The dragon's harem

Chapter 493 A Demonic Infection

"RUN!" A man shouted, swinging his sword to block a lightning-fast mushroom flying at his face.

The mushroom bullet deflected toward a tree, shattering several branches before flying to the sky. The swordsman could feel his arms tingle from the impact, but he stood still.

Tens of red, prolonged mushroom tentacles flew from the trees like whips, each shattering trees as they passed.

"It's a tentacle demon! Bring fire!" He shouted, deflecting each of the tentacles as the others behind him pointed their swords forward.

[Fire Wave] Their blades turned bright red, releasing a burst of flame and setting the bushes ablaze.

A sharp, ear-piercing cry burst from the woods, and a zombie-like man infested with mushrooms rushed out, burning as tentacles came out of his body.

The swordsman grunted, closing his eyes with a pained expression, "So you have fallen, Eren," He lunged forward, cutting the demon's head, "May you rest in peace."

Thud! As the corpse fell on the ground, burning, the other swordsmen casters approached to pray.

"Commander Detory. It was Brother Eren, after all. May he rest in peace,"

PEW! As they stood, a small stud fired from the corpse, piercing Detory's shoulder.

^Shit!^

The crimson rot instantly spread from the wound up to his neck, trying to reach his brain. Commander Detory cursed, reversing the grip of his blade.

"Burn me!" He shouted, cutting his own head at the last moment as the fungi spread to his brain. His face twisted, and mushrooms sprouted out of his eyes and ears, tentacles trying to connect his head back to the body.

"Commander!" One of the swordsmen screamed, jumping back as the others pointed their blades forward.

[Fire Wave] The fire flickered from their blades but quickly faded as they couldn't burn their commander.

CLAP! A tentacle burst from the commander's chest, rushing at them with a blinding speed.

SWOSH! From the shadows of the forest, Merida lunged in, swinging her extra-long sword, cutting the tentacle from the tip to the base in one move.

Like a flash, sixteen slashes eviscerated the commander's body, exposing the hard core of the demons. Merida turned, unleashing another sixteen slashes at the core, cutting it to pieces before it could decide whether to explode into spore or infect one of the swordsmen.

One of the swordsmen stared at Merida in awe, noticing the crimson rot covering her body.

^She's infected but sane? No, she isn't,^ He growled, ^She's far too gone,^

CRACK! Four infected humans emerged from the forest, sending their tentacles at Merida.

BAM! Merida disappeared from the swordsmen's view, only leaving a small puff of dust where she stood. CRACK! She landed feet first on a tree trunk behind one of the infected, cutting him apart before he could even realize it.

The tentacles missed as she wasn't in her original place, and the infected realized she was far faster than them.

PEW! A core flew from the corpse that Merida cut, aiming at her head, more specifically, the brain.

CRACK! Merida bites the core, crushing it in her jaw and spitting the spores out. She was already infected, and more spores couldn't enter her body.

In the blink of an eye, she jumped at the other infected, shattering the trees she stood on.

^You can't infect an already infected person, and the crimson rot fungi seem to be enchanting her body as it does with the infected. Yet, she slaughters them,^ One of the swordsmen gulped, seeing Merida glide through the air with her sword, cutting the tentacles and turning the infected into diced meat.

The crimson rot tried to take over Merida's mind when she was first infected, but it failed. A mix of her iron will, rage, and honed body managed to reach an equilibrium where no one was on the lead.

A symbiotic relationship was born. The fungi eat away at her mana and body, and in exchange fuel her body with power and euphoria to achieve her single goal.

Merida was turned into a rampaging, single-minded monster, seeking to destroy the Zuggtmoy spawn, its infected, and the Cuchilla family. All until death takes her already crumbling body.

The swordsmen watched as Merida lunged into the forest, chasing the infected. "Let's retreat, we can't stop her,"

"What was that?" One of them cried.

"A demon," The swordsmen replied, "We need to go!"

They rushed back, racing across the trees until they got out of the forest, stopping in their tracks in horror.

Red sparks rose to the sky in the black clouds. Ash fell like snow as they gasped.

"Impossible." One of them mumbled, falling on his knees.

"Damn it," Another growled, "It's all falling apart," He stared at the mountain, their dojo engulfed in crimson flames, a red flare dancing on the mountain peak.

He turned toward the forest, crying, "Monster! Kill them all!" He screamed his lungs out, but then a tentacle pierced his chest, and tens of infected started walking out of the forest.

BAM! He lunged between them as his body quickly turned into an infected, "I won't die alone!" His sword turned bright red, exploding in a crimson blast.

****

Currently, for almost two decades, there was no dance of blades master to train the swordsmen or support their front liners against the infection. The Cuchilla family's grip on the demonic infection that they profited from grew looser by the day, and now it had imploded upon them.

The demons spread across the land, terrorizing the surrounding area and quickly growing in power.

The only thing people could do was to pray for the success of a single infected woman who rushed into the heart of the forest, the last known dance of blades master. Supporting her wasn't an option as that would mean going through hordes of infected demons, each one of them capable of taking a seasoned fighter down with ease.

****

Deep in the pits of the abyss, Demogorgan puked blood, dragging his half torso on the ground, ^I finally resurrected...to think, it would end any other way was foolish.^

His two baboon heads giggled, ^I need to think of another way to get out,^ His body started shrinking.