Moonlight Demon (GL LITRPG)

Now that it was actually time to prepare for the next fight, Ash realized just how much she was risking. As she put her gauntlets on, Ash took a deep breath, remembering the creature she was now about to begin training to defeat. 

Keiko and Kaori both sat at a bench to the back. Yumi stood nearby, waiting for her to indicate that she was ready. 

"A creature like that, one which holds supreme power and surprising speed, must be beaten with precision and timing," Yumi told her. "From what I've seen during our training sessions, you rely on a sort of wild instinct to guide you through your fights. Such a thing will not only not work here, but this kind of attitude will actively hurt you against this foe. If you wish to defeat this demon, your every move will need to be planned out beforehand. Your every step and swing of your gauntlets must be calculated. If you make even a single move which you did not mean to make, you could find yourself being crushed under its sword." 

So,  Ash thought,  what you're saying is that this guy pretty much counters me completely? 

As much as she wished she could be the cold and calculating type in battle, from the very start of this journey that just hadn't been her style. 

Hope it's not too late to learn, I guess.

"Okay, so how do we do this? Are there some fucking manuals I need to be reading or what?" 

"Hehe, no. We're just going to do some simple exercises like we did the last time. I'm going to attack you, but I'm going to do it somewhat slowly, so you can plan ahead. That's all you need to focus on here. You don't need to think too far ahead, just make sure that your next move isn't entirely improvised. If you can do that, you will stand a better chance against this demon. Are you ready to begin?" Yumi asked. 

Ash nodded and with that, the training session began properly. 

True to her word, Yumi used her naginata with long, drawn-out movements. Attacks that always gave Ash just enough time to think of possible counters. Still, it was hard for her. This had never been Ash's way of fighting and doing this now simply felt awkward. Thankfully, due to their previous sessions, this wasn't her first time ever trying to fight this way, but she still felt like she was out of her comfort zone. 

"Do not think in terms of bursts, think in terms of sequences, Ash!" Yumi advised her as she brought her naginata up and looked to slam it down on Ash's head. 

Sequences huh?  Ash thought as she saw her blade approaching.  Okay...  So, Ash made a small plan. She'd dodge to the left and then go for a stab at Yumi's midsection. Ash sidestepped and then, lunged forwards. Yumi smirked and then, she allowed Ash's gauntlet to pass through the space between Yumi's arms, and then went behind Ash and restrained her with the wooden shaft of her naginata. 

"What will you do now?" Yumi asked in her ears as she pulled back harshly on her naginata, pressing them into Ash's abs. 

What do I...? 

The only thing that came to Ash's mind did not involve her gauntlets. She leaned forwards and thrust her head back, nearly smashing it into Yumi's own. 

"Good!" Yumi said as she broke the hold and retreated. "You could have followed up on that though. Sequences, Ash. Sequences!" 

Ash nodded.  Right. Think combos, combos. 

Her next move, Ash ran up to go for a swipe at Yumi's head but the woman anticipated that and swept her naginata across the floor. Ash ended up having to jump to prevent herself from being tripped. Hovering in midair, about to land just in front of Yumi, Ash tried to think of something. 

One attack came to her mind, but Ash wondered if she had the Dexterity to pull it off. Still, it was all she thought of so she tried it. She rolled forwards, and went for a stab.  Yumi noticed this and moved to block, which was what Ash had anticipated. 

So, mid-swing, Ash changed and instead said:

"Corruption spread, corruption launch!" And aimed a Dark spell at Yumi's chest. Yumi's eyes widened, but even though Ash was so close, she still managed to dodge in time. 

However, after she spun away from the sphere, she looked back at Ash with a smile. 

"You're a quick learner. That was very good. Had my stats been lower, I would have been caught by that." Yumi told her and Ash chuckled. 

"Hahaha, holy shit, thanks." 

Being complimented like this, Ash really felt like she was taking the right steps towards where she needed to be to win later. Still, she knew the odds weren't in her favor. 

If all else fails, I've still got that Magia power. I think this thing is a Wrath demon, so it probably won't fall for the whole "hey, let's fuck, not fight" thing, but I can probably summon a bunch of huge swords and try to drop them on the thing's head. Even then, will that actually kill it? 

Ash asked herself that as Yumi allowed her to take a small break. 

The demon's level 90... That means, assuming that demons don't train at all or that they trained before but stop training once they become demons, this thing might have at least two stats that are at around 100. Which ones though? When I saw it, I didn't get to see it fight much, but as bulky as the thing looks, one of them has to be Strength. Which would the other one be though? Con? Dex? It had a lot of mana too, though I don't remember how much exactly, but that means its Wisdom has to be pretty high, which means it can also use spells. 

Ash sighed to herself. 

Give me a fucking break. What kind of fighter is that thing? Who the hell even was that Savior and how did they end up getting turned into a Nightmare? 

"Let me know when you are ready to proceed, Ash," Yumi interrupted her thoughts. "We have all day for this. Take your time." 

"... I'm ready," Ash nodded. "Let's keep going." 

With that, their training continued, and so too did Ash's worries mount on top of each other. 

---

Eliza

Many people had ways of dealing with stress. Some chose to eat, others chose to drink, some would visit a brothel for a night and wake up with a hangover, and some regrets. Eliza though, had a fairly simple routine that she was about to perform now.

After ensuring that the civilians at the Grey Chamber were being taken care of adequately, the Lord of Onyx went back to her chambers, a pristine room with exquisite furniture and gaudy decorations placed all over, and here, she searched for a blank book near her bed. There was a chair in front of it where Eliza sat down. Along with the book, there was also a pen. She picked it up and began to jot down what had been happening. 

"The demons have made too much progress in too little time,"  Eliza wrote.  "The sad part is that with how effective some of our machinery has been against them, our crossbows and barricades specifically, I can confidently say that if we had more time, we would have been able to hold out rather easily. Instead, we are being pressured as I write this, and tonight... The demons could very well arrive at the Grey Chamber itself." 

Eliza took a deep breath, as a maid came into the room, holding a bottle of expensive wine. 

"Milady," the maid said and Eliza took the bottle. 

"Thank you," Eliza muttered, placing it on the desk before she continued. 

"However, there is one factor that we have been preparing which could prove to be of use. The Lust demons. Lust demons, plural, of course, because we did manage to capture a couple in the last two nights. These demons were essentially handed over the sex workers we commissioned earlier and, well, the results have been... Interesting." 

Eliza recalled something she'd seen during the experiments and her heart rate sped up a little. She gulped down some saliva that she hadn't noticed was starting to build up in her mouth and she crossed her legs. 

"Thanks to the experiments, I am now convinced that the mere presence of Lust demons contain mind-altering properties. As I... Have felt urgers upon seeing them engage with the sex workers that I attribute entirely to their demonic nature."

She wrote this, trying her hardest not to put a hand between her legs and instead, continue writing.

"As interesting as this might be from a scientific perspective though, when it comes to the practical combat-related results, we have identified that what we assumed would happen did occur... Or maybe, half-occurred. See," Eliza wrote, "The demons do become protective of those they have sex with, but  *only* those they have sex with. They will not fight for our entire army, but individuals within that army. Further testing though has shown that if the person they had intercourse with is threatened," she wrote, remembering one moment where they had a random soldier try to stab one of the prostitutes and see how the demon would react, "the monsters will not hesitate to step forwards, on behalf of the one they have become attached to. This means that, if we put these subjects out in the city, during the battle, the chances that the Lust demons will fight to protect them are, we assume, high. Which is good... But we would need many more Lust demons for it to make a difference." 

Eliza briefly put her pen down and stretched, cracking her back before continuing. 

"So, that is why one of the... hidden directives I have given my soldiers for tonight is, that should we win the battle, or at least hold the demons off from the Grey Chamber, they must attempt to capture as many of these Lust demons as possible. We will see what happens later, I suppose. If we survive though, I will continue to write the results of these experiments as I see them. May Alkoth, and Magia, I suppose, bless us." 

With that, Eliza put her pen down for good and poured herself some of that wine, hoping it dull her mind for at least a little while.