Kanae and Sivvy flew down the long winding corridors of Buhar in search of an escape. But neither of them knew where they were going. Kanae had been brought down here in a box, and Sivvy saw nothing but that fiery prison for years. The monastery wasn't just some religious temple, but a giant underground cavern excavated over the years. Partially-built sandstone walls rose no further than half and seemingly left unfinished. Stone braziers doubled as statues with the motif of fire elementals lit the way down the dark tunnels.

Their luck ran out when they chanced upon patrolling Buhar guards, harpies infused with elementals. One of them made a beeline straight down the tunnel, and the rest stood in Kanae and Sivvy's way.

"I've been aching for a fight. Time to see if I still got it!" Using her momentum, the Knight of Red threw herself into a spin. The ram head club bludgeoned the first two guards who tried to attack her head on, but they smartened up and put some distance. Another called upon his ice elemental to blow a freezing gale. Sivvy let fly her club, knocking him into his fellows. She swooped around to find an opening to grab her weapon, but there were too many guards in the way and instead shouted, "Animate Weapon!" The club came to life. It lifted into the air behind the unwitting harpies and smashed them over their heads, then returned to its wielder's hand.

So, this was a crowned Battlemage. Sivvy probably had a lot more in store, but she proved to be a fierce fighter. Like a more battle hungry but less tempermental Petyr. It was incredible to see Red control the fight, like a conductor commanded an orchestra. When things got too hairy, she pulled back to study the situation for all but a few seconds, figured out a plan of action, and put it into execution.

A mage in the back line provided magical enhancements to her forces. Fiery shields wreathed each guard, and Red couldn't get close without getting burned. She animated her club and flung it into the air rather than at the supporting mage. Doing so forced everyone to split their attention, between Red and the club making circles above them. Red seized their distraction to dive the mage below first. When they intercepted her, the club came down like a meteor and pounded the mage out cold. Now that their barrier was gone, she made short work of the rest.

It all happened in the span of a few blinks. Battered bodies littered the floor. The fight was over for now.

"Haha! Did you see me, Amethyst? How'd I do? My joints still feel a little stiff, but I'm working out the kinks. Nothing but a few more brawls won't fix, right?" Red grinned.

"I-I didn't even need to do anything!" Kanae gaped.

"Oops. My bad, my bad. I'll try not to hog all the fun next time." She rubbed the back of her head laughing.

Not exactly the problem, but…

Looking at the Knight of Red, no one would think she had been imprisoned for a stretch of time. Jovial, boisterous, and very smiley, Sivvy Brenhallow looked like she just came back from a party. Even Kanae felt her infectious positivity just being next to her.

"Say, Red. You've been imprisoned for what, seven or eight years? How are you able to stay so… upbeat? Er— Sorry if that's not something you want to talk about," Kanae said.

"Why wouldn't I be upbeat? We're finally breaking out! Ahh, it sucks that I missed Arum Taum though, but there's always the next, you know what I mean? Sure, I was mopey and angry when I first got captured. The food sucked. The people sucked. Inmates don't make for good company. But I always knew I'd get out eventually. Life's too fun to be sad about!" Red patted Kanae hard on the back.

It was hard to believe that this was Grand Eye Analise's best friend. Their personalities couldn't be more different. Kanae was glad though, that she finally met her senior colleague.

They checked the guards for anything useful. Nothing but armor and weapons. However, one had escaped earlier. More were likely on the way. This was enemy territory after all. Red hoisted her club and was about to press on until Kanae motioned for her to wait.

"We don't know where we're going, but they do." Kanae exerted Mass Charm, seizing control of their minds and bodies. One by one, about twenty harpies picked themselves up. They fell firmly under her control.

"Oh, right! Succubus, yeah. I'm still not used to working with one. Back then, we were told to kill you on sight because you're so dangerous." Red rubbed her chin in thought.

"Yeah… Esta was the same." Kanae recalled their meeting back in Orturic. "Okay, we're looking for Sev— Nawan. The Harpy King's son. Where is he being held?"

"Wait, you're serious? The kid we're trying to save is the Harpy King's blood?" she asked.

Kanae nodded.

With a troupe of Buhar guards on their side, they took a much different route than where Kanae and Red were originally headed. The group traveled backwards, retracing their steps to the prison dungeon. However, they stopped suddenly and faced the stone wall.

"What's going on?" Red furrowed her brows.

"This is the way to the ritual site where Nawan is being held," a harpy explained.

There was nothing but the cavern and half-built sandstone wall. Kanae walked up expecting to find an illusion or something. She did find something. The tunnel wall behind the sandstone bricks was different from the rest of the corridor. Its color was a darker gray and too smooth to have been excavated by pickaxes or explosives.

Kanae recalled Grahib, who was infused with an earthen elemental. He had the ability to control stone. Maybe someone with the same power closed an entrance.

"Titanic Blow!" Kanae threw a punch at the wall, but she succeeded only in hurting herself.

"Let me try. Curse of Fragility!" Red incanted a spell that made the stone crack and crumbly. She smashed the weakened wall with her club, punching a hole through to another more finished corridor than the one they were in.

"You can curse, too? Like a Curseweaver?" She gasped.

"Well, I don't have a long list like a Curseweaver does. Just a couple that gets the job done." The harpy winked.

It was clear someone had purposefully closed this to keep others out. Not any longer. The passage was a lot smaller, so they couldn't fly through like before. Kanae couldn't put her finger on what, but something in the stale air felt like a constant tug of war was happening. It grew hot, cold, thick, thin, suffocating, humid, and dry all at once.

"Red, wait. I need a second to prepare," Kanae said.

"Sure thing— Uh… What are you doing?" Red grimaced as Kanae transformed Cockcalibur into Titan's dreadmourn dick.

"I-I know how this looks, and it's exactly what you think. But I can temporarily obtain skills this way from past partners," she explained.

Kanae leaned against the wall and shoved the large equine cock into her pussy. She swallowed the urge to moan, since it might carry down the hall. Feeling his member again in all its warmth, throbbing, and the flared tip scraping deep within left her shuddering from an orgasm.

[Skill Drain has temporarily acquired the skill Coat of Conflagration.

Coat of Conflagration: Wreathe oneself in an inferno, granting Fire Immunity to magical and non-magical fire for the duration.]

Alright. That protected her from any fire-based attacks and spells. Next, some firepower.

Kanae willed Cockcalibur to turn into William Bellevue's human dick next. She pumped it a few times until his member climaxed a modest load.

[Skill Drain has temporarily acquired Smite.

Smite: At the cost of straining the body, infuse a weapon or object with incredible holy energy for a single attack. Explodes on impact. Undead, demon, and elementals are extra vulnerable.]

And finally…

Just because Kanae wanted something big again, she transformed Cockcalibur into the dick of a sand troll that nearly split her open. She trembled again. Fresh spunk and sweat ran down her thighs.

[Skill Drain has temporarily acquired the skill Sand Troll Regeneration.

Sand Troll Regeneration: The most powerful of all troll regeneration, regenerating even lost limbs and body parts as long as you aren't dealt a fatal blow. While active, healing spells do not affect you.]

Finally, Kanae activated Futanari to pull the Cock Ring of Hardening off and screwed it onto Cockcalibur.

"Okay… That's good enough," Kanae muttered.

"Are all succubi like you?" Red asked.

"I think some succubi would take offense to be likened to me. Heh. Sorry for keeping you waiting. Hopefully, I can even the playing field during a fight," she said.

They pressed on for what felt like ages. While not quite as deep as an underground dwarven city, wherever they were headed seemed to be deeper into the bowels of Buhar. They finally emerged from the corridor overlooking a ritual underway down below, on a small island framed by rushing water. Large stone pillars jutted from the ground, each inscribed with runic symbols glowing with magic. The cavernous chamber was exceedingly bright, not because of the many hanging metal braziers, but from a Rift-like tear in the center of the island.

The portal morphed and deformed violently. Flames occasionally flared out of it, cooling down into ice and melting to water before seeping back in. Pieces of stone and rubble were suspended in mid-air around it.

A circle of mystics stood around the edge of the island, all chanting and lending their magic that fed into the tear in space. They weren't the only ones present. Living elementals in vague humanoid forms, like the ones Kanae encountered in the Arkesian Wastes, were here. They seemed transfixed on the portal, heads bowed and kneeling. Only two figures were near it— Nasiri and Seven.

"I remember this place. The Harpy King brought me here personally. Asked if I wanted to join him in becoming something greater. Too bad for the fucker, you can't be infused without agreeing to it. Least, that's what they told me," Red explained.

"Which means Seven chose to come here of his own volition. Just what are you doing… Come on. We need to stop the ritual," Kanae implored.

They took flight and descended down to the underground island. Their approach didn't go unnoticed, not that Kanae intended to be sneaky to begin with. Nasiri and Seven spun around, but only one of them was surprised to see her.

"Kanae?!" Seven gasped.

"Tch. I told Kaseem to be careful. You two wait right there. I'll deal with you after Nawan meets his destiny," Nasiri said.

"Seven, don't! Being infused with an elemental lord might kill you!" Kanae shouted.

"Then maybe… I was never strong enough to amount to anything. It's probably better that way. I always talk a big game, but look at me. I can't do anything. Because I'm weak. But if I survive—"

"You're an idiot!" she yelled, taking him by surprise. "It's never about you alone. Haven't you noticed yet? Whenever you three are apart, of course you're weak. That's true for all of you. Kara, Theena, you. Even me, when I'm not with Arenade and Edina. Right now, I'm relying on a new friend. So, Seven. You can lean on us until we get you back to the others."

Seven squeezed his chest and fought back tears. He was wavering, and for whatever reason, the tear grew more violent. As long as he doubted wanting to be infused with an elemental, it was all they needed. Nasiri saw what they were doing and growled.

"The Harpy King achieved all this after fusing with an elemental lord. I was there when he finally conquered the skies and flew. Nawan, you can become king one day and protect all you hold dear!" Nasiri exclaimed.

"I… can?" Seven turned back to her.

"Screw off, Nasiri! Infusing an elemental lord is only something Ujit knows how to do anyway. You haven't achieved more than just a common elemental," Kanae taunted.

"Shut up! I'm so close. I've already done more than Ujit and Jahree could ever hope to accomplish. And when I achieve this, I'll show them I deserved to be Exalted Mystic all along. Faithful of Buhar, finish the ritual!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Magic swelled in the chamber like rising water. It drowned the space as shamans and other mystic classes channeled with greater intensity. The sigils on every stone pillar flashed more brightly, and the portal's chaotic elements boiled.

Nasiri guided Seven up to it and raised both arms.

"Heed me! I call upon the Primal Planes to send forth a champion. A willing host offers himself a nest to our world!" Nasiri bellowed.

The rushing streams to the sides of the island froze over instantly. In the next moment, they melted back into water and bubbled violently. Scalding steam gushed all over the place. The earth rumbled, and powerful winds coursed through the cavern.

"Attack the mystics! Stop the ritual!" Kanae ordered her charmed thralls.

"The ritual must not be interrupted! I don't care if the Harpy King wants them alive; kill them if you have to!" Nasiri demanded.

The elementals in the chamber rose to meet the charmed harpies in battle. More guards arrived in time to back them up, pouring from the entrance above.

"This isn't looking good!" Red squared up against two wind elementals.

"Coat of Conflagration!" Kanae draped herself in a layer of fire.

When a fiery elemental came right for her, it didn't expect to get clobbered away by a dildo. In the shape of her favorite, Titan's dick, and empowered by the Cock Ring of Hardening, her Cockcalibur became a massive bludgeoning weapon.

But fighting harpies and elementals wasn't enough. The ritual continued. It was looking like Nasiri might actually rip an elemental lord from the Primal Planes. Kanae searched for a way to stop them while being pursued.

"Wait… the pillars! Red, hit the pillars!" Kanae shouted.

The Knight of Red hurled her club into the nearest stone pillar, but it didn't so much as crack.

"Your curses! Weaken them!" Kanae added.

"Curse of Fragility— shit!"

Nasiri roundhouse kicked Red away. She unfurled her wings and skidded to a halt, then compelled her club to distract the harpy Monk.

"Smite!" While Nasiri was distracted, Kanae infused the giant dick with holy energy and pummeled the vulnerable side of the pillar.

"No!" Nasiri screamed.

The stonework crumbled. Magic dissipated, sending an outward ripple that knocked many of the shamans off their feet.

"Ow…" Kanae dropped down to one knee, her hands numb and arms in agony. "That felt like it hurt more than last time…"

"What's happening?" Seven cried from the portal.

It was beginning to fold into itself. Seven stood his ground and refused to leave. An intense heat erupted from one end and a frigid chill blasted out from the other.

"Run! The portal is collapsing! It's going to suck us all in!" someone shouted.

Panic ensued. All of the shamans and harpy guards made a run for the exit. Everyone, except Nasiri and the elementals.

"Get back here! We're not finished yet! We can still contain… arrghh! Fine. I'll do it myself." Nasiri reached into her bag and imbibed multiple mana potions. She put herself between Seven and the out of control portal to the Primal Planes. "Stay put, Nawan. I'll pry an elemental lord out of this portal if I must!"

The expulsion of energy subsided. Nasiri actually got the portal under control. She thrusted both hands into it and muttered an incantation. One arm blackened from being burned, and the other turned blue from frostbite. A visage of a thunder cloud took form around her shoulders, aiding her in whatever they were doing. That must be the elemental she was infused with.

Together, they called forth a silhouette. Large and intimidating, the shadow of a menacing elemental force loomed over them. Snowfall precipitated in the cavern, and it gradually grew colder and colder.

Every lesser elemental around stopped fighting and bowed. Their forms shuddered at the sight of what was coming, or who it was.

"I did it…" Nasiri erupted with unhinged laughter. "I've summoned an elemental lord. I'm one step closer to surpassing Ujit. Do you hear me, crone? I, Nasiri, will surpass you! One more step… Now, to bind with a willing host. Nawan, your time is now!"

"Seven, I don't know if it was you or the Harpy King that filled your head with nonsense about being weak. But I watched you grow stronger back in Kandis. Don't take the shortcut. You're better than this!" Kanae shouted.

"Listen to Kanae! You ain't weak, kid." Red landed behind them. "You don't know me, but I heard a little bit about you from Kanae when we were both stuck in prison. There's nothing stronger than wanting to protect your friends. Whatever this thing is will just be a crutch. You'll always be weak inside then, just like Nasiri. Like the Harpy King. Like the other idiots who accepted it."

"I… don't want this. I want to see Kara and Theena again!" Seven exclaimed and peeled away from Nasiri.

"I was promised a vessel!" a furious voice exploded from the portal, causing the entire cavern to rumble.

"No! No, wait!" The Thundering Dervish flashed with fear as a force pulled her deeper into the portal. "I was so close. I was so fucking close! This isn't over, Kanae! I will—"

Nasiri vanished into the Primal Planes. An intense force began to suck the elementals back in. They clawed and howled, only to be absorbed all the same. Seven tried to fly away, but the suction was too strong.

"I got you!" Kanae dove in and grabbed his hand.

"It's no use… You have to let go, or you're going to get sucked in! Tell Kara and Theena… I'm sorry, too!" Seven released his grip, but Kanae wasn't going to do the same.

"There's a whole lot to live, so it ain't anyone's time to go yet!" Red soared high into the cavern, made a wide berth around, and rocketed right for them. She knocked Kanae and Seven away, the impact throwing them behind one of the inert stone pillars. The trio huddled together as the portal's suction reached its peak… and finally waned.

They could finally breathe again now that the air wasn't being sucked away. Kanae poked her head out of the pillar, and the portal was gone. Only a floating crystal of ice emitting frost was left in its place. No sign of Nasiri or the other elementals.

"I'm gonna go look for my weapon. Hopefully, it didn't get sucked in. You still got yours, Amethyst?" Red asked.

"Yeah… I shoved it in just in the nick of time. It's kind of a tight fit though…" Kanae winced.

Red snickered.

"And you." Red glared at Seven. "Mighty brave of you to think about sacrificing yourself like that. There ain't a weak bone in that body of yours at all."

"Th-Thanks…" Seven blushed.

Red flew off to find her club, and Kanae laid down on the ground. Seven peered out of the stone monolith to watch the harpy woman go.

"Hey, Kanae? Your new friend is really p-pre— I mean, cool!" Seven gulped.

"Awww. Are you lovestruck?" Kanae sat upright and teased him.

"No! I just think she's cool, alright? Get off my back!" he groaned.