Hawo's jaw was set, her gaze fixed on the grim scene before them.
"I'm not a kid, Malaliel. It's just creepy to see all these old people doing... this disgusting act.
" Her voice was a low murmur, a slight shudder running through her.
Malaliel, ever the pragmatist,watched the younger Hawo, a slight furrow in her brow tilted her head.
"Procreating is a necessary act for your race to continue existing.
What's disgusting about it ?"
Hawo averted her gaze, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.
"Maybe it's just a me thing, but love needs to be between two lovers, in private.
" She crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly.
"What does HEN even get from making people do this?"
"HEN steals their mana," Malaliel explained, her voice dropping, "and replaces it with whatever emotion they represent.
For these poor souls, it's a perversion of lust and grief."
"Can't they just take mana and leave these poor people alone?" Hawo's voice was laced with frustration, her hands clenching into fists.
"It's a side effect when HEN possesses a body," Malaliel grimaced.
"The ones we found here are in their last stage.
They probably have little time before the HEN hatches and kills the host. It's going to be bad for us, fighting a fully formed mother HEN, let alone a nest of them."
Hawo's eyes, usually dark and unwavering, softened as she looked at Malaliel.
"I think we need to move. They may need us. Hawo, you're a WNEA fighter. We fight these kinds of things daily.
If you can't handle it, just quit. You can help in the temple, heal possession.
It's an honorable job, if you ask me, or social work, or even taking care of the castle.
" Her voice was gentle, almost a whisper, "Even I would miss you around, but I want you to stay safe.
I've lost a lot of great friends while serving WNEA. There's not a day I don't think about them.
Human life is very short compared to an angel's." She waited, her gaze unwavering on Hawo's face, searching for a reaction.
"Hawo? Malaliel? Do you hear me?" Cathie's voice crackled through the mental link, pulling them out of their quiet exchange.
"Yes, Cathie, I hear you!" Malaliel responded, shaking herself slightly. "How's the situation? Did you find mother HEN?"
"Yes, but the possessions are starting to hatch . We may need your help, if Hawo is ready." Cathie's voice was grim.
"I gave Cathie the answer," Malaliel chimed in, a mischievous glint in her eye.
"If a naked old man hatches, there's nothing for Hawo to fear!" She reached out, taking Hawo's hand and pulling her upward, soaring her toward the waypoint.
As they ascended, looking down, it wasn't just one or two; hundreds of HEN were hatching.
"It's going to be a long night , we're facing a stampede!"
Malaliel set Hawo gently on the ground near their group, her eyes scanning the overwhelming horde of newly hatched HEN.
She turned to Cathie, her brow furrowed.
"It's not possible to fight all of this. We need to retreat!"
"Negative, Hawo!" Cathie's voice was resolute, her gaze steely.
"We need to stop this stampede now! Raise your swords!
Azrael, Isda, open us a path to the boss!"
Azrael and Isda, without a word, raised their swords.
They descended, flying low and fast, carving a furious path through the surging HEN.
Their blades flashed, slashing every creature in their way.
When they reached the central mass, each angel severed one of its grotesque legs of the boss.
Meanwhile, the rest of them, armed with "Victoria" (which proved effective on possessed humans but useless on the newly hatched HEN), followed the two angels, cutting down every HEN in their path.
Cathie and Hawo moved in tandem, each severing limbs from the monstrous forms.
The HEN's arms were grotesque and asymmetrical, ending in huge claws or dripping tentacles capable of crushing walls or dragging prey directly into its body.
Some limbs were not fully formed, still wet and glistening.
Malaliel struck the final blow, driving her blade deep into what she assumed was its head. "Where is its head?" she asked, a note of confusion in her voice.
There was only a mass of writhing, eyeless tendrils. As she struck it, a soft, milky gleam bloomed, not quite opaque but not fully clear either, never settling.
It clung in slow, lazy drops, stretching into tiny threads before snapping back onto itself.
Up close, it seemed thicker than she'd guessed, warm on her skin, slick and oddly smooth under her fingertips, a little sticky yet easy to spread.
It pooled and shifted with a glossy sheen, leaving a faint wet warmth behind when wiped away.
This viscous substance ejaculated from the ruptured HEN.
Malaliel recoiled, shaking her hand, her nose wrinkling in disgust.
"Ugh! I need a bath now!
But we're not finished yet. Girls, cover me! I'll close the waypoint.
" With the waypoint sealed, they fought the remaining HEN throughout the night, until at last, the last one fell.
"Now we need to purify the Sylvan Ring and get these humans we saved back to the temple to purge what HEN left in their bodies."
All five of them gathered, placing their hands near the waypoint, and in unison, they chanted:
"Shining light, purge the night! Darkness falls before our light!"
"Sylvan is going to be proud," Isda murmured, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Who is she?" Hawo asked, looking around the now quiet, eerie graveyard.
"Back then, a long time ago, Heavenport and the land around it were controlled and ruled by angels," Isda began, her voice soft, almost reverent.
"When demons tried to conquer the world, different races from different eras, fleeing the war, took refuge in Heavenport.
She let them camp near this graveyard. Her only condition was that when someone died, they needed to be buried in this graveyard.
It's a great example of angel goodness and purity and their fight for the weak, our very nature."
As Cathie started to speak, a shimmering annulus began to hover over them.
It is strange that the annulus is still operating even though angels left Heavenport for a long time .
"Azrael, get the cart!" Cathie commanded, her voice regaining its usual authority. "We'll put the HEN victims in it. I'll open the waypoint to the temple."