Purity 4

The proprietor of the establishment ushered the four of us along to the back of the shop. We left the harpy behind to enjoy her candies by herself. Meanwhile, Tybalt, Eshere, Purity, and I went through the door on the side into a chamber that Baker described as “a place for the most important of clients, darlings.”

Whatever services that Baker usually offered here were not evident, as the whole place was retrofitted for the purpose of occult rituals. A circle of white powder rested in the center of the room, and sitting upon her knees at the center point of the ring was the unmistakable pink kobold I knew as my friend. I was happy to see her again. However, there was an electric unease that traveled through my body as I looked at her. I knew on an instinctual level that something was terribly wrong here.

The voice that came from Tik Tik’s mouth was triple-layered monstrosity—a mix of a teasing child, a flirtatious woman, and a deep monster. “You’ve brought the little princess of virginity here, haven’t you? Purity—the hero of this city.”

“My reputation precedes me,” Purity said, stepping forward. “But you have me at a loss. All I know is your name, ‘Zelb.”

The demon snickered, opening Tik Tik’s eyes. The black sclera and purple irises cemented my unease. Those were not the beautiful blues I was used to seeing from this short form. “I’m sure you’re more familiar with me than you would care to admit, little miss perfect, daughter of the whore and the hero.”

Purity clenched her fists at that remark. “I’d expect a demon to know more than I’m comfortable about myself. Don’t think you’re causing me any undue harm here.”

Zelb snorted. “You self-righteous are all the same. You say you don’t care what others think, but constantly seek the approval of others, because your little egos can’t sustain being seen as the ‘bad guy.’ Tik Tik here is like that. She wants to make so many friends. All the things she’s done would make her a monster in the eyes of her people. Tell me again you won’t care when I tell the entirety of Anteronia about you and your scandalous affairs with monsters.”

I stepped forward, but Purity held her hand out to stop me. “No, Cynwrig. I can handle this myself. You sit back.”

Eshere sat back herself, taking the form of a small blob. She formed a tentacle of sorts that held a pen. She scribbled wildly, taking in all the details.

“Always so eager to fight evil,” Zelb said. “Come on, then, Purity. See if you can overcome me, and if you can, maybe you can stop this terrible secret from getting out.”

Purity looked to Tybalt, who nodded and knelt down in front of the circle. With his eyes closed and his hands clasped, he offered up a prayer in the elvish language, causing the ring to glow a soft blue light. “You may go,” Tybalt said, “But anyone within will be subject to the demon’s power.”

“Then, I go alone,” Purity said, and with that, she stepped forward, past the magical barrier.

A burst of purple fire filled the tiny arena, engulfing both of the figures within. When the smoke cleared, what we witnessed was something like a window into another world, an inferno of rocks and darkness, and an endless void beyond their more spacious circle. But while Purity stood there, she did not look down on a tiny kobold, but somewhat up at a more towering gray humanoid with rocky bits covering its arms and legs and genitalia and with wild red locks of spiked and messy hair. It stared down at Purity with a sawtoothed grin and gave her a moment to take in its form before it swiped at her with its sharp claw.

Purity hopped up above the strike and then flipped forward, diving right at her opponent, bashing the flat end of her shield between the demon’s horns.

Zelb stumbled backward, its tail lashing out towards its opponent. Purity held her shield up but wasn’t ready in time, and a ripping crack filled the air.

I called out for her, reaching out towards the portal, but Tybalt shouted. “Eshere!” and the slime shot out more tendrils that grabbed onto my arms.

“Break the seal, and Zelb will be freed. Tik Tik will be lost at this point if we let the demon free.”

“W… what!? You never said anything about that!” I snapped.

“Purity understood the risks, as did we,” Tybalt responded.

“And she’s going to die, herself!”

Eshere responded to that, “Isn’t understanding that risk part of being a real hero?”

I froze at that response, lowering my head and relaxing. Eshere put me down and resumed her notetaking.

Meanwhile, inside the circle, Purity hopped back and dodged the demon’s attacks, claws and stabs and bites and horn attacks. Purity’s pink dress, however, was ripped in various places, exposing herself in multiple ways as fabric fluttered in the wind.

“Look at you, flaunting your body around like that!” Zelb said. “Imagine if all of Anteronia saw you.”

At that, the hellscape they were fighting in shifted and warped. The two now stood in what appeared to be the streets outside. People either ran away or stopped and watched, making such a racket. It looked so real. Even Gayle was there, watching from the window of a bakery store.

“Something’s wrong…” Tybalt said, his arms shaking, sweat beading from his head.

The door slammed open, and Baker stood on the opposite side. He gasped when he saw us standing there. “You… you’re alright?”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” I asked.

“Because…” the chocolate chef gulped. “Purity is outside, fighting some nasty monster!”