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City of Demons (Halloween Havoc no. 13)

by Sigma

I

The Woman in Red stood on a distant hill, eyeing the black orb that hovered over the dead city. A cold wind picked up, tossing her dark hair about as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her long coat.

She then glanced up at the gray, silent sky when something glinted and pierced the clouds in its descent toward the urban ruins.

A smile crossed her face. “So it begins…Hello number 7.” she said to herself. Flames wrapped around her and she vanished.

II

A young woman in ruined shoes darted through twisted concrete and broken glass, looking over her shoulder every few seconds. The cackling from the shadows of the buildings pushed her onward as she vaulted over obstacles and kept going. Her lungs burned from exertion, her heart threatened to burst in her chest, but getting caught by the things that hunted her was a fate worse than death, and so she continued to run.

She slid to a stop and fell to her knees when she came to a dead end at the exposed guts of an old government building. Glowing eyes from inside watched her and hungry mouths filled with razors grinned as a small army of demons emerged from the shadows and began climbing down to approach the girl. She stepped back, but was cut off by more of the grotesque creatures. Their bodies where all horns and fur and lean muscles, and they eyed her with murderous intent.

Suddenly, everyone’s attention was pulled to the sound of a boom in the sky. The glider plunged toward the rocky, ruined earth and what was left of the city, its dagger-like exterior cutting through the air. It whipped past crumbling skyscrapers and collapsed apartment buildings, correcting and flying parallel to the crowd when it was only a few feet above.

And then someone dropped from it.

She landed behind the girl with an impact that left a small crater underneath her, and when she stood to her full, impressive height, many of the demons backed away. She was a tall woman, with flowing blonde hair and shapely figured contained by a light gray outfit that left little to the imagination. She held a sword in her hand, almost as long as she was tall. Its blade glinted and she challenged the demons around her and the girl while the glider took off and disappeared back into the sky. Her green eyes scanned her enemies and her full, pink lips, stretched into a smirk as she raised her sword.

“All right then...who’s first?” she challenged the demons. They hesitated, none of them seeming to know what to make of this new arrival, and so she began thinking about who to attack first. She looked up at the roof of a nearby building and saw the Woman in Red watching over the scene, but before she could think on her presence, one demon let out a shrill cry and leapt at her.

The warrior woman from the sky nodded and held her blade, timing her counterattack as the demon closed in. With a flash of steel and a lightning-fast move, the demon’s head flew from its shoulders and fell to the ground, several feet from its body. The warrior woman knelt some distance away, holding her sword at her side and the demons began shrieking and hollering in excitement. As one, they attacked, a moving tide of scales and claws, intending to tear the warrior woman apart.

***

The battle lasted 10 minutes, the warrior woman stood staring at the black sphere that hang in the dead sky. Her costume was shredded, the few scraps barely covering her shapely curves and slim, toned body. Behind her, the girl that had been fleeing the demons stepped over the slain creatures, looking around in shock as as she approached the woman holding the massive sword.

“Umm…” the girl started.

The woman turned around and regarded her. “Get to safety. I don’t know if more of those things are coming.”

“Who are you?” The girl asked.

“The savior of humanity,” a third voice spoke.

The warrior woman spun and swung her sword when she realized the voice was coming from behind her, and the razor sharp blade stopped just centimeter’s from the Woman in Red’s neck. She smiled, unphased by the near attack. “That was quite the show, my friend.”

The warrior woman lowered her sword.

“You there. Girl,” the Woman in Red said. “Go back to your shelter. There aren’t any demons roaming, but that could change any moment.”

The girl nodded and stepped around the two, looking at the woman holding the sword. “Thank you for saving me!” she said before running off.

The Woman in Red watched her go and then turned to the woman holding the sword. “It was a valiant thing you did, saving that girl’s life. There are so few of them left these days, ever since that accursed thing showed up,” she pointed at the black orb.

“Who are you?” The warrior woman asked.

“Ah, yes, apologies. Cassia Redwood, traveler, occultist, witness,” she introduced herself with a bow.

“Witness to what?” the warrior woman asked.

“The last days of mankind, of course. To think, it all started here,” Cassia said, stretching her arms out and motioning. “They once called this place Delta City. It wasn’t the crown jewel of its home country, but it had its charm.”

“Well, it ends here, too,” the warrior woman said, walking past Cassia. “Excuse me.”

“Humor me. What is your name?” Cassia asked, walking alongside her. 

“Gaia.”

“A lovely name,” Cassia said. “You’re quite the formidable warrior. The demons clearly have something to fear, finally.”

Gaia paused and looked back at Cassia and then at her handiwork of slain demons. “Yes. I am going to kill every last one of them.”

“Oh, of that, I have no doubt,” Cassia said to her. She ran her pale hands across Gaia’s shoulders and down her bare arms and naked hips. “Like the war goddesses of old, come down to smite the wicked and the evil. You are the hand of vengeance, hmm?”

Gaia winced at Cassia’s touch, a strange sensation running through her skin, causing her to gasp out of reflex when Cassia placed a slim hand on her right breast. She wanted to pull away, but her body seemed to fight her, seemed to hunger for whatever it was this strange woman in red was doing.

“Do you know what those demons were going to do to that poor girl had you not come along?”

“Devour her?” Gaia asks, biting her lip. She looked at Cassia, noticing the unblemished pale flesh of her chest contained by her red bustier. She tried to look away, tried to put her thoughts elsewhere, but all she could think of all of a sudden was the this odd woman’s naked body and her delicate touch.

“Eventually…” Cassia said, running her hand down Gaia’s tight stomach. “But first, they would have stripped her and violated her over, and over, and over. That’s what these monsters do. They arrive in vessels like that obscene orb there and they flood the world. They breed with the women to make more of them, and eventually the world’s population is exterminated and the planet dies. The people of this world fought them and they fought them hard, but those who couldn’t flee were eventually forced underground and risk their lives constantly on the surface for what meager resources remain.”

“That’s why these monsters must perish,” Gaia said.

“Indeed…” Cassia slipped her fingers between Gaia’s legs, toying with the shaved mound. “Their depraved carnality knows no end. Had you not been strong enough, the same would have happened to you, dear. You would have been their plaything, their little piece of supple, blonde haired meat.”

Gaia moaned when Cassia slid her fingers in between her legs and began toying with her. She tightened her grip on her sword, her nipples were erect, and she involuntarily bit her own lip. “I have to…” Gaia fought the sensation. “I need to find the one they call their Queen...this ends when I kill her.”

Cassia smiled and pulled her finger out of Gaia, the tips damp with her juices. “You seek the tower, right beneath the orb. It’s a short walk from here. The creatures that lurk within the tower are far, far more dangerous than what you’ll find out here. The Queen keeps her strongest disciples close. So prepare yourself.”

Gaia’s skin was flush. It took her a moment to process what Cassia had just told her as the feelings of pleasure waned. She then nodded, turned, and began walking.

Cassia licked Gaia’s taste from her fingers and followed behind her. “You’re going to need a guide, and fortunately my schedule is free today.”

Gaia eyed Cassia, who simply smiled at her, and the two continued on in silence through broken, cracked streets lined by crumbling buildings. They walked toward a tall, mostly intact tower directly below the black orb, a building with a large letter W on its surface near the top.

***

“You will suffer, as is the fate of all mortals…” the demon promised, its breath hot and stinking of sulfur. Gaia breathed deep, eyeing her sword, embedded in the ground behind the demon. They were in the cavernous space that was once the building’s main lobby, but was now a nest for this creature that guarded the entryway.

The creature was twice Gaia’s size, all horns and solid muscle, with a thick tail on its back and razor teeth in its snout. It narrowed glowing eyes at her and licked its lip. “It is always amusing to find one who still has some mettle on this world. Still, I will grind you to dust just as I have the other challengers. I will present your broken body to my queen, just like the others.”

Gaia looked over at Cassia, who sat on top of a pile of human bones, trophies, and examined a skull in her hands. “Your eyes should be on him, Gaia,” Cassia pointed.

Gaia turned and screamed when the demon ran and punched her, hitting her hard enough to send her into a nearby wall. The demon charged and attempted to ram Gaia, but she rolled to the side and the demon slammed into the wall hard enough to make the room shake. He shook his head and grunted when Gaia grabbed his tail.

With a grunt of effort and a strain of her muscles, she flung the demon across the room, into the opposite wall. When the beast was airborne, Gaia ran and grabbed her sword and leapt at the monster. She landed on his chest and plunged the weapon into the thick muscles, pushing deep with all of her strength.

The demon growled and grabbed her arms with his massive hands. With a strain of effort, he pushed her away, forcing the sword out, and then slammed the busty blonde to the ground. Gaia cried out as the wind was knocked out of her body and then she groaned again when the demon stomped a foot down on her head hard enough to leave a crater under her. He stepped back and Gaia lay there, spread before her attacker, moaning.

The demon looked at the deep wound in his chest and chuckled, tasting his own blood. “In all my centuries of slaughter, on the many worlds I have burned, no mortal has ever wounded me like this.”

Gaia rolled over and pushed herself up, only to get stomped into the ground again. The demon then grabbed her by her hair and lifted her up. He drew a clawed fingers across her supple, vulnerable body while licking his lips. “I have shall my fun with you,” he promised. He grunted when she swung a fist back and hit him in the snout, and then he then slammed her hard back into the ground.

Gaia grunted and growled as the demon grabbed both of her arms with one hand, held them behind her and forced her to her feet before he bent her over at the waist.

“What are you doing?” she screamed as the demon ripped off her bikini-like bottoms. She then screamed when the beast rammed his massive cock into her plump ass. Gaia bit her lip, moaning lightly as the demon pushed his length in and then thrust in and out, chuckling as his hips slammed into the meat of her ass. Her tits jiggled, she spread her legs, and the demon pulled her hair back as he continued fucking her. Just like with Cassia’s touch, Gaia could feel the sensation of pleasure welling up inside of her. She tried to fight it, tried to force it from her mine, but nothing worked and it only got worse as the demon began thrust harder, faster, going deeper.

Gaia could barely suppress her cries, could barely keep herself from expressing the pleasure she was feeling from the demon’s continued violation. She felt herself growing wet between her legs, a strange sensation that came with the muscles of her thick thighs twitching and warmth rising all throughout her body.

“Soon I will break your mind,” the demon promised. “And then you will belong to me. Forever.”

“Ugh...No…!” Gaia protested weakly.

The demon grunted, chuckled, and prepared to loose his load into the victim. He tightened his grip and pushed in deeper, but then paused when he felt something on his shoulder.

“Hello there,” Cassia said from where she sat on the demon’s shoulder.

The demon turned and faced her. “Wait your turn, Red Woman. You’ll be next!”

Cassia simply smiled. “No, I don’t think I will. Can you tell me who this was?” she asked, holding up a skull. “I feel like I know this person.”

“Gah! Annoying pest!” the demon growled and let go of Gaia’s hands to swipe. But Cassia leapt away and landed, light as a feather several feet away.

“You could have just said no,” she pouted, tossing the skull and shoving her hands in her coat pockets.

The demon pulled out of Gaia and turned to Cassia fully. He growled and began to approach her when a jolt went through his whole body. Gaia’s sword pierced through the front of his throat and the demon hacked up black blood. The blade was then pulled out and, with a mighty stroke, the demon’s head flew from its shoulders. The body hit the ground with the thud and Gaia stood there, naked, with some of her own juices slicking her thighs while she held her weapon.

“He was starting to bore me,” Cassia said.

Gaia looked at her and moved across the room to an open elevator. “The Queen’s domain is up there?”

“It is,” Cassia nodded. “But you’ll have to face another of her disciples before reaching her chamber.”

Gaia nodded, paused, and looked at Cassia. “He said there were others,” she pointed her sword at the dead demon.

“Hmm?” Cassia raised her eyebrows.

“He said he defeated other challengers and turned them over to his queen. Who was he talking about?”

Cassia shrugged her narrow shoulders.

Gaia nodded and went into the elevator shaft. She then looked up, knelt down, and leapt, bouncing from one wall to the next to climb the elevator shaft.

Cassia watched her and smirked. “She’s learning…beginning to question...” she said before hovering up after Gaia.

***

The next chamber was a ruined laboratory, with shattered vials and ruined computer equipment decaying on the floor. Gaia and Cassia stalked among the mess, the air charged with electricity.

“Who daressss tressspassss?” a voice hissed from the shadows. Gaia paused and looked around until she notice two sets of glowing eyes staring at them from the shadows. A long, sinuous figure slipped out of a side passage. It’s upper half was a human torso, a pale skinned, dark haired woman with four eyes and long fangs in her mouth. The rest of her was the body of a serpent, green scales that trailed for several dozen feet as she encircled Gaia and Cassia and eyed them both with contempt.

“I assssked who daressss…” she repeated.

“What is she…?” Gaia asked.

“She was a human once. A scientist known for being equal parts brilliant and cruel. In another life, before the Black Orb appeared and the world died, she and the Queen were enemies. The Queen did this to her,” Cassia explained.

“I don’t understand,” Gaia said.

“We’ll have time for stories after your victory,” Gaia said, vanishing from sight in a spiral of flame. She reappeared, several feet away, seated on a swinging light fixture above the room.

The serpent woman approached Gaia, a hiss in her throat. “You sssstink...like them….” she said, flickering her thin tongue out at the heroine.

Gaia took a stance. “I only want the head of the Queen. If you aren’t my enemy…”

“I hate your kind!” the serpent woman lashed out. “You dumb cowsss….think you’re sssssuperior! She did thissss to me! And you ssssmell like the old her! I will kill her. No one elssssse.”

“I see,” Gaia stepped back, ready to fight. “So you’re just another obstacle?”

“I am the DRAGON!” she screamed before striking out at Gaia with lightning speed. Gaia leapt at the last possible second and the serpent woman crashed into the wall before twisting her body and going on the attack again.

Cassia watched, crossing one shapely leg over the other and propping her head up with her hand. “This one might just go all the way…” she said, watching Gaia weave in and out of the continuous attacks with speed and grace.

When the serpent woman came at her again, Gaia leapt into the air, twisting her shapely body in mid leap and scoring a strike across her enemy’s back. The she-serpent hissed as Gaia landed on her back, spun on her heel, and darted up its length. She thrust her sword at the back of the she-serpent’s head, and the blade passed clean through, only for the human torso to go limp and fall uselessly to the ground. Gaia stood frozen in surprise at the flaccid skin underneath her feet.

“She shed her skin!” Cassia yelled from her seat.

Gaia turned to say something, only to yell when she was suddenly wrapped in a tight coil, her sword arm pinned to her curvy body as the she-serpent wrapped around her and squeezed. The she-serpent laughed and leaned in close, running a slim hand down her naked breasts before touching the side of Gaia’s face.

“It’s been sssssso long ssssince I’ve had one of you to toy with. I will make you sssssuffer, like I used to do to them…”

“One of who?!” Gaia questioned punching and kicking and trying to break free.

The she-serpent cocked her head to the side. “I ssssupose it doesn’t matter. Her tongue flicked out, tasting the taut skin of Gaia’s body. “What matterssss isss that thisss issss your end…”

Gaia grunted and flexed her muscles, mustering her strength. The she-serpent felt her coiled body give as Gaia pushed, and she growled and tried to squeeze tighter, but Gaia managed to make enough space that she thrust her blade into the she-serpent’s body. The she-serpent screamed and let go, and Gaia fell to the ground, landed on her feet, and clutched her bruised ribs. She then braced herself when the she-serpent knocked her to the ground and pinned her down by her wrists.

“You little bitch!” the she-serpent hissed, her eyes glowing. She bared her razor fangs and sank them into Gaia’s shoulder. Gaia screamed and the she-serpent pulled away, a satisfied smirk on her face.

Gaia’s breathing grew rapid as she got to her feet. She swayed on her thick, naked legs, feeling a familiar warmth in her body as she held the bite mark.

“You are immune to poisssson. Thissss, I know...but my aphrodiassssiac will control you all the ssssame.”

Gaia swallowed her spit to lubricate her dry throat, and then she clutched her sword. She felt herself begin to sweat, but focused on the monster in front of her. Between her legs, her clit was swollen. The nipples on her tits were erect. Despite her efforts, she found herself focusing only on the curves of the she-serpent’s human half, those pale, perfectly round breasts, those wide hips. Gaia’s head swam as she stumbled toward her, dropping her sword in the process.

“You should act quickly and defeat her.”

Gaia gasped and turned to see Cassia standing next to her, idly looking at her own nails painted black.

“That sensation you’re feeling? You’ve got roughly 60 seconds before it takes over and you can’t concentrate on anything else. And then she will kill you.”

Cassia’s words barely registered, and Gaia looked down as her fingers lingered near her own waiting pussy.

“Gaia,” Cassia called to her.

Gaia turned around and caught her sword out of reflex when Cassia kicked it to her.

“I’m trying to help you,” Cassia said.

Gaia gripped her blade and glanced at Cassia and then turned to the she-serpent, who got low as if preparing to attack. Gaia summoned up what willpower she could manage and took a combat stance. She then charged at her enemy. When they were close, the she-serpent struck out, going for Gaia’s throat. Gaia ducked at the last possible second, striking out with her blade and letting her momentum carry her.

The she-serpent screamed, flew forward and slid across the ground, coming to a stop right in front of Cassia’s polished, black boots. The monster moaned and rolled over with a nasty gash running down her torso. She breathed deep and Gaia remained where she stood.

Cassia knelt down next to the she-serpent. “Tough luck, that.”

“You…” the she-serpent groaned. “You are no human...You’re ssssmell makes me ssssick. What are you?”

Cassia simply smiled and looked up. “Gaia, you have roughly 20 seconds to finish her.”

Gaia nodded and clutched her blade, stalking toward the she-serpent. The she-serpent looked up and when she moved, pain wracked her entire body, leaving her in no shape to defend herself. With a defiant hiss, the she-serpent opened her mouth and let out a thick stream of bright green fluid. Gaia shouted and dodged the stream, and when it landed on the ground, it bubbled and ate through the surface of the floor. By the time Gaia rolled and got back to her feet, the she-serpent fled, slithering into the darkness of another side passage.

“Hmm...I should have seen that coming,” Cassia said, standing. “Oh well.”

Gaia fell to her knees, the sensation from the she-serpent’s bite taking over. She slid a hand down her stomach to her waiting pussy and slid to fingers in. At the same time, she squeezed the soft meat of her tits, pinching the nipple as the feeling of ecstasy overwhelmed her. She lay on the ground, shoving her fingers in and out, arching her back while curling her toes and crying out in pleasure.

Cassia approached and simply watched. She tossed her dark hair back over her shoulders and licked her red lips. As Gaia moaned and her body quivered, she breathed rapidly and then screamed before her juices spilled out, across the floor in a flood. Cassia stepped to the side to stand clear of the spray and when it was done, Gaia lay flat, her eyes rolled back, gasping for air. She only looked up when Cassia straddled her waist and leaned in.

The woman in red pressed her lips to Gaia’s, kissing her deep and long. She reached up, grabbing one of Gaia’s tits and squeezing. Gaia moaned softly, reveling in Cassia’s taste, in her touch. Before long, Gaia could feel her senses coming back to her. She began recalling where she was and what she was doing there.

After a few more minutes, their lips parted and Cassia sat up, smiling and biting her lower lip. “Well, let’s go see the Queen now.”

Gaia stared at her, her gaze fixed on Cassia’s pale cleavage and slim figure as she stood up. She accepted Cassia’s hand to help her up and then took her weapon back when Cassia gave it to her.

***

The last chamber, at the peak of the tower, was a cavernous room where the walls were covered in a shifting, writhing mass of dark tentacles that all lead to the side opposite the door Gaia and Cassia had walked through. Gaia clutched her weapon and walked forward, eyeing a tall figure sitting on a throne on the other side of the room.

It was a woman, she realized when she got closer, whose body was covered in what looked like dark scales. She had glowing red eyes and a crown of horns on her head. Parts of her body, her left breast, the top half of her left leg, and most notable, the left side of her face, looked like they still had human flesh not yet taken over by whatever demonic corruption had consumed her. The woman’s skin was dark brown, Gaia noted.

“That’s her?” Gaia asked.

“It is,” Cassia said. “She is the ruler of this broken and dead city. The Midnight Queen. She was a hero in her time, but no more.” Cassia looked up above the Queen’s throne and noted objects pinned to the wall. A cracked shield, a broken staff, matching heavily damaged pistols, several tattered costumes and masks.

The Midnight Queen regarded the two of them quietly, propping her horned head up with her fist.

“She dies today!” Gaia screamed, raising her sword and charging. With a burst of speed, she closed the distance between the two of them. Even as Gaia prepared to strike, the Queen did not move. Gaia pushed off the ground, intending to bring her weapon down on the Queen’s head, but her descent was cut short when, with the wave of her hand, the Midnight Queen commanded a pair of thick tentacles rise from behind her throne. One wrapped around Gaia’s neck and the other seized her arm. Gaia gasped as the tentacles slammed her into the ground. The blow jarred her weapon from her hand and caused her to leave cracks in the ground. Gaia turned and watched in horror as the tentacles took her sword and pulled it toward the Queen.

The Midnight Queen then closed her hand into a fist, and the tentacles shattered Gaia’s sword before dropping the shards to the ground.

“No!” Gaia screamed.

“You dare strike at me…” the Midnight Queen said, her voice cold and ominous. She waved her hand again and more tentacles appeared and slithered toward Gaia. She tried to run, but one grabbed her ankle and pulled her down. She tried to fight, but the tentacles grabbed her arms and began wrapping around her. Panic began setting in and Gaia twisted her naked body, reaching out with her one free hand.

“Cassia! Help me!” She cried out.

Cassia simply stood with her hands in the pockets of her coat as Gaia was absorbed and the mass of tentacles pulled back to the Queen’s throne and into the wall behind her.

Cassia sighed and looked at the broken pieces of the sword. She raised her hand and a glowing aura surrounded the shards and caused them to levitate. They then floated back to Cassia, who deposited them into a portal she summoned. “And so it ends…”

“They have failed, yet again…” The Queen spoke.

“But they are getting closer,” Cassia said. “Your days are numbered.”

The Queen narrowed her glowing eyes. Cassia smirked, leaping, flipping, and dodging as several tentacles struck out at her at once. She landed near the door and put her hands back in her coat pockets. “I am simply the messenger. You may see me again when the next one lands.”

Cassia then took a bow and walked out through the door, leaving the Queen alone in her chamber.

III

Cassia stood by a window, watching the blue planet quietly when a door opened behind her. A tall woman in business dress entered the room, her long dark hair beginning to give way to streaks of gray. Still, she maintained a fit physique and youthful curves that were obvious beneath her clothing.

Cassia summoned her portal and the shards of the sword fell out and onto the desk between the two of them. Cassia then turned back to the Earth. “It’s funny. You’d never know anything was wrong from up here.”

“This one failed too…” the dark hair woman said, her blue eyes fixed on the shattered weapon.

“She got closer than the others. Made it all the way to the Queen’s chamber. I’m sure the combat data is intact,” Cassia nodded to the sword.

The woman picked up the largest shard of the weapon. “Anything else?”

“I don’t think Angela is killing them,” Cassia said.

The woman snapped to attention. “...Don’t use that name.”

“Sorry. I don’t think the Midnight Queen is killing them.”

“All right…’ the dark haired woman sighed and gathered up the pieces of the sword. She then turned to leave. “I’ll be in touch.”

“You know how to reach me,” Cassia said before vanishing in a spiral of flame.

The woman looked at the sword one more time before leaving the room.

***

Moments later, she walked into a laboratory complex bustling with activity as scientists and researchers worked away at their stations. She approached a pair, two men, who stopped their conversation when they noticed her. The portly man with the scar on his face looked at the blade and took it, while the other one, a younger, skinny man in glasses watched.

“Cassia said this one made it to the Queen’s Chamber. We’re getting closer.”

“So Gaia-7 has fallen,” the portly researcher said. “Should we begin preparing Gaia-8, Ms. Wade?”

Brenda nodded. “Do it, Pervo.”

Professor Pervo nodded and gave the sword to the other researcher. “Geek and I will begin immediately. We will go over the combat data, reconstruct the blade, and begin the wake-up sequence.”

Brenda nodded. “We’re taking back our world…” she said, looking up at a series of tanks behind Pervo and the Geek. Each of the tanks was around 10 feet tall, filled with thick clear liquid. Floating in each of the tanks, in a state of suspended animation, was another Gaia.

***

Gaia-7 awoke with a gasp. She tried to move, only to realize her arms were restrained. When she looked down, she screamed at the sight of writhing black tentacles wrapped around her thighs, with one sliding its thick girth and unending length between her legs. It pushed in and out of her, stretching her out and threatening to tear her apart. She looked around in a panic, only then learning that the place she was in was a living, twisting mass of those same tentacles. Her naked body, restrained and exposed, was at the complete mercy of this nest of horrors.

“Help!” Someone help!!” She screamed. “Cassia!”

“No one is coming.”

Gaia-7 turned to find herself face to face with the Midnight Queen. She fought even harder to break free, but the Queen grabbed her jaw and made her look her in the eye.

“You will not escape, just as the others did not…”

“What…?” Gaia-7 asked. The Queen then turned her head to the side and Gaia saw six other prisoners, all restrained like her. Many of them had changed bodies, with their skin slowly being replaced by black scales and horns. The one closest to Gaia had the least amount of corruption and the one farthest was the most advanced. Gaia’s blood ran cold when she realized that all six of the women had her face.

The Queen laughed and made Gaia face her. “You are not the first, girl. Just the most recent pawn. I shall make you one of my knights.”

Gaia-7 screamed again, only for the Queen to clamp her hand over her mouth to quiet her.

“Be silent, girl. I am going to tell you the story of what happened the day the world died.”

The End

(Author’s Note: “Sigma, what the fuck is going on here?” You’re probably asking yourself. Without getting too long-winded, I long had this concept of a story series about Aphrodites fighting demons on a post-apocalyptic Earth, so I decided to spin the concept into story for Halloween. No idea if I’ll do more, but yeah, that’s what this is.)