I flip back around and propel myself forward. I have no plans on getting into any aerial fights. Because the ground will hurt and there is a non zero chance I will be introduced to it if I engage them. I quickly pick up speed, continuing my heading and closing distance on the three pillars of light coalescing at the top of the dome. My current plan is as follows. One, avoid anything I can and get to the cultist camp as fast as I can. Two, land hard and fast, blow up something important, and bolt out just as fast. Step three….. I’ll work that out when I finish step two.

  I shift the launcher in hand a little to get some room, then carefully turn my head to look over my shoulder. I need to make sure I don’t disrupt the orientation of my wings too much or I’ll yank myself in a bad direction and possibly stall. Or just straight up crash into something, defenders make this look easy, when this is in fact a pain in the ass. Then again they don’t have wings, so I probably fly more efficiently. Gah, focus Lucy, angry demons on your tail that want to eat your bones while they are still inside your body. Or worse, hand me over to James. He gives me a bad feeling, the shiver down your spine kind. Fucking cultist!

  I get a glimpse of the edge of the group chasing me but have to quickly face front again. In order to see far enough binding me I need to rotate my torso just the littlest bit. But it's just enough to start pulling me to the left some, a dangerous prospect given the skyscrapers coming up. I started maybe twentyish blocks from the cultist camp. Now I’m under ten, and that means I’m coming up on the downtown skyscraper line that surrounds the central bunker. Those skyscrapers are a lot of things, but most importantly right now they are cover for me as I approach the cultist camp. Unfortunately that also makes them cover for….

  Right as I have the thought, two blurs dart out from behind two separate skyscrapers on my left and right, and gun straight for me. And oh fuck they are fast! I have mere moments to react. I yank my wings in and throw all my magic into forcing myself down, executing an almost ninety degree shift in direction that has me grunting under the stress, and diving straight towards the ground. It's barely enough to avoid the glowing black blade that comes swiping for my right wing. My maneuver has a better effect on the second figure, who passes by well outside of their swing range. I flip around to face the figures as I throw my wings out and attempt to start pulling myself out of the dive.

  Two pale purple skinned women with horns, giant wings, and a figure most women would kill for, succubi. But immediately pick up on something else, neither of the succubi are naked like most of their kind normally are. They only have on some very revealing black metal bras and thongs, but it's definitely armor. Which is extra bad because demons don’t normally wear armor, and the ones that do are supposedly very nasty. And now I have two of them chasing me!

  Both the succubi pull hairpin turns, looking almost like they are rebounding off an invisible wall as they instantly change direction to follow. I respond by blasting a disorientation screach at them at half power. It succeeds in getting them off my immediate ass but not because it hits. Both react to the attack by sharply turning ninety degrees and jetting to the sides, both barely dodging the attack as it splits the difference between them. The one on the right almost runs into a skyscraper. But she corrects her course up just in time to only drag her sword through the glass planes making up the face of the building, sending debris raining down below.

  It gives me some breathing room. Which I need as I spin back around and throw my wings out as I approach the rooftop level of the smaller buildings. I pour power into my magic and give myself enough thrust to level out just short of clothes lining myself on a traffic light that comes out of nowhere in the dust haze hanging over the city. But that gives me an idea, a stupid one, but stupid might be the only thing getting me out of here at this point. I cut my speed and lower my glide angle, causing me to slip low into the haze. Once I think they cant see me anymore I come to a stop and softly land in the middle of an intersection, being careful to minimize disturbances so as to not give away my actions.

  My gamble works as I hear both demons shouting something demonic, before blasting overhead in a straight line so fast it blows a clear trail through the haze. I immediately take off again and break left, keeping myself low so as to not be seen and slow so I can react to anything in the dust. Which was the right call because I immediately have to weave under a street lamp, over a parked semi truck, and back under a traffic light at the next intersection. Unfortunately my little stunt has only bought me so much time, as I hear the tell tale whistling of something flying fast nearby. At the next intersection one of the succubi flies through at breakneck speed, almost knocking me out of the air with the turbulence as she whizzes past. And double unfortunately for me, I fucking make eye contact with her for a split second as she blasts through.

  I hear her screeching bloody murder as she disappears back into the dust while executing a turn that sends her crashing into a building. And judging by repeated crashing sounds I’m hearing, the building lost that physical disagreement. I turn hard in the direction she came from, almost nailing a street light as I re accelerate to full speed and ascend above the dust again. Only to find the other bitch dead in front of me and rearing back a swing! In a panic I throw my wings out and put my magic in full reverse in an attempt to avoid the horizontal swing.

  It works, and I watch and feel the sword whiz by just under my breasts, cutting the dress shirt open but somehow not disemboweling or doing worse to me. It doesn't do anything for the fact that we are flying into each other at high speed. While I’m breaking, it isn't enough to stop in time. And the succubi doesn’t even bother trying to slow down at all, probably convinced she could just bisect me on the way through.

  There’s nothing I can do as we collide mid air, but due to our orientations we partially glance off one another. I’m about to slam into her into her side shoulder first when the shield from my crystal flashes into existence for a split second. It immediately explodes into a blast of rainbow colored sparks. Then we actually make contact, and I feel a soft pain bloom in my shoulder as we bounce off one another. I get knocked into a spiral, losing a lot of my speed as I flail my wings about trying to recover. It's no use, and next thing I know I’m crashing through some glass and wrecking my way through a building.

  I crash through a fair bit of stuff, somehow most of it feels as weak as punching through cardboard. I finally come to a stop when I roll into something a bit heavier than the rest, causing it to shift backwards with a metallic thunk. Oh boy that was not how I expected that to go. At least I still have the launcher.

  I push some debris off me and look around, finding myself in the remains of some kind of open office space. A clear trail of destruction where I went crashing through all the cubicles halfway across the floor. Turns out I slammed into a heavy filing cabinet, and that's what finally stopped me. Thankfully it was a low enough speed after trashing half the floor that it didn't really hurt much.

  I stand up and start running across the floor in the opposite direction from where I crashed in. I hear demonic screaming behind me, but I don't look back as I keep rushing between the office fixtures towards the windows on the opposite side of the floor. I hear something come crashing through the floor behind me, closing rapidly. I get to the window and hold the launcher in front of me, using it like a ram as I crash through the glass and out into a free fall.

  A loud boom accompanied by various kinds of screaming and chanting comes from in front of me, as the lighting suddenly changes. It goes from three moderately bright sources to one singular powerful one. I don’t have time to see what it is as one of the bitches comes diving out after me, but has so much speed she shoots right over top. I can feel her sword go through my hair as she takes a swing on her way by. And I'm pretty sure bitch just cut off a lot of it.

  I spread my wings and accelerate myself downwards, picking up as much speed as possible before the upcoming ground forces me to pull up and level out. Only to find James floating in the air in front of me on some kind of dark storm cloud, charging up a spell!

  Where the fuck did he come from! I pull hard right to evade, it isn't enough. He swings his staff and a green orb with a little green string attaching it to the tip of the staff flies off directly at me. I try to throw my wings out and try to use my magic to push myself the other way. But before I can, the orb explodes in front of me. Turning into a giant green fish net that promptly covers and wraps around me, even managing to snag and pin my crystals. It shrinks rapidly before I can do anything. I’m bound so tight I can hardly move my arms and legs, let alone my wings. The traitorous bastard starts laughing, and the string starts to retract, pulling me towards him.

  “Bloody hell Lucy, you certainly didn’t become any less of a pain in the ass. I thought for a bit there that I'd have to let the succubi do you in. But you're still predictable as ever. I figured you would go straight for the camp trying to pull a fast one. Didn't think you would pop out right in front of me though. Reminds me of that time you blitzed Charles in Omega Dawn.” He said as he reeled me in like some kind of prize catch with a smirk on his face.

  Suddenly I was cast in shadow. I shifted my piercing gaze from James to whatever appeared above me. My eyes go wide in horror as a succubus floats above me, wearing a full breastplate and helmet with holes for her horns to stick out. Her sword is cocked back to perform a piercing thrust, a murderous look in her orange eyes and an insane grin on her ashen grey face.

  And just as suddenly she’s knocked away by a purple blast and a loud pop.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  “Don’t you dare fucking stab her you power hungry, vacuum skull-ed, oversized imps! I said I wanted her alive! That means NOT stabbing her after I capture her!” James snaps at the demon. Then another voice pipes up from somewhere behind me I can’t see, and I realize he’s addressing multiple.

  “Come on master Baker, we just want to have a bit of fun. And getting rid of this ugly little abomination would be doing the universe a favor anyway.” A demon says, before flying in front of me and circling around me. I recognize her as one of the ones that was chasing me.

  “Master Baker, more like master bater. We all know you’re not just following Lady Anvasta’s mutant capture directive.” Another one pipes up from behind me. She flies in close enough that I pick her up with my essence sense.

  I’d been more focused on dodging than evaluating them when I was flying, so I didn't really compare them. But now I can ‘see’ that these demons vastly out power me. Even the weakest of the three succubi has probably five times my power level, or whatever the demon equivalent is. Surprisingly, James is the weakest person here. Which means he’s getting his power from artifacts.

  “Come on, you know you can have some fun with her. We can drop down to one of the little crevices between the dwellings. We’ll even make her more compliant for yo GHAK!” The third succubus that was wearing the breastplate flies back up and starts yabering. Only for James to zap her again with a smaller version of whatever he used before.

  Have fun with me! Make me compliant! If I wasn't trying to thrash my way out of the net spell before, I definitely am now. Even going so far as to try biting at it.

  “Enough! There will be none of that right now. And if I do, I certainly won't be getting ‘assistance’ from any of you. Now let us return. It would be a faux pas to miss the ceremony, doing Sbrugreths job for him or not.” James snaps, turning around and starting to float off in the direction of the cultists camp while dragging me behind him.

  “Aw, don't be such a spoilsport! We're not so bad once you get to know us.” One of the succubi snickered.

  “You all have collectively killed twenty of the Bayloroth cultists because you can't contain your ‘urges’. Quite frankly it is a wonder anyone or anything wants to know you at this point.” James disses back.

  And it seems that little comment hit a nerve, because all the succubi let out a snarl.

  “Fine, keep being a boring little prude of a man whore. Once this is all done they’ll surely do away with you. Let's go girls!” The one with the breastplate snarls as the three rapidly accelerate ahead.

  “Succubi, always a pain in the ass. Especially the young ones. Always thinking they fuck their way to more power. You don't know how refreshing it is that you aren't offering to fuck me so you can suck my soul.” James says.

  I spit the magic net I'm hopelessly chewing on out just long enough to hiss at him. “Put your dick anywhere near me and I'll rip it off.”

  James chuckles. “Oh I’m sure right now you would definitely try. Not going to lie Lucy, you were one of, if not the hottest girl in school. Any straight guy there, myself included, would have jumped at the chance to fuck you. Turning into a demon didn’t hurt your looks at all, that's for sure. But there won’t be any of that right now. I’m sure you’ll come around after what I’m about to show you.” James says with a haughty tone.

  “What, how small your dick is? Don’t start with me on the we’re better because humans are also shit argument! How many people are dead because you wanted to be a dickhead!?” I snap at him while continuing to struggle against the net.

  But it's no use, this magic net is tough enough that I can't get through it. And its fucking pressing on my wings funny to the point its starting to hurt too! That's not even getting into the missile launcher being pressed into my chest. I can't even screach at him because he's dragging me along below him and keeping me facing away from him.

  “Oh please, don’t bother with the morality angle. We both know you don't actually have morals anymore. The only thing demons respect is power, which is understandable. Power makes the universe move. What's that old saying? Might makes right. Something like that.”

  “So you did all this for some measly power? Built yourself the power equivalent of an anthill on the corpses of half a city!”

  “This isn't my operation, don't go blaming me for all those deaths. I'm more like a third party contractor brought in to perform a service.”

  “You're still participating like a treasonous little wank stain!”

  “Except my work mainly starts after the city is initially taken, not during it.” James replies calmly.

  “So what? That makes it better?!”

  “No, it makes it not my fault. Those people would have died regardless of if I’m here or someone else was doing my job. At least this way I'm not left at the bottom of the totem pole. You’ll see soon enough.” James says.

  Below me I see the outer wall of the cultist camp as we pass over it. The wall is still a mashup of various large containers and whatnot, but it's clearly been improved upon. Now properly reinforced, almost no gaps exist, save for the gates. Proper battlements and cover have been placed all along the top, even some machine gun emplacements. Behind the wall I notice several of what I think are anti air emplacements. And is that a fucking phalanx? I'm no military enthusiast but even I know what that is, and how old it is. The precursor to modern point defense systems, and somehow the cultists got their hands on one.

  As I’m dragged over the camp, the chanting from before increases in volume. Both due to the smaller distance, and the fact they are slowly getting louder. Well, I wanted to get into the cultist camp, just not like this. Though if I had tried to fly in that phalanx might have turned me into swiss Nu.

  For all James’s boasting the base still doesn't look that impressive. I'm pretty sure the US military could literally run this place over in an hour tops. Especially since they’ve had…. How long has this shit been going on? Three days ish? Of course, that means the cultists have had that long too. And from the looks of it, they’re about to finish what they have been working on.

  I can shift myself enough to get a view of one of the three crystals, and I don't like what I see. The beam has changed angles, now aimed at an almost forty five degree angle over the central bunker as opposed to almost straight up. Surrounding it are three circles of chanters. The inner circle is all demons, mostly succubi. But two other types I don't recognize, making up ten participants total. The two outer circles look to be human cultists, consisting of twenty and I think forty respectively. All kneeling with palms down on the strange formations drawn under the crystals. The floating crystal itself is now a vibrant yellow, and seems to be rotating at a very high rate of speed counter clockwise.

  I'm so fixated on the crystal and chanters that I only realize we are landing when I am unceremoniously clonked onto the floor head first. Of course, my orientation ends up on my side, unable to move my head enough to put anyone on blast.

  I try to squirm to change my angle or flip over, but all it does is cause the net to tighten in response. Then James does something on par with the kind of shit you would expect from a dumb ass cultist. He stupidly walks in front of me.

  “Now don’t try…..” is all James gets out before I blast him with a fully charged screach spell set to disorientation.

  I don't even consider using a damage shot. He survived a missile to the face so his shield held or he has backups. But I wonder if hr has any for specifically for blocking effects.

  It works like a charm, with the treasonous dickhead immediately tripping over his own feet and falling flat on his face. Sadly he manages to keep a death grip on his magic bullshit stick. So the net spell not only remains but constricts even harder, cutting off a movement I could make. But honestly it was worth it. James is left bumbling on the ground trying to regain his composure while the surrounding demons, mostly the succubi, taunt him relentlessly for it. After about thirty seconds the effects fade enough for James to uneasily rise to his feet and scurry out of my field of view, cursing under his breath all the while. I’m tempted to blast him again, but it honestly wouldn't do anything long term accept waste my mana

  “I see you can’t behave yourself Lucy.” James says from somewhere behind me.

  “How about you take this net off so I can see how far my foot will fit up your ass.” I aggressively snap back at him.

  “Careful, it’ll get lost up in there!” One of the succubi calls out, causing the rest to fall into a hysterical laughing fit.

  “He needs the net to catch anything. They always end up running away otherwise!” A second one chimes in, causing renewed giggling from the rest.

  “I mean look, even the sick little freak doesn't want any from you!” Another cackles.

  I feel James grab the net and tug from behind me, pulling my head up off the ground. I buck back into his hand and then forward again in an attempt to throw his grip off but don't have enough movement range to do it effectively.

  “Yes, yes, very funny. Now you, stop your cackling and hold her while I gag her.” James barks at one of the cackling succubi.

  I sense as one of the evil bitches closes in on me from behind. The rest of the succubi still fluttering around outside my sensing range and line of sight, but continue to laugh it up nonetheless. From the sounds of it there are a lot more than just the original three.

  “Ooooooh getting kinky with her already? I thought you said you didn't want any help.” She taunts.

  James doesn't respond, but a moment later I hear the sound of duct tape being torn away from its roll. Suddenly the net vanishes. I try to spring free and bolt but the succubus is on me instantly. With one hand she grabs the missile launcher and rips it away from me. Ripping away not just my weapon but my hope of doing meaningful damage. With her other hand she grabs my throat and spins me around with a sadistic smirk on her face. Lifting me off the ground she starts to squeeze. In a panic I blast her in the face with a minimally charged screach. The attack seems to just roll off of her, not even causing her to blink as she squeezes harder. I try kicking her in the gut as hard as I can. But despite the fact she is one of the ones without armor, it feels like I’m kicking a brick wall and has no effect. I desperately start flailing my wings in an attempt to get leverage, force her grip to weaken, knock some dust into her eye, anything!

  Suddenly something is slapped over my mouth. Before I can reach up to rip it off Jame’s green pervert net flashes into existence around me once again. My wings are forced against my body in an awkward position along with the crystals once again. The succubus releases her grip, ripping her hand free of the net before it fully closes on her.

  “What an ugly little weakling. What good is that thing going to do for the cabal? Are you sure we can't just kill it?” She sneers down at me as I flop back to the ground gasping for air.

  “The aberration recruitment or capture order is a standing tenet of the organization. You should know well that Lady Anvasta gave the order herself so long ago it escapes our comprehension. And that it is one of the core rules that has always been enforced. It doesn't matter what we think. She goes before the review committee willingly or not. And any who…. Interrupt the process face… very unpleasant consequences.” James says from behind the haughty succubus.

  “Fine, I paid enough attention to know it's not you who…..” The succubus starts. Only to be interrupted by a booming, commanding, oppressive voice cutting through the city as if intent on informing the whole world of its message.

  “Come one and come all! Come demons and dudes, bitches and broods, cultists and coo coos. The next act of our grand old show is about to begin!”