorcery... What kind of witch would wield such otherworldly wizardry? In my time as an agent of the age-old antagonist, I never came into this knowledge. This Nil is news to me as she is news to near everyone," Amulette sighed, crossing her arms at her chest.

She turned her eyes to you, then raised her eyebrow. "To you, I offer what I owe. I came into this assignment cocksure, confident of my considerable qualifications. Aloof and absent-minded, I allowed her arts to give her the advantage," the witch spoke quietly. "A failure on my otherwise flawless record of affairs. It shall not happen again, I swear."

You saw this wasn't just a matter of pride for Amulette. She realized that her attitude had put you in danger, acting as though nothing could happen to you under her watch. She'd been unprepared for an opponent that powerful, as you all were.{endif}{if Rosary = True}

"Sir Lavender... Oh... I thought you were... I-I thought that awful woman was going to **** you!" Rosary sobbed, nearly smothering you as she cradled you more strongly in her arms than you'd thought her capable of. "The things she said were all lies. What else could they be? All that nonsense contradicts everything the church has ever told us. Temptations of the devil, nothing more!"

You frowned, pointing out that it couldn't all be misdirection. There was one undeniable truth to come out of this: Nil Riiche was unfathomably strong.

"Y-Yes... I'm not saying she wasn't. But I am saying this business about a dark destiny... a-about lies within the church. I don't want you to be distracted. There is no validity to any of that!" she reassured you. "And... And if you have doubts about the path you are on, or what the church... o-or what I... truly feel about you... Then please, allow me to do whatever it takes to destroy those doubts!" Tears rolled down her eyes as she grabbed hold of your hands. "I failed today as your saintess and put you in harm's way. I'll do whatever it takes to make up for that!"

The soft-hearted Rosary was clearly distressed, due to the harm you'd come to as well as a crisis of her own faith. You held her tightly to reassure her.{endif}{if Belit = True}

The young ranger's jaw dropped open as she heard your recitation of everything that Riiche had told you. "Wha... Huh? That's gotta be a bunch of hooey, right? I mean, we ain't got a single reason to trust that demon dandy, right?" Belit questioned, raising one eyebrow. "Just because she was strong doesn't mean she can't also be a liar! Take it from me: I'm a great warrior who also tells a tall tale from time to time! Ha ha ha... Eh heh..."

Belit seemed to deflate a little, pressing one gloved hand to her bare forearm. "I uh... I say I'm a great warrior, but I didn't do so hot in that last battle just now. I've never fought anybody like her. How do you even fight something like that, anyway?" she questioned, clenching her teeth. You hadn't realized it before, but you saw it now: the ordinarily cocky, carefree thief was shivering. "I thought you and I were both goners."

You reassured her: this was only the first encounter. Together, the two of you would come up with a strategy for next time.

"That's right!" Belit agreed, grinning while wiping at her nose with her glove. "Uh, so long as you don't defect and become a demon friend. You aren't going after that demon pussy, right? Cause, I gotta remind you, I'm already splitting you six ways-- I don't want a seventh gal getting in on this!"

It seemed like she'd recovered her spirits a bit.{endif}{if Bangaal = True}

Bangaal floated nearby, now that the tornado was dismissed. "Dark saintesses? Is this another trick of the one we call Geod, or the one we call the demon lord? Ah, their mischief is so confusing, Bangaal cannot keep up with it! Bangaal prefers simpler pleasures," the djinn sighed, crossing her arms behind her head. The way she was drifting through the air made you think of Nil Riiche a moment earlier.

Her attitude was pissing you off a bit. You told her that you and your other ally had just nearly died in that fight with Mertz and Nil just now. Furthermore, you'd been told something that could shake the foundation of everything you'd studied-- everything the church of Geod preached! Wasn't she affected at all?

The woman raised her eyebrows, looking surprised. "Are you asking Bangaal to be sympathetic? Simply wish it and it will be so!"

You clenched your teeth. Now was not the time for Bangaal's whimsy. She needed to learn to read a room.

Bangaal danced through the air, shaking her bracelets. "Lavender Vin, you lived! We all lived. And the town is safe! Should you not be happy, hm? You know... Bangaal will never let anything happen to you, truly! There are limits to what Bangaal can call upon chaos magic to do, aaah, it is... it is hard to explain, it is like... a puzzle! Like a puzzle, but the picture does not mean anything to normal men, so-"

You lashed back out, telling her that it wasn't about your safety. This was about your team-- your mission. The whole town had just been placed in danger due to her carelessness during that battle. If she was truly so confident in chaos magic, she needed to bring it out at times when it mattered and deploy it effectively. If it really had to do with the djinn's whims, then she needed to get her whims in order.

The woman's eyes were uncharacteristically wide. "Bangaal... She will do as you wish, Lavender Vin," she responded, giving you a short bow, before vanishing, leaving only an awkward silence.{endif}{if Liens = True}

The elvish inventor moved carefully through the fire, then knelt down next to you. She started to raise a hand, as though she was going to touch your shoulder, then withdrew it, frowning awkwardly. "Uh... Vin. I'm not. You know. The right person. To reassure anybody of their faith in Geod. I hate Geod. Always have. I think he. Well. Might be heresy." She paused to lift her goggles, then met your eyes seriously with a stern expression. "It might be the same. Geod's mark. Devil's mark. A game."

You blinked dumbly, confused. What was she implying?

"Geod. Devil. Not so different. That's what I'm saying. Theory. Same person? Brothers? Theology isn't my strong point," she grumbled, holding her fingers to her temples. "I guess I'm saying. Prophecies. Unseen beings. Creator. Devil. Pointless. Stupid. Don't bother yourself with it. Trust in yourself. Trust me too. I'm a genius." She pressed one hand to the breast of her apron. "What matters is what you can see. Trust in that. And don't worry what the church says. Or what demons say."

Somehow, her words were reassuring... if a little heretical.{endif}

The talk with your saintess had put things in perspective. These were not good developments, but they could have been worse. Humanity and the church had adapted to the evil of demonkind before and they would now be **** to once again-- that's all it was.