Chapter 119: The Polluted Moon

Rachel felt her own tail quiver as they began fighting one another over who would get the rabbit. They pushed, bit, and threw each other around, sometimes hundreds of kilometers away or into different realms. Their conflict devastated the illusory landscape as they rushed to see who would get the rabbit first.

"Aleka is the youngest," she said, pointing out the green-flamed girl with a mischievous, crazed smile. "The cruelest and most methodical of the three."

A red-flamed wolf girl came next, wearing an open grin. "Irida is the middle child, and the first to pounce. She is the most sensitive of her sisters."

"And Thalia?" Rachel asked, staring at the blue-flamed oldest sister, who appeared more reserved than her younger sisters. "The shy one?"

Nia nodded emphatically. "She looks nice."

"Nice, hmm?" Izanami whispered, showing the black-and-blue-furred wolf looming over her sisters, strings attached to them as she played the pair against each other. "While Aleka jumps to action and Irida torments her, Thalia snatches the rabbit and gobbles her up."

She showed a playful smirk and chuckled. "The game? Survive for ten minutes, by any means necessary. Oh, and as you can see, the girls do enjoy playing with their food...and with each other."

Nia grabbed onto her skirt again. "Major...how are we going to do this one? I don’t want to be soul food!"

Patting the child’s head, Rachel breathed out a laugh. "Surviving should be easy since Izanami has already given us the blueprints. Is this a part of the rules or favoritism?"

Izanami turned around and looked up at the red-flaming moon that changed to a corroded, smoky hue within Yomi as Rachel felt the rays strike her skin, sparking something Infernal within her to bloom.

"Neither, and might I caution you that you are too hasty, Rachel. Don’t you find it odd that Dionysus didn’t communicate with Conner personally but through Relica and the Scarlet Hand? The question you should ask isn’t what Cerridwen’s goal is but rather how Cerridwen and Eostre were able to communicate with you in the first place... Best of luck."

Rachel’s turning mind came to a screeching halt as Izanami vanished in black flames, and the three grinning sisters appeared around them. The pulse of the Yomi-tinted Hell Moon beat within her breast, DNA morphing with the corrupting light as the pressure of the polluted environment dug into her soul, yet the fallen deity’s words persisted in her mind.

Dionysus asked what I was in his last moments... He believed I was something else besides human. I have to ask Conner about his experience with Dionysus. Why didn’t I do that before?! Dammit! It’s so obvious now.

Her focus snapped to Irida as her red-and-orange locks burned with her hungry eyes, and a clock appeared at the corner of Rachel’s vision, counting down from ten minutes.

Nia grabbed her from behind in a panic before forcing herself away. "Rachel! W-What do we do?!"

Irida’s tail began to wag, teeth gleaming in the moonlight. "You’re our rabbit and hare, hmm? Ooh. I like what’s happening inside her, Aleka! She’s turning into a devil! See!"

"I do, Irida," the youngest whispered, scratching her jade-green ear and looking at her elder sister. "What do you think, Thalia? Should we wait for the transformation to complete? Maybe toy with them while it happens? There are two of them, after all. That’s one for me and two halves for you to share."

"Funny as always, Irida," Thalia said, brushing back her mess of cobalt locks before walking around them in a slow circle with her sisters as they studied them and sniffed the air. "I have a better idea after Lady Izanami’s discourse. Let’s have our fun, though."

Rachel tilted her head in acknowledgment of the three denizens of Hell that circled her; there wasn’t a chance in hell, as they said, that she could contest them, and that was perfectly fine. A voice within her told her they would ramp up to her level to have fun.

"Thalia, Irida, Aleka... It’s a pleasure."

[Lunar Hell Hare - Yomi: Active]

Snickers followed, and Nia even joined in the impish cackle.

The Hell Moon’s protection conditioned her to the land, and Rachel held up her arm to observe the black fire and crimson electricity spark across her skin. A cold joy, rational and cruel, came from within her, the vibe of the moon rushing into her like a river to find the parts of her personality that resonated with its energy.

Stepping away from Nia, she saw the girl do the same, and they looked at one another to see the reflected changes overtaking their souls. An extravagant mirror formed off to the side, no doubt by Izanami to give them a better understanding of their transformation. She could feel Nike tossing and turning within Nia on her bed, uncomfortable with the flood of Infernal Force twisting through their spiritual veins.

Their white hair fanned out in a rush of wind, and their raven streaks melted away the shiny glow as a single, curved horn grew out of the back-left side of their skulls. The new color matched their black-and-red military school outfits, and she felt the strength Hell brought as her soul was infused with its energy.

Her human-like appearance didn’t change as the Black Moon had done, keeping her form and giving her a far more Succubi-like appeal, with an exception. A corruption spread along her veins, giving her insight into the sorrow and pain of Yomi. Her lips were dyed black, her clover eyes going from pink to sparkling obsidian, and her eclipse-like pupils dyeing a more blood-red color.

She lifted her arm to examine her dark, ebony fingernails and polluted skin before catching the war hammer that dropped out of the sky; it was as weightless as her body felt, and the reason came soon after with The System’s notification.

* -- * -- *

[Infernal Adaptation - Yomi X - Reborn in the corruption of Yomi’s filthy and polluted lands, the user burns with the infectious flames of Hell. While under the Hell Moon, the user understands, can live in, and travel the Infernal Planes.]

[Infernal Soul Harvest VIII - The user is capable of ripping out, burning, or corrupting the spirits of mortals. To do so outside of the Infernal Planes without the protection of the Hell Moon will force the user back to Hell.]

[Infernal Soul Pact VIII - Create a binding contract with a mortal that is burned into their very soul. Feats are dependent on Infernal Power.]

[Infernal Power (Yomi) VIII - The user’s power is dependent upon which Hell Moon they draw from. Yomi, as a domain of the 7th Circle, grants the user the attributes of a Princess of Hell under the Hell Moon. Outside of the Hell Moon, depending on the powers invoked, the user’s Hell Force will drain at a varied rate.]

[Princess of Hell (Restricted) - The user has the noble standing of a devil born of the 7th Circle, holding the powers over their own State in Hell, with all the powers attributed to them.]

* -- * -- *

[System Warning - Soul unable to withstand the 7th Circle’s Infernal Force. Restricted to the 1st Circle. Princess of Hell downgraded to Baroness of Hell.]