"RrrrrHhhGGGHgr!"
Across the Nightmare Clan's territory, the Nightmare Lord let out a monstrous bellow. His mind was drowned in the frenzy of the spreading corruption.
Without hesitation, without sanity he tore through his own kin, dream-warped horrors falling beneath his claws. With a violent crash of wings, he shot toward the Fallen Land drawn to its source.
Scenes like this were erupting everywhere.
The stronger the demon, the deeper the corruption burrowed, ripping at reason, urging them toward madness.
Even the Succubus Elder beside Soren felt her pupils trembling, her expression flickering between control and feral hunger, before she wrestled the influence down.
But her aura wavered, tinged with a sickly crimson.
Soren, meanwhile, felt almost nothing. So this is the corruption everyone's terrified of?
It made sense, He wasn't born of this plane and its will had no strings tied to him. He was an outsider, and the corruption couldn't latch onto something that didn't belong.
"Soren… it seems we now share the same target as the prophecy." The Great Elder steadied herself with a breath.
Her voice trembled, but she had a strange spark in her eyes.
"…What makes you say that?"
She met his gaze, her expression solemn. "When the corruption surged, I saw a vision… a figure in the Fallen Land, completely consumed by that evil aura. He isn't tainted… he's become the avatar of the Fallen Origin itself."
"A puppet carrying out the will of that blight."
She didn't speak the name, but Soren didn't need her to.
His spine tightened, there was only one person he knew who could do this.
Mephisto.
That old monster hadn't died from his injuries. Worse, he'd been swallowed whole by the very essence that was poisoning the plane.
He was now a vessel of something far more malignant.
Soren let out a breath between. "That bastard just refuses to die… and now he's dragging the whole Abyss down too."
"Soren. Whether for your own vengeance, or for the survival of this plane… we beg you to act." The Elder stepped closer, her tone firm despite the lingering corruption staining her aura.
"And know this, my succubus clan will stand by your side without hesitation."
Soren sighed quietly.
He knew what she wanted… what the entire Abyss now needed. And she wasn't wrong.
"Fine," He said after a moment. "Tell me everything you know about the Fallen Land."
A faint smile touched her lips. She gestured for him to follow and together they left the stone halls and arched passages, emerging back into open air.
But the moment they stepped outside…
The territory that once looked like a paradise sculpted from dark beauty… lush flora, gentle illusions, warm demonic radiance was gone.
Under the wave of corruption, the land had begun to dye itself the color of death.
The sky dimmed, as if coated in ash.
Flowers shriveled in seconds, their petals blackening and falling like burnt feathers.
Demonic beasts screeched in agony as twisted veins crawled across their skin, even the air felt sour with decay.
"This… this is only the beginning. If the Fallen Land continues erupting like this…" The Elder's voice trembled, she didn't finish.
Soren was already staring toward the horizon, the direction where the corruption thickened into churning darkness.
The sky over the succubus territory bled into red.
Screams were heard as the first wave of corruption tore through the enclave.
Dozens of succubi bent where they stood, their eyes turning a violent, glossy crimson before their minds shattered under the influence. Like a spark hitting oil, they erupted into a frenzy.
They pounced on the nearest clanswomen.
Those who still had their sanity recoiled, trying not to harm their own kin, but the corrupted ones were relentless.
Wings whipped the air, and elegant forms twisted into predatory silhouettes.
Several sensible succubi were overwhelmed and injured, dragged to the ground by sisters who no longer recognized them.
"AAH!" A anguished breath escaped the Great Elder.
She tore through the air appearing directly in front of the maddened succubi.
Her movements were clean, every sweep of her arm knocked someone aside and carried a controlled burst of power that sent corrupted succubi crashing into the ground.
"…" Soren was genuinely taken aback.
She had told him that the succubus race wasn't strong.
But this was strength born of centuries… yet even that wasn't enough.
For every corrupted succubus she knocked unconscious, another one staggered back to her feet moments later. Something in that evil aura was puppeteering their bodies, forcing them to ignore their pain and even broken bones.
Their pupils glowed red, and they moved with frantic strength.
Soren's frown deepened, the Great Elder was powerful. But the corruption simply didn't stop.
Around them, the situation spiraled, more succubi fell. Some regained sanity for a moment only to be ripped apart by the corrupted.
Pain flashed through the Elder's eyes as she fought. This was her people… her daughters in all but blood devouring each other.
Her hands trembled as she looked at the fallen.
At the dying, at the ones still succumbing.
"If we hesitate, more will die." Her voice seemed to break. Then her eyes rose, as if she'd carved her resolve completely.
"All units… kill the corrupted with full force!"
Soren hadn't expected her to go that far.
But she wasn't wrong, the Blackened ones were far too dangerous. Even if he acted, it might already be too late for most of them.
He took in the sight~
The succubi once known for their beauty and enchanting charm had transformed into something unrecognizable.
Their spines jutted like bone spears from their shoulder blades, tearing through once-delicate skin. Black demonic sigils crawled across their pale bodies like tattoos, pulsing with an unholy rhythm.
They looked like nightmares, still eerily alluring in a way that only something monstrous could be.
And every one of them was mad.
"Do it." The Elder clenched her jaw, voice raw with pain but unwavering.
"Before the corruption spreads any further, kill them."