D.E.M.O.N.S: Getting Summoned Weekly isn't so Bad

— Kat —

Kat felt Hunter stiffen in her arms, a clear prelude to Hunter regaining movement. Kat debated what to do for a moment as she kept running but Hunter took the decision out of her hands. The lamia slipped out of Kat’s arms and hit ground hard, remaining in place, gazing backwards at the area they’d just ran away from.

The worms were hidden by a few corners so there was nothing for Hunter to see… but it was clear where she was looking.

Kat dug her feet into the ground to stop her charge forward and turned back to Hunter. “Is this really the time to be stopping?” asked Kat.

“I…” Hunter started to speak but paused and looked between Kat and the path they’d just come from. “Perhaps not… but can we take the chance to rest here? I can use my aura to ensure that we aren’t noticed,”

“And it won’t be an issue with your demonic energy so low?” asked Kat.

“No,” stated Hunter.

Kat glared back. *I really want to say no myself. The only reason I think you’re telling the truth is because you literally can’t lie. Even then I’m still unsure if it’s actually the truth. I guess… I’ll agree but perhaps be a bit mean about it.* “I’ll allow it as long as you actually talk about your issues, at least a bit,” stated Kat.

“I do not like this ultimatum but I understand I need to accept it,” said Hunter as she shuffled over to one of the old worm pits. Kat followed and soon she felt a wave of… something pass over them, probably Hunter’s aura.

Kat decided to sit down against the wall and watched Hunter as the lamia stared out towards the rest of the cave. Kat decided to give the lamia a bit of time before she said anything. After a few minutes and no sign of worms Hunter turned away from the hole but didn’t sit down. Kat decided to prod her a bit, “So… what can you tell me?”

“I… am unsure. I do not believe I could talk about the incident itself but I may be able to give you sufficient clues. As I am sure you’ve already worked out I have a deep problem with corpse worms. Some of these reasons are relating to what they do to the environment. When I was much younger one of the things covered by the clan was why keeping an ecosystem in good health is important.

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“When I was younger I found the idea of corpse worms taking over the planet to be horrifying. Unlike many other animals where things can recover somewhat… with corpse worms it’s simply the end of everything including the worms themselves. A world taken over by corpse worm is a world with nothing alive on its surface. That was what started my fear of them.

“Of course, to help combat that fear I learnt as much as I could about them so that I could ensure that when on a hunt they would be dealt with in a more complete fashion then other targets. I was determined to wipe them out completely instead of just hunting one or two at a time. That’s also when I found out that the one example of corpse worms taking over a planet? Nearly impossible to happen.

Certainly a rare event.

“In the case I heard about there was an issue with the sun in the solar system the planet belonged to. A great fire raged across the entire planet burning all of the forests and chocking out the air. The corpse worms were able to feast on all of the corpses… and there was almost no water left, including oceans.

The planet was already more of a desert planet then anything else so what large bodies of water once graced its surface were evaporated in the same even that caused the fires.

“On top of that, there wasn’t anything too strong on the planet. Mostly just Rank 1’s and 2’s with the very rare rank 3. Even THEN the worms only ended up ‘winning’ the fight for dominance because the two strongest creatures, a giant worm and a drake, fought it out and both lost.

The worms got to their corpses and then destroyed the rest of the world with them, spreading their rot and decay across the planet.

“Of course, this only happened because the worms were already a big issue on the planet. Because apparently even having all of the other factors lining up was just the finale. No, the thing that allowed it to happen at all was a particularly cruel mage that hated the world. They spread the worms all over the world intentionally before they passed away themselves,”

Hunter stopped speaking and Kat didn’t say anything, allowing Hunter her silence. It was clear that she didn’t want to move onto whatever the next point was now that she’d covered how rare corpse worm takeovers were. Kat just waited patiently. None of this was completely new information, but Hunter was trying, and for now that was enough for Kat.

It would be ideal if Hunter managed the courage to talk about the complete issue, but that didn’t seem likely. Still, Kat would take what she could get.

Eventually, Hunter had gathered herself enough to keep going. “So… as I said earlier I do not believe I can speak on the specifics. Let’s just say that my original fear of corpse worms was the fear of a child. Of a scary, creepy thing that I did not fully understand and seemed quite horrific on the surface.

I had no true understanding of how easily they died, nor how many other species will viciously attack them for existing. Even still… I mention this because it shows you how my fears involving them start.

“They were mostly abstract, in the same way that many fear death, or being forgotten, or perhaps dragons for many races other than demons. They were something to fear in the abstract. I had not met them, they simply sounded like something I would never wish to involve myself with. In some ways more so after I learnt about them.

I found out how easy they were to kill, and the hunter in me feels no desire to take down easy foes. I might make an exception for food… but from what I have heard corpse worms taste horrible and I have no desire to test that particular rumour.

“Alas, things finally happened when I was in my forties. I really do not want to go into the specifics…” Hunter’s jaw clenched as she looked around the room as if there was some path to escape this conversation. Kat glanced at the hole Hunter had made earlier, and clear exit point. Hunter pointedly did not, so Kat kept herself quiet and waited. “No I don’t think I can.

“What can I say? Not much. I do not want to give the wrong impression, but I also do not wish to talk about the correct series of events. I appear to be somewhat at my limit for talking about this… but you have been more than patient with me. I forced the issue multiple times and you followed me with at most, minimal complaint.

I want to give you more information, allow you to come to some understanding…

“But I am unsure how. As stated I do not wish to properly consider the incident, though I also do not wish to improperly represent it. The experience was horrible, and scarred me mentally in ways that even now I seem to not fully comprehend. It has been quite some time since I even thought about the worms. At the same I am aware it could potentially have been much worse.

I have heard more horrifying stories from my clansmen… but those stories have not happened to me. Not matter how much I may empathise.” Hunter trailed off again, looking towards the ceiling this time.

Kat found she wasn’t sure what to say. There were just too many potential options. *What does she consider ‘worse’? What could have happened to traumatise Hunter like this? She seemed so strong and so capable even with her issues… and now she can’t do more than vaguely hint at the real problem. I know I twisted her arm a bit to get this far… but it still wasn’t enough.

Perhaps I was taking it lightly? I mean… I felt like I was giving this the seriousness it deserved…

But I suppose I haven’t experienced anything too traumatic. Even that time I had my heart destroyed twice in a row… I recovered from that pretty quickly. It wasn’t fatal, and it took less time to heal for me, then others take for broken bones. I’ve taken a lot of injuries… but healed from them in moments. I just don’t know. It’s so hard to know.

There’s not just ‘a world of possibilities’ by multiple worlds. It’s so very unclear. I can only hope that I can help… which I guess is the issue. How much do I push?*