Akatsuki handed them each a scarf to wear over their noses and below, "Soaked in piss, it mitigates the incubus smell."
"Your piss?" Sabreman scowled.
"Naturally." She replied.
"Not my cup of tea," Amelia said, but wrapped the thing around her face regardless, so long as it's yours...
Akatsuki had a smirk behind her eyes while she watched Amelia. She could tell the woman had some ideas of what she wanted to get done, but then broke the staredown they'd found themselves in. "Mature incubi will attack males out of bestial territorial instinct. Prepare yourself, Sabreman."
"I've got a few gifts from the factorum to try out. I will go last," he said, "I'll set this cavern with some new types of bombs specifically for their kind. I need you two to hold its attention. If by the time I'm done, you have not killed it, let it attack me."
They nodded.
"How are you doing, Carbyne?" Akatsuki asked.
"Healed, I can take the front."
She followed Akatsuki up the slope into the dank atmosphere of the next room. The woman made herself scarce immediately, and Amelia looked around to see exhausted pregnant women dribbling on the floor with their orifices gaping. Revulsion made her clench her club as she followed the trail to a purple-skinned man about her height who stared back at her with the stare of a ram. He took up a whip and a club.
"Submit." He said in a voice that would make a fangirl cream herself.
Amelia spat in his direction and readied herself for combat, toughening her skin and increasing her density. He looked of average strength by his muscles, but no doubt that his inhuman body was a strength steroid.
The pain from her last battle was still fresh in the front of her mind, but the excitement at bringing down this motherfucker was thrilling, "Bring it, cunt."
One-on-one, discipline taught by Dornwald and the other fighters applied very well, considering he was human-sized. He ran like a frenzied dog that smelled pheromones. She blocked his strike, kept her footwork at dashes. Swung appendage after appendage without breaking her guard. His hits had dense weight to them, but she could manage. The appendage whips rake his flesh, caught his whip, so she could go for a swing with her club and bash his. They traded parries of their clubs for a short stretch before he spawned two more arms that did some kind of hand sign, and shadows raced toward her. She spawned the wings and lifted off the ground just before a pike made of the obsidian substance would've impaled her from arsehole to head.
The clank and thunk of a heavy crossbow bolt tore through one of its arms. The incubus whirled around, and Amelia descended on him with a full swing. He stepped aside and kicked her shield. Her density was too high for it to move her, and she forced him down. He scrambled over and called more shadows to form a clone. The clone engaged her while the real one hunted down Akatsuki. Amelia broke the clone's arm with a swing. Thrust her shield forward against its fist to push it back while she snapped the appendage whips at it to rend flesh. The real one turned around. Her senses turned her skin cold. Her appendages were shredded by red shadows. Another bolt from Akatsuki's crossbow tore through one of the pillars and impaled the clone against the wall.
Amelia lifted herself into the air by her wings, her right leg barely avoided being torn off, but she had lost the majority of feeling. She looked down to see that she bled badly, the flesh torn off to reveal muscle and bone underneath. She ground her teeth to stifle the shout and found herself on defence as the incubi leapt up to kill her with their clubs. She matches its swing. It fell and caught another crossbow bolt to the side. It yanked the thing out and hurled it back in Akatsuki's direction.
The sound of the crossbow clattering against the ground after the bolt hit stone was the only answer.
"Demon!" Sabreman shouted.
The incubus dashed on all fours in a frenzy toward him. Sabreman pulled out a lance that had a blunt silver tip and a heavy shield. The incubus dodged to the side. Sabreman thrust out the lance, which the incubus gripped the tip of.
The tip exploded in a bright light. Amelia's eyes adjusted just enough to see that Sabreman wore a visor over his eyes. He tumbled around the Incubus and drop-kicked it back into the tunnel. It tripped over a wire, and vapour rapidly filled the cavern. It choked, then began to suffocate as Sabreman tossed in what Amelia assumed was a grenade that exploded with more vapour that condensed on contact with its skin. The incubus writhed and fell motionless seconds later.
"A man who rejects God makes use of holy water." Akatsuki swaggered out with her heavy crossbow over her shoulder and a few dead imps linked to some chains. Amelia noted their dicks. Why the hell are they all so big when those creatures are barely four fucking feet tall?
"All is for victory, as you'd say."
She laughed wryly, "Perhaps we may get along on some footnotes."
"That was awesome, Sabreman." Amelia landed and sat down while her leg started to string itself back together.
"Your leg," he said, "Are you-"
She raised a hand, "Just let me eat some of that incubus, I could use a boost, more muscles, a bigger dick like those imps..."
"Don't mind her." Akatsuki said, "It's my fault, in truth."
He arched an eyebrow, "I heard chatter among her keepers, do you all have sex with Carbyne?"
"You want to join in?" Akatsuki lazily grinned, "I'm sure she'll let you have some."
"Sex weakens a man's mind in combat," he retorted, "But once we're done with the dungeon, I would like to treat you all to some of my sister's homemade wine and draught beer."
"We're not finished yet," Akatsuki said, "There's at least two more chambers, more babies and cultists to put to rest." She dropped the imps by Amelia's side, "Dig in, Sabreman's being friendly since he lost his eye, perhaps he sees with more perspective."
"Knave," he spat.
Akatsuki tittered under her breath, "I think he likes you."
"No, really?"
"Why's a prick like Sabreman being so nice?"
"I rarely get to exchange ideas with another person, is all," he said, "People must be willing to challenge their thoughts on every matter, it's why I've made the choices I have."
"I'm not interested in your theoretics and presocratism," she said, "Deeds, acts, works." She gripped her knife, "That's why the Kell were successful until we were overwhelmed, and why they still keep me around. Violence is equality."
Amelia glanced at Sabreman, "Come here, Sabre." She gently crooked a finger.
Once Sabreman was close, she looked up at his handsome scarred face, "Why do you choose not to believe?"
"That is a long story."
"Then be sure to tell me in my tent."
After consuming the imps, Amelia marched with them into the remaining chambers; lesser succubi, incubi and human hybrids were all that remained. Easily shot down by Akatsuki's heavy crossbow, any remnants met Amelia's club while Sabreman operated his own smaller crossbow to bring them down. Crushed bodies, bodies ripped to pieces and staked to the chest by wooden bolts. Cold, indifferent killing, except the excitement that made Akatsuki smile as if she were riding high after high in ecstatic orgasm.
The young they spawned from the cultist women who trembled in fear were executed by Akatsuki while Amelia knelt down to the frightened young women who had their fingers severed and hair torn from their bodies. Only one of them seemed to truly be alive; the others had blank lightless, docile eyes like their minds had been wiped. The bruises and cuts all over their body from demonic abuse tightened Amelia's grip on her club.
"Are you Morgulith?" she asked.
"Is Harrion alive? Please tell me Mining Commander Harrion is still alive?"
Amelia looked back at Akatsuki, who shook her head, "He is confirmed deceased. You are Maya Dain, Harrion's wife?"
"Yes! Please, take us with you, we swear we're not what they say we are."
"After that treatment they put you through, it's a miracle even you alone can speak." Sabreman said, "We'll keep you safe."
"Amelia." Akatsuki nodded, "Soldiers will catch up soon, Sabreman. Remain with them and set up your... factorum in case we do not come back."
"I'll be sure to kill you both if you die and leave me to face the Hamalaspawn alone," he spat and unpacked a few sacks from his bag.
The next room over was a large chamber full of dead trees, dead branches like the skeletal hands of the dead that reached out in worship to a sun they'd never see. The stink was pungent enough to pierce the rag. Dead in the middle, bodies on pikes, some were on the floor with their stomachs cut open by a jagged tool. Their intestines had been torn out. Akatsuki went ahead and knelt. Amelia hesitated but dashed to keep up with her.
"They had their wombs removed." She scowled.
"The succubus I killed said Ephem's plans were complete," she gritted her teeth, "I arrived too late."
Akatsuki's glare softened, "There are no enemies here," she looked around, "Only atrocity."
Amelia took the time to burn this sight into memory: The men were beaten until their skulls and rib cages caved in. The women were more than likely raped right before their eyes while the demonspawn laughed and joyed at the act, the imps that came out would've... done the same. Then they were... she slammed her club against the ground.
"We're winning this shit."
Akatsuki rose to her feet and loaded her heavy crossbow, "Bloody flaming right we are."