Mother folds her huge white wings, and her bare feet touch the cold, hard ground, then she walks forward, her steps making cute little sounds, but what catches my attention is the jiggle of her impossibly soft-looking body. And I just stare at her, dumbfounded, while my red meat club remains as hard as possible.

She kneels before me and gently grabs my cock, sending a shiver of pleasure up my spine, then she opens her delicate mouth and slowly swallows it whole. My jaw drops in surprise as I begin to pant because every touch of her gives me an unbelievable amount of pleasure, making my whole body tense up.

Then she actually kisses the base of my knot and stops, completely deepthroating my long cock. The view of a literal Goddess swallowing me is something that I'll never forget, and my cock pulsates inside her warm insides, my pleasure already so high I'm nearing the edge.

She smiles at me and chuckles, the vibration of her throat sending another shiver of pleasure up my cock and then spine, but I hold the cum in for a second longer.

But it's only a second as she pulls her head back too quickly, and it tips me over.

"Hurgh!" I grunt and lurch forward as my balls and cock throb, then I release the biggest load I've ever seen.

Thick ropes of cum gush out of my cock, each gush lasting almost a whole second. The first one falls inside her mouth, but the rest hit her gorgeous face and huge breasts, making her giggle as they're completely covered in a ridiculous amount of my cum.

And I just stare, now not only dumbfounded, but also awed at the beauty that this Goddess shows. Even though her skin is already white, the cum fits her like makeup and enhances her gentle, motherly aura, making her even more stunningly gorgeous.

Her face is the definition of the word "Love."

But then she raises her indicator, and all my cum flies out to gather above the tip of her nail in just a second. And with a giggle, she opens her mouth and swallows it all.

"Now it's your turn to make me orgasm," she coyly states, and I just eagerly nod.

She stands up, slightly towering over me, then puts a hand on my shoulder and pushes me down, so I eagerly kneel, and my eyes become level with her reddened, moist, pussy lips. Her skin is so pale even the light blushing of arousal of her lips becomes striking, but her pussy also has such a vibrant color I can't help but describe it as "beautiful," just like everything else from her.

So I clamp my mouth around her labia and eat pussy exactly like how Sis taught me. Long licks on her lips, some healthy focus on the top part where her clit is, and slowly changing up things to keep it fresh until I find the way that makes her sing just right.

And her moans are worth of a Goddess, alright.

I don't know how long I eat her out; it's hard to keep track of time when you're having fun, but her moans gradually increase in loudness until her thick, juicy legs suddenly begin to quiver and squish my head. Then I just steadily continue my work until she squeals and her orgasm subsides.

"Now… we can finally… make real love…" she happily whispers through heavy breaths.

I promptly stand up, cock hard and dripping, then she wraps her arms around my neck and lifts a leg, so I grab it, and we both aim my cock up her pussy.

Her gentle red eyes are absolutely mesmerizing, and they captivate me so much I begin moving solely on instinct. Then her head comes closer, and her red lips touch mine, so I reflexively push my tongue out and invade her mouth as I thrust with my hips.

The burst of pleasure is so great I instantly cum inside her, but while my legs quiver and my cock and balls throb, I still remain strong and standing. I'm fucking a Goddess, and my pride as a man won't let me fail now.

But while my body is strong, my mind melts into a soup of pleasure. Her touch, her taste, her smell, her pussy, her mouth, her eyes, her tits pressing against my chest. Everything about her feels good, sexy, and comfortable.

While my hips move wildly, my mind floats along a gentle, warm lake; while I shove my cock so deep inside her divine womb that she squeals, I feel like I'm drifting in the sky along with the breeze; while I fuck her asshole doggystyle as I squeeze her delicious ass cheeks, my soul rests in front of a warm fireplace in a cold day; while I roar like a beast and skullfuck her as I cum, my heart overflows with love.

And as I unleash the angry beast upon her, my fury starts to die down, giving space for tranquility. She's doing exactly as she said she would: bringing me comfort.

The next thing I know, I'm falling asleep in her soft and warm embrace.

 

Her massive breasts wrap around my head like a pillow, and the way she caresses my head is so good I'd cum if she were touching my cock. I mean, she did make me cum after just a few seconds inside her mouth, so I guess her hands wouldn't be so different.

And her touch slowly guides my mind towards Bliss, the magical land in the Dream Realm where all the good dreams come from. I think I've only ever been there once, but I wasn't lucid during that time, so it was only the happiest dream I've ever had.

I see Sis, Mom, Margit, and the inn's crew, and everyone's having a little snack in the middle of the Dark Forest. A little brook cuts the party in two, the sounds of running water muffling the moans and giggles from everyone. The smell of tea, sex, and moss is thick in the air, and everyone eats their snacks as they fuck.

It isn't just an orgy, it's a show of free love and companionship fit for a tightly-knit crew after working together for so long. It's something pure, and no amount of priests complaining will convince me otherwise. I even see Caliban with priestess Corina, so I bet they'd want to join for real if offered the chance.

But this place is so amazing that an eternity passes in a second, and after fucking my three women, I pass them along, then pair of pale arms starts to pull me away.

"Fiubun, we must leave," Mother soothingly whispers in my furry ear, but her voice is so compelling that my lazy body obeys her against my will, so I leave Bliss behind and return to the world of the living.

"Okay…" I hum drowsily and start to stand up.

"We must meet with Gra-ah now," she continues and kisses my forehead, giving me a tingle that makes my cock throb.

I blink repeatedly as my ears twitch, then I quickly wake up as an exciting idea comes to me. "Can we go to the Sea of Souls?" I ask, hopeful, and look up at her.

But she gives me that bitter smile of a mother who wants to say yes but is unable to. "Only if there's enough time after talking to Gra-ah. We've already spent long enough making love."

So I dejectedly nod and look down, but then she grabs my boner and starts stroking me.

"At least I'll take care of this. A healthy boy like you shouldn't be left unfulfilled or you'll become stressed," she remarks with a lewd smile as she kneels.

And I just moan in response as her hand brings me extreme pleasure, then I quickly cum after just five slow strokes and release another thick load, which she catches with her massive breasts.

"Good boy," she whispers seductively, giving me a shiver, then she kisses the tip, and I cum another load upon her face, making her laugh. "You have a lot of semen inside you, hm?"

"Why wouldn't I? This is the Dream Realm," I reply with a snort. Nothing here is actually real.

And she smiles sweetly. "But you're definitely special, so you'll make a lot of women's hearts throb… and also their wombs."

I don't know how she's capable of saying such things while sounding so… motherly, but she does, and it makes me both aroused and also awkward as I'm not used to this kind of praise.

"I hope so," I mumble embarrassedly, but my tail waves in contentment.

Then she magically pulls my cum into her mouth again and swallows it all. "Now, let's go. And don't even think about getting another boner because we seriously don't have the time."

I nod again, then I think about taking one last glance at the Watcher, but Mother covers my eyes.

"Don't look at Them. The Watcher already showed you kindness by not showing you anything dangerous, but They won't do it twice," she soberly warns me.

But I'm stubbornly curious. "The pink Jeweled man They showed made me scream in pain."

"It was a warning for you to stop snooping," she flatly states.

"Oh…"

She giggles softly and gives me another piece of advice, "Many have tried to use the Watcher for their own benefit, but they all soon paid a dear price."

"Okay, I get it," I nod in understanding as I hum and turn away, so she pulls her hands back.

Then she grabs my furry chin and forces me to look her in the eye as she becomes more serious. "Now, you may mention that the Watcher is your patron to other Gods, but never to an angel."

My ears twitch in confusion. "Why?"

And the brightness of her motherly aura dims a little as a bit of sadness seeps into her tone. "It's because angels are the same as Crusaders. They eliminate threats before they have time to actually threaten anything. Would you wait for the weeds to start choking your flowers before removing them?"

Considering Sis and I were growing Stranglers, which are the weed of magical plants, this analogy doesn't sit well with me. Still, I can't deny that I understand why they do it.

But then she adds something that makes my brain hang, "Nobody knows whether or not you'll actually do harm, so they all decide to prioritize the safety of others before you have time to prove yourself. But even the most militant of angels will stay their hand if they see that you've done good deeds for they accept some evil in the name of good."

"I… I understand," I hum thoughtfully and look away. This is new to me, and I need time to think about it.

Then she silently moves behind me and wraps her hands around my chest as she presses her massive breasts against my back. Though I get a boner, I'm still too deep in thought to care, and she makes no mention of it, so I guess this one will go untouched.

After a short moment, she kindly whispers in my ear, "Well, then… we've entertained the Watcher enough with us making love, so we're off."

Wait, They were peeping on us…? That's kind of hot, actually.

And Mother's pale hands start caressing my furry chest, making my cock throb, then the world suddenly starts to become blurry.

Scholar-me is disappointed that we won't be seeing the Sea of Souls as that's where you make a contract with your spell-spirits, and no Magus is a real Magus without a whole grimoire full of spells. But I guess I'll just have to hope for another chance one day… or rather, night, as I need to be sleeping to enter the Dream Realm again.

But still, getting my mind and cock blown by a goddess was better than anything I could've ever hoped for, so I don't regret it. On the contrary, "making love" with her has filled me with hope and determination… while I filled her with cum.

My thoughts are interrupted as a light suddenly appears in the distance, then the blur takes the shape of a tunnel, and we start to… "travel," I guess.

 

We spend a long minute in silence, but it's a comfortable one as I'm still being hugged by her, then the blurred mess of colors starts to regain shape, and I suddenly find myself in a colorful, mossy, sunny clearing in a forest… surrounded by angels.

The first I notice is that their skin color is as varied as the rainbow, like red, blue, purple, black, and white, but there's something about their skin that seems… unnatural. It's too perfect, as if each of them were painted in a single color, but this fits considering their naked bodies are perfect-looking, coming in all sizes imaginable.

Considering that half of them are fucking, it feels like I've entered an erotic painting, and the view arouses me so much my cock throbs again.

"Just one more cumshot..." Mother whispers in my ear with a sigh, then she leans to the side and strokes my moist red club again a few times, which is enough for me to release a thick load onto the moss.

"Who have you brought to us, Mother?" an impossibly deep voice makes my asshole clench in fear, but I continue to cum as Mother doesn't stop stroking me, ensuring that I'm fully drained this time.

I turn my head towards the source and see the biggest lion beastman I've ever seen, in both meanings of the word since he's naked and hard. He's fully golden, even his cock, which drips with cum, and his huge mane seems to wave as if it was underwater, making it look like a stylized drawing of the sun.

This is truly Gra-ah of Animals and Sex, the Golden Lion, Master of the Eternal Hunt, Messenger of Pleasure, Friend of all Households, and Patron of all with Beastman blood or spirit.

Then I notice a huge female wolf beastman angel beside him, golden cum leaking from her black pussy. She was blocking the view, so I didn't notice him when we first arrived.

But I just stare at him for long seconds as Mother makes me unleash a few more ropes, then the loads start to thin out, so she finally releases me and softly answers, "Another lost soul that I've become a patron of; a survivor of Hatarvros that has unfortunately become corrupted by the demonic taint."

The angels all gasp and stop fucking as they jerk their heads toward me, and I suddenly feel as if I've become a filthy insect that must be purged.

"Stop it," Gra-ah commands with his fearsome voice, and the horrible feeling stops, then I look around and see that the angels are all glaring at me, but the ones fucking decide to continue and ignore my presence. "Now, open your mind to me, soulful," he continues but doesn't wait for an answer.

The battle with the demoness, the run towards the bunker, the fight with Fodor's demon, the encounter with the corrupted tree, the journey across the Dark Forest, the garden of Stranglers, the hunt for the corrupted monster that ate them. My life passes in reverse through my eyes, and I'm unable to hide a single one of them as Gra-ah takes a look at them all.

But then it suddenly stops at the image of my boner while Sis and Mom stare at it, and I hear Gra-ah let out a low, amused chuckle.

"You're a beastman, indeed, young Fiubun. I'm sure your father would be proud of you for taking your Sister's virginity. Now you only need to make your mother yours, too," he cheerfully remarks, but his tone is so bright the fear washes away, being replaced with pride.

The way my emotions swing like a pendulum makes me a bit confused, but now that we're talking about my family I can't help but blurt out, "Thank you… I really do want my mother so much it hurts, but she's very shy and reserved, so I'm being slow with her."

The golden lion slowly nods and encourages me further, "She'll eventually give in. Keep being the man you are and she won't resist you for long…" Then I feel a chill as he becomes serious again. "But first, you must pass this trial."

And I nod as I reply, "My corruption."

He hums in agreement and starts advising me with a stern but caring tone, and I'm unable to look away from his golden eyes, "Precisely. The wound on your left hand has been healed, but the corruption has already seeped into your soul and spread through the marrow of all your bones. You'll soon be plagued by dark and heinous thoughts, but they'll slowly become stronger and more overwhelming to the point you'll finally give in, and then you'll commit unthinkable things to your most loved ones."

Mother's love has wiped away all fears, so my heart is overflowing with determination, so I eagerly ask, "How can I stop it?!"

Gra-ah smiles, and it suddenly feels like I'm standing in front of a bonfire after a cold day. "It pleases me that you've asked this. Your will can hold the corruption back, though not indefinitely. What you need is guidance. There are many paths you can take, so I'll list the more general ones: a full purification through Benison; the sealing of the corrupted part of your soul through Theurgy; the channeling of the demonic influence into Dread Magic; the periodic spending of the demonic energy through Infernal Magic; or the periodic refinement of your blood to purify it of corruption."

And the last suggestion makes the angels softly gasp again.

"Oh, my, how daring," Mother hums and chuckles softly.

I glance at her and confusedly ask, "I don't understand. What's the problem with the last one?"

And Gra-ah snorts as he smirks, showing long golden fangs. "I like your curiosity."

Then Mother kindly answers for him, so I turn to her and stare, "There are many things you can do with refining blood that are less than savory. Though blood refining isn't illegal in the land of the living, it'll still attract unwanted attention to you if a zealous soulful learns that you're doing it."

I look away and frown. "Well… I don't really know anything about blood refining…"

Then Gra-ah's voice forces me to stare at him again. "But you don't have the luxury to disregard this option yet." And he turns to the angels. "Now, do any of you holy beings know of the current situation in Hatarvros?"

But they shake their heads as they murmur between each other in confusion.

"Apologies, my Divine, but we know only of the Dark Forest," a cute, dwarf-size angel answers for them.

And Gra-ah shakes his large, maned head. "Not useful considering nobody except the Crusaders will go out there any time soon."

"Apologies again," the dwarf replies as he bows.

But the God waves his hand soothingly. "No need. I understand we favor certain themes."

"I can tell you a little bit," Mother happily interjects.

"Then, please," he hums with a nod.

She cutely clears her throat, then begins relaying to us, "The fire has burned down most of the town, but they've repelled the attack in full, and the Crusaders led an expedition that wiped out the demonic nest, though the woods are still crawling with demons laying in wait. Fiubun's bunker has also fully survived aside from a few unfortunate warriors that perished during the battle while most other bunkers were completely untouched, so there's a good number of citizens attempting to rebuild."

Gra-ah nods along in understanding, then his voice becomes completely sober, sending chills of dread down my spine. "Now, while the results weren't as bad as they could've been, I predict that the future won't be sunny. Would you care to listen, Fiubun?"

"Yes, please," I promptly whisper. I'm ready for the bad news.

He flashes a proud smile, giving me a bit of courage back, then begins his grim speech, "Very well. Due to the number of survivors, food will quickly become a problem. The demons have already spread throughout the Dark Forest, and the villages behind Hatarvros have undoubtedly been wiped out while the villagers were taken as slaves, so the demons have a long corridor to freely attack any caravans bringing relief, which means that the city will remain effectively sieged without an easy solution. To make matters worse, the demons know that your Mage-King and the Royal Army are tied up in the Khandhut Plane, so purging the surrounding area will take even longer than usual. Your government will recruit Aether Magi to bring food through Tunnels, but it won't be enough considering the number of survivors, so death and disease will quickly spread.

"What this means to you is that you'll be stuck in Hatarvros for longer than you can survive the corruption. The banks that weren't destroyed will be closed, but even if you have money, everything will be so expensive you won't be able to spend any of it anyway. So, to finish, you won't be able to get a Tunnel to leave the town, you won't be able to walk out without being attacked, you'll suffer if you stay, which will speed up your corruption, and there's likely nobody in Hatarvros with the resources to cure you or teach you how to manage the corruption."

This is even worse than I thought it'd be, so I exclaim in shock, "H-how do I survive that?!"

Mother's hands gently caress my chest as his gaze softens, soothing me a little. "You have a dream of becoming a Magus, don't you?" he gently asks.

"I do," I whisper back.

And his tone becomes assertive. "You must go to Nyurga's Military Academy in the Hallowed Blue Lakes of Rediromoh, the capital of your nation."

"Join the Royal Army?!" I blurt out in surprise.

He nods. "They're the only place that will recruit a proto-Touched like yourself, but not only that, they'll also favor you for having this corruption, if you can survive it, of course. Don't look down on your Mage-King for forsaking Hatarvros; he still makes me proud every day."

I go silent as I reflect upon what he said, but then my brain hangs onto something. "Wait, you said I'm a 'proto-Touched'?"

I feel like the angels don't like to hear about this, but Gra-ah ignores them as he continues, "Indeed. The first Touched was merely someone who tamed the corruption and turned it into a part of themselves without losing their mind. It's possible for you to learn the same, but not right now, not how you currently are, so you shouldn't even consider this."

And Mother cautions me further, "You'd need to find someone to mentor you, but if you don't want to be banished like all Touched, then they must also know how to suppress the physical characteristics that come from becoming one of them, and there are very few who know how to do that."

I also know that the Touched live in the cursed Realm of Terkedmish, which is far… far from Vorosza.

But the Watcher showed me a Touched, so I know how to start…

I glance at Mother, but she just flashes a smile at me. I guess there's no point in risking mentioning that part in front of the angels.

No, I need to focus on what's more reasonable, so I nod in understanding and assuredly admit, "I didn't want to become tied to anything or anyone, but I understand that I don't have a choice."

But Gra-ah has something to add, "You also have a time limit. One month until the end of the enrollment period for Nyurga, or else you'll only be able to start classes the next year, so you must reach the Hallowed Blue Lakes of Rediromoh until then, no matter what."

I swallow heavily. "I need to find a way to get an Aether Tunnel, then?" I ask to confirm that I understood the best option.

And he shakes a golden fist in front of me as he encourages, "Yes. The soulful do what the soulful must, so make me proud and survive this, Fiubun."

I can't help but smile, but then my worrying mind comes up with a new doubt, "Wait, I have one more question."

But Mother interrupts me, "Unfortunately, your time here is over, Fiubun. Your soul is returning to your body."

I growl and exclaim, "Ah, fuck! Tell me how to resist the corruption for longer!"

Then I see everything becoming blurry, even Mother's arms that still cling to me.

And Gra-ah quickly starts to explain, "Meditate and take control of your emotions. The corruption is a second will that will slowly take over-…"

But his voice becomes too warped for me to understand anything else, then the world blurs into a mess of colors that grows darker and darker…

 

Intermission – Aleriaxstraza

 

A cock forcefully enters my pussy, painfully spreading me apart until it hits my cervix and makes me wince, but the delight of being raped floods my mind next and I forget all about my anger. Then it moves in and out of me with wild savagery, the pleasure heightened by the pain, and the cock cums again and again inside my womb, but the fucking never stops, not even after I start to bleed.

Strong hands wrap around my neck and then squeeze, making it hard for me to breathe but not completely choking me, so I desperately gasp for air, and another cock is shoved into my mouth. I try to bite, but I have no strength in my jaw left, so I'm skullfucked and played with like a doll.

Suddenly, the cock in my mouth twitches and cums down my throat, nourishing my body and prolonging my torture for a little longer. I start to feel my belly inflate as my pregnancy progresses, then I suddenly give birth to another demon, which is immediately eaten by the swarm of frenzied beasts that toy with me.

And then another cock enters me, this one spiked so it scratches my pussy and turns my insides into mush. As I start to die, the hands choke me out completely, and soon my life is snuffed out.

But then I revive, and the cycle of torture continues. This time, they fuck my asshole with increasingly thicker cocks until I'm literally split apart and my insides spill out.

Again and again, I revive only to be raped to death.

And little by little I crawl up the pile of bleeding, filthy corpses.

Then my hand finally touches a rock, so I grab it with all of my strength and pull myself up. The molesting hands and cocks try to pull me back, but I untangle myself from them and escape the Pit of Rape.

"Took you a bit long for you to return, Aleria," a quiet, seething voice taunts me and sullies my ears.

"Fuck you," I growl back as I recover my strength, then I stand up and see the infuriating Maz-Oriagara, a black barbarian lizard who has an obsession with the Pit and tasting his own cum while eating his toys.

He's a crude savage who wastes his meat.

And he's feeling like picking a fight because he starts growling while spitting fire, "Try me, bitch. I'll finally get the chance to rape you if you do, but we both know that you'll shut up because you got annihilated by a fucking peasant."

"FUCK YOU! I'LL USE THAT CAT TO GET MY POWER BACK!" I howl at him. I'm still furious at dying so early, and I won't take shit from this idiot.

But he just crosses his scaly arms and taunts me again as he smirks, "Are you sure you can? He handled Annihilate like a natural. By the time you find him again, he'll definitely be much stronger."

He's not smart enough to have the right to criticize me, so I just spit back and don't fall for his provocation, "I don't fucking care, you small-dicked bastard. I'll find him and chain him. He's just a dumb peasant from a shithole sacrificed by his fucking King. If he doesn't die from starvation soon, I'll invade that fetid dump again just to find my new coat of fur."

And he licks his lips as he gives in to insanity. "I stopped listening when you called me 'small-dicked,' and I'm going to make you pay for that by raping you." Then his bladed cock comes out from between his legs, and my pussy tingles in desire, still raw from all the rape.

I see he wanted this fight no matter what.

"I'll throw both of us into the Pit!" I threaten with a shriek. I just crawled out of it, and I can do it again! At least I'll have more fun with ten bladed cocks instead of just one.

He clicks his tongue and sheathes his little thing. "Tch… Go on, then, cry to your cunt sisters. You're lucky that there's an Order of Collapse, or else I'd have enslaved you, already."

He's getting soft if he really doesn't want to get in the Pit, but I take no shit, so I make it clear to him, "I'll remember this so that I can rub it in your face when you get annihilated."

And he smirks challengingly. "Please, do, Great Cuntess Aleriaxstraza. I need more enemies to break after the Order is over."

Before I can spit back, a screech from above tells me that my sisters are coming for me, so he sinks into the shadows again and runs. Not even he would dare offend us when we outnumber him, though I wish he would try.

Killing soulful is fun, but killing other demons is exhilarating because, unlike the weak peasants, we never really die. If not for the Order, I'd be spending all my time hunting demons, but now I have a vendetta that I must exact.

I hope you don't ever forget me, my striped little kitten, because I never will.

 

Intermission end.

 

I slowly open my eyes, but my body feels like stone, so I just close them again and take a nap. I have some confusing nightmares, so I soon wake up again, and now I'm feeling too uncomfortable to actually go to sleep again.

My eyes start to focus, and I realize that it's daytime, then I recognize the ceiling of the church, so I know that I'm exactly where I woke up in the Dream Realm. It takes me a long time, but eventually I manage to turn my head to the side, but I only see white.

Suddenly, something white moves in the middle of the white, but it's too blurry for me to see what it is, though I notice two red spots moving along with it.

"Fiubun?!" I hear a distant call.

"Hmmmghhh…" I moan in response as my body is still too drowsy.

Then I turn my head up again and stare up at the ceiling again for a long time as I slowly wake up.

"Fiubun, you're awake!" I hear a shout, and this time I recognize Sis' voice, then I feel her muscular furry arms wrap around my chest. I look down and see her head full of striped hair, so I slowly raise my paw and pat her.

"Yeah…" I mumble softly, and we stay like this for a long time.

It's starting to get uncomfortable to remain in this position, so I try to sit up, but then I feel on my left hand a sharp pain that sends chills down my spine.

"What…" I hum confusedly as I raise my hand before my eyes, and I see that it's fully wrapped in a thick amount of bandages.

Oh, right…

Sis raises her head and makes a complicated expression once she sees my hand, so I look to the side and see Mom and Margit making the same face.

"What happened to my hand?" I slowly ask.

And Mom shifts uncomfortably in her spot, but then she gloomily answers, "The angel that saved you refused to heal your hand because he needed to heal more dying people, and it already looked like it was starting to shrivel, so not even the priests touched it. Then an apothecary came and offered to try to heal your hand because you saved everyone's lives, but his shop burned down, so he didn't have what he needed to finish the treatment or grow a new one back."

Well, that wasn't unexpected, so I casually hum and try to make light of it, "I'm thankful you didn't amputate it because it would've been a waste."

"What do you mean?" she confusedly asks back.

Then I become awkward because what I'm about to say isn't funny, but I swallow heavily and just spill it out, "My soul is already tainted by the demons."

"W-what are you talking about, Fiubun?" Mom mumbles in disbelief.

I put more confidence in my tone so that they believe me more easily. "I was in the Dream Realm, and the Gods said that my soul was corrupted."

"It-… it can't be…" Margit whispers fearfully, and I see her hand starts to tremble.

I frown, even more awkward than before, and make a request to make this easier, "I'm thirsty and hungry… can I have something before I tell you everything?"

 

I sit up with some difficulty. It seems that the rest of my body has been fully healed, partially thanks to the Strangler energy inside me, but my hand is a different matter. I still feel weak because I've been sleeping for three days, so it takes me some time to recover enough strength to confess everything that has happened.

"Gra-ah is right… we're stuck here…" Sis mumbles with a defeatist tone.

And Mom weakly follows, almost breaking into tears, "The bank is closed and… the money I saved…" Then she stares at me with such sad eyes it hurts my heart. "Fiubun, our house burned down and we lost everything… even the money I had buried."

I look down and see that they're all wearing… robes. Plain gray robes, the standard type of clothes that the church donates to the homeless for winter.

"I put all of mine in the bank, too…" Margit bitterly adds and hugs her own arm.

"We do have thirty thousand leafies," Sis quietly confesses, and I have no idea where that money came from, so I just stare at her confusedly. "Arpad came here and gave us our bounty plus eight thousand extra, which was all he could scrounge up for us. He was looking like he shouldn't be out of the bed yet while he said that Gideon definitely won't be out any time soon."

"I'm glad they survived…" I quietly hum with a snort.

And then she adds, "He also took a look at your hand, and he confirmed it wasn't corrupted, just atrophied."

"But there's no way we can get the priests to heal his soul when they can barely keep alive the wounded soldiers," Mom points out as she dries her eyes.

"And there are Crusaders patrolling the streets…" Sis grimly mumbles.

I won't waste the comfort from Mother and the encouragement from Gra-ah, so I give them some soothing words, "Yes, things are bad. Pretty fucking shit, actually, but you heard the Gods; there's still a chance. We have time to think things through and find a solution."

"Still, we need to get you out of here… and fast," Margit states, and I see that her hands still tremble

"Bro fucking saved everyone. They should treat him like a hero!" Sis suddenly exclaims in an outburst of anger.

And Mom quietly chastises her, "Elina… they can't sacrifice dozens of wounded soldiers just to save him."

I see her fingers tense up and her claws come out as she suppresses her anger.

"We'll get you scratching post, you angry cat," I soothingly joke and chuckle.

She gives me a pained smile, about to cry, but she holds it in because she's a strong girl, and we need to be strong for each other.

So I reassure her again because she needs it the most, "I'll get my recognition one day, Sis. But right now, everyone's struggling just to survive, so you have to forgive them for that."

She pouts but then slowly nods in understanding, so I turn to Margit and give her a reassuring smile, and I see her breathe in deeply, finally calming herself.

Then Mom kneels before me and grabs my good hand as she declares with a surprising amount of confidence, "I won't let you succumb to the corruption, no matter what. Not after almost losing you once, not after everything you did to save all of us. You're my hero, my son, and I'll give you the recognition you deserve before everyone else."

Then she hugs my chest along with Sis.

I smile softly at them, then I raise my hand to Margit, and she silently takes it then hugs my head. There's nothing else that needs to be said.

We'll get through this, no matter what.

But first, I need to get out of this church.