Maiden of the Red Moon

Wave after wave of pleasure burst throughout her entire body. She fell over and began to shake violently. The tides of her orgasm was too much to bear, it was overwhelming her. Consuming her.

"YES!" screamed the voice in her head. Suddenly everything started to go white.

That was when the glass ceiling above the room shattered and a man in a long black trench coat fell through.

***

Ray landed hard on his feet, slashing at a spear carrying guard as he hit the ground. The guard screamed as he burned away into ash and dust. Soul Steel tended to have that effect on Lesser Demons. The sacred aura emitted by Soul Steel always proved to be too much for the bodies of Lesser Demons to handle. Late. He was too late. His Third Eye was open and with it he was able to pierce through a demon's human disguise and see them for what they truly were. The guards looked human, but he could see past the illusion. He could gaze their true appearance. Lanky skeletal like demonic creatures, with short wings and two bull horns that pointed upwards. The stuff of nightmares. He did a quick scan of the room.

He could already see the demonic energies swirling around the girl lying at the center of the altar like a violent maelstrom of chaos and lust. The girl laid on the ground convulsing and moaning as the energies began to pool around her. She laid on top of a naked man wearing a mask desperately moving her hips back and forth in a final attempt to feel pleasure; the poor fool was most likely the sacrifice used to summon the demon.

At least he went out with a bang.

He slashed low at an oncoming guard, the Lesser Demon tripped as his feet separated from the rest of his body, burning away into gray powder. He immediately stabbed the demon through the back and slashed outwards at another demon. Ash and dust filled the room as he continued his assault, slowly making his way through the center altar. The Lesser Demons' numbers were endless and had long shed their human guises in favor of their true forms. Their lanky skeletal bodies with long arms and jagged claws casting wicked shadows upon the wall as they charged at him. Desperately trying to overwhelm him with their numbers. They died screaming.

"Garuban, how do I interrupt the ritual?"

"You can't! The portal's too big now! The demonic spirit is beginning to transmigrate from the Netherworld!" shouted Garuban frantically. "You need to destroy the Vessel!"

"The Vessel?!"

"The woman!"

"Got it!" yelled Ray, he took a leap of fate slashing at two Lesser Demons that jumped out in front of him, they screamed as they burned away into oblivion. He soared through the air, sword pointed forward in a stabbing stance. The Wasp Strikes at the Intruder. The women saw his sword at her with her changing blue eyes that widened in shock. "Forgive me." He whispered.

He closed his eyes. Ray stabbed forward expecting to hear the sound of Soul Steel piercing flesh. Instead the sound of steel meeting steel filled the air. He opened his eyes to see a tall man standing robed, holding a long thin black sword that seemed to suck in whatever light was in the room. "A Soul Steel sword? That's impossible." Gasped Ray as he resumed his fighting stance. The man under the masked seemed to smirk before he charged forward attacking in a flurry of slashes that Ray barely managed to block. The sheer strength behind each of his swings was astounding. It was like fighting a giant. "Shit, who the hell are you?!" grunted Ray, pressing his sword against the man's. A kick to the gut sent him flying against the wall.

"Disgusting Demon Hunter, how you dare disrupt my ritual." growled the Masked <an pointing his sword at Ray. The sword was much like his, long, thin and straight, the blade made of blackened steel that almost seemed to suck the light out of the room. His hand glowed an unnatural green color as glyphs of all kinds appeared in the air before him. Mana gathered at an almost unnatural rate and speed. Ray felt his eyes widen as the glyphs s gathered around the man's spell arranging themselves into a Mana Circle. The glyphs spun within the confines of the circle as more and more Mana gathered at the center.

The man was preparing blast spell.

A spell that gathered ambient magical energies together into a single destructive burst of energy. He could see the brilliant splash of colors as he leapt back, he heard the blast blow the pillar behind him into smithereens as he rolled away, and he could feel the heat from the flames as he got up. "Who are you?" he growled assuming Serpent Stance, the third of the Eight Essential Forms. A warm feeling trickled down the side of his head, just barely missing his left eye. Blood. He was bleeding.

"My name? A dead man has no need to know my name" sneered the Masked Man before he charged forward slashing furiously with his sword. There was a familiarity in his attacks. Those movements were undoubtedly Leopard Stance, slightly different than what Ray had learnt when training under Old Man Donovan, but similar in other ways. Ray responded in full force. Serpent Stance was a speed stance, designed for quick slashes and stabs while maintaining fast movements. In the fury of battle, Ray recognized each of the attacks as they came at him. This man had been trained by the Organization. There were slight differences in his stance and his movements, but the attacks were clear. He raised his sword to block Eagle Dives for Fish. Tremors Shake the Land struck at his feet. He stepped back to avoid Mantis Strikes at Enemy.

Though the Masked Man was much more skilled with the sword, the speed of Serpent stance allowed him to block and counter every attack. Barely. The Masked Man was too strong and too fast. Attacks started to slip in, a shallow cut on his knee, a hard boot to his gut, punches that dizzied his head. Ray would need to do something drastic if he wanted to get out of this alive. Another block, and the two locked swords. It was then that Ray got a good glimpse of the Masked Man's face. A strong jaw with a cleft chin, a single faded scar ran down from his lip down to the left side of his chin. He quickly shifted his leg and planted a boot into the stomach of the Masked Man, sending him flying into the wall.

"Ray! The Demon's spirit has finished transmigrating from the NetherWorld!" yelled Garuban, "it's entering the Vessel!" And as if to punctuate that statement, Ray felt an immense pressure overcome him, pressing him on the ground as if a great force was brought down upon him. The pressure was followed by a high-pitched ringing sound that was almost too painful to bear. He turned towards the altar and was nearly blinded by the light. The Vessel, a statuesque blonde girl, naked, wide eyed and confused, hung in the air, lifted up by the shadows as if life had been breathed into them. Dark tendrils wrapped around her like a caterpillar building its chrysalis. Spinning itself around her until a massive cocoon made of pure darkness stood in its place, floating in the air. And for a second all was silent followed by the sounds of ripping and red light bursting from within the cocoon.

Shit, he was mistaken. The woman was the Vessel and the Masked Man was the summoner. "Yes! My dark mistress Ishtar, you live again!" cried the Masked Man as he dropped to his knees.

"Ray! You need to interrupt the transformation of the Vessel!" said Garuban in a desperate tone of voice. It was rare to hear panic from Garuban. "There's a chance that it can reverse the summoning and banish it back to the NetherWorld.

"How?!" yelled Ray, the pressure was immense, his arms felt frozen. The same pressure a child would feel staring down the blackness of the abyss. Paralyzed with fear and awe as they took in the immensity of it's depth and darkness.

"Destroy the Chrysalis of Dark Shadows!"

"The what?!"

"The damn cocoon that's floating in the fucking air!" yelled Garuban.

Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Ray said to himself. His limbs felt so heavy. His body felt so tired. But he ignored the pain, ignored the weight and willed his body to move. As quickly as he possibly could Ray reached into his boot and pulled out one of his Soul Steel knives. Not bothering to take aim he flung it across the room towards the swirling mass of dark energy. The light continued to shine from within the cocoon as the knife soared through the air reflecting off glares of red light. Spinning rapidly as it flew towards its destination.

"NO!" screamed the Masked Man as the knife embedded itself into the cocoon with a loud crackling sound. Large cracks began to form where the knife made impact. Red Light burst from within the cocoon, blinding Ray as it exploded with energy.

***

Dark. Cold.

Where was this place?

Where was she?

Who was she?

Eyes opened to a dark room lit by candlelight and the glow of a red moon. The room was unbearably dark and cold. Glass and piles of dust were littered throughout the entirety of the room. The room smelled of burning wax and sex. She continued to scan looking for some clue as to where she was.

Who was she?

The sound of ragged breathing caught her ears. She jerked her head towards the sound. A man? He wore a black trench coat. Yet he looked tired and gasping, crouching on the ground with a sword in his hand.

She looked over.

Another man? A naked man covered in tattoos wearing a black robe was walking towards her. He was wearing a red mask of some sort holding a black sword. "My Dark Mistress." The man whispered reaching for her. "My Maiden of the Red Moon."

Scared, she was scared of him. There was something about him. Something horribly wrong. Something horribly twisted.

Who was she?

Her eyes fell again onto the man in the black coat, a man with hair the color of freshly burnt ash and a strong jaw. His eyes shocked and confused, brown eyes met her own and suddenly they were connected.

***

Ray blinked.

He was no longer in the darkened altar room. Instead he was....floating in the air? Descending down from the sky. At least, it felt like he was. The flaps of his long coat danced in the air as he continued his descent downwards. Darkness ruled as far as the eye could see save for a glow that was coming below him.

How... odd.

The land itself was glowing with a faint ethereal white glow. Even odder was the shape of the land, an almost perfect circle except about a quarter of the circle was broken and jagged, like something had ripped off a part of the circle. From his view he could see cracks slowly beginning to creep in on the circle, further damaging it. Small pieces of the circle slowly began to fall off.

"Garuban. Where am I?" asked Ray quietly, his eyes scanning the area. Nothing, no stars, no moon, there was nothing that could help him gain some sense of where he was.

No response.

He looked down to his wrist to see Garuban moving his mouth, but no sound came out. Someone or something had silenced the bracelet. He would be no good here. His descent slowed and he felt feet touched the ground feeling relieved to once again be on solid footing. White flower petals exploded from the Earth as he landed almost as if an airless wind had blown them upwards, lifting them off the ground and into the air. The petals circled around in the air, congregating together like a school of fish swimming in the ocean depths. The petals continued to spiral, slowly gathering at the center gaining mass as more and more petals congregated together.

The mass of petals slowly began to take form, first human like before taking more specific shape. The form was feminine in shape with an hourglass figure. The figure descended down, the coating of petals dissolving into firefly-like fragments of light as it continued to come down. The last of the petals faded from the body revealing a woman.

She was beautiful beyond words. A slender body with pale skin that seemed to give off an otherworldly glow in the pale light of...whatever this place was. Long red hair, dark like the color of blood danced down to the top of her perfect breasts. She stepped towards him slowly, sensuously.

"Who are you?" Ray asked, in wonderment.

The girl looked around as if she wasn't sure of where she was before her green eyes suddenly came into sharp focus. "I am Ishtar." She said. Up close he could see her features more clearly, the full red lips, the heart shaped face, the green in her eyes.

"Ishtar?" echoed Ray, that man had summoned the Babylonian Goddess of Sex and Fertility?

The girl nodded. "At least, I am a part of her." She said looking around, observing the land around her, "I was....fractured"

"Fractured?" echoed Ray.

"Indeed. I was ripped from the NetherWorld and forced into an unwanted vessel. You managed to interrupt the ceremony before I had finished transmigrating. As such, a part of my consciousness, my power, still remains mine." She held her hand out and placed it against her heart. "I connected with you before that man could bind me to his will. That man...is horribly wicked. His plans for me are devious."

She let her eyes wander around the glowing landscape. "This land around you is a representation of my heart, my soul, my power."

He looked towards the cracked portion of the circle, even now parts of it were slowly breaking apart, the damage was growing.

"It is breaking apart, soon nothing will be left. I don't have much time." She said solemnly. "I need to repair this damage before he binds me." She placed a hand on his chest. "I have no conscious control over my body, I am trapped within the Vessel he designated for me. You can help me, join my heart with yours, in exchange, I will give you a fragment of my power. Heal your wounds. Strengthen you." She closed her eyes.

"No!" growled Ray pulling away. "I won't join with a demon."

"I'm not a demon." Ishtar said quietly. "I am a Goddess. I was worshipped once. People gave me offerings for a good harvest. People used to keep idols of me in their homes praying to it in hopes of a child or a safe birth. They prayed to me to protect their young from the terrors of the dark and the dangers of life. And I granted all of those things to my followers, asking only for a small portion of their harvest in exchange. I performed these duties faithfully for years, centuries, until my time was over. This age has become lust filled and corrupt, people no longer need a Goddess of Fertility. I was content to fade into myth and legend and remain in the NetherWorld. I was content to watch."

Ray continued to look at her.

"Please." Begged Ishtar, "We don't have much time left. You can't beat that man. He's too powerful. But with a part of my power you can survive, live to fight another day. I've heard whispers of his plans in spirit from the NetherWorld. I do not wish to see his plans come to fruition. This world shall burn if that man has his way. This will aid the both of us. I can heal you." She gently placed her hand on his chest again. "I swear, by my pride, by my power, I will bring no harm upon you." She whispered softly. "Do you trust me?"

And suddenly a memory that Ray had long buried came back to mind. Her voice lingered in his mind.

"Do you trust me?"

Ray nodded. Ishtar smiled gently before closing her eyes. A brilliant white light burst forth from her hands, blinding the both of them. A rainbow of color illuminated the darkness. Ray quickly looked towards the broken half of the land. It was expanding. Healing. The missing piece being filled in. The light grew brighter.

"Thank you." whispered Ishtar. "Now, Ray, wake up."

*****

"Ray! Wake up!" yelled Garuban.

Ray blinked. Did he pass out from the pressure? His body felt light. Refreshed. Strengthened. "What happened, Garuban." Ray said quietly.

"You just blanked out for a second. Ray! We need to take care of that demon and that summoner!" said Garuban.

Ray looked up and saw the Masked Man walking towards the demon girl, his arm outstretched. Ray moved quickly.

***

Radiant. She was so beautiful, even more beautiful than the Vessel or any of the Tributes that had been sacrificed to recreate her boy. Pale flawless skin that almost glowed in the pale light of the altar room giving her an almost ethereal glow, long flowing red hair that cascaded down her back, a face unmarred by any moles or blemishes graced her features. Perfect. Perfect in every possible way.

He felt his member grow hard just looking at her.

No.

It would be foolish to give into his baser instincts at this critical junction. She needed to be bound, marked, and controlled in order for him to move onto the next stage of his plan. He reached for her with an extended arm. "My Dark Mistress." He whispered, "My Maiden of the Red Moon."

She looked away at him for a second, eyes meeting the Hunter who had come to stop him before she returned her gaze to him. Hesitantly she raised hand towards her, delicately. Her eyes were wide. She was scared. But she still obeyed.

Yes, so close.

After years of planning, organizing and preparing, it was finally time. Time for him to finally shed this mortal form of his and ascend to Godhood.

That was when the blade of a sword, long and with a luminescent blue glow, slashed through his outreached arm.

All became red.

***

Blood sprayed everywhere as Ray finished slicing off the Masked Man's arm. The arm fell uselessly to the ground followed by a horrid howl of pain from the Masked Man. There was no way he could let himself waste this opportunity.

"Garuban! Who the hell is that?"

"A naked chick with big tits and a one armed man." Replied the Bracelet. "Kill both of them!"

Sarcasm at a time like this?

He swung hard at the Masked Man's neck only for his blade to be blocked by the Masked Man's own. A kick to the stomach knocked the air out of his stomach and sent him spiraling to the ground. The girl screamed loudly, a high pitch screech that shattered what remained of the glass windows that Ray had fallen through causing tiny fragmented shards of glass to rain down from the ceiling. What was going on? He had never encountered a demon capable of such a feat. Ethereal Wings burst from the girl's back, massive insect like wings that looked like they were made from living ink rather than any sort of earthly material. The girl crouched down and took flight with a massive beat of her wings followed by a huge gust of wind as the girl achieved flight.

"NO!" screamed the Masked Man leaping impossibly high to catch her. The girl looked to be afraid as the Masked Man flew towards her only to be struck in the chest by a Soul Steel knife that Ray hurled at him. He landed hard, watching in horror as the girl flew off into the night sky.

"Despicable Hunter, you know not what you have disrupted." Roared the Masked Man, and a sudden blast of energy and pressure overcame the room cracking stone and bringing Ray to his knees. Ray struggled to stand, and suddenly a horrid pain shot out throughout his body as if electricity had been pumped through his system and interrupted the entire flow of his body. He couldn't move! He. Couldn't. Move!

"Garuban, what's going on." He asked through gritted teeth.

"A binding spell. And a strong one at that" Said Garuban, his voice panicked. "I'm unraveling it as fast as I can."

"Hunters, the enforcers of the Council, what a foolish and asinine concept. I should have killed you all when the opportunity presented itself. Tonight I will not grant you the same mercy as I did to the rest of your brothers all those years ago." The Masked Man walked over to his severed arm. He quickly slammed his sword point first into the ground and used his one good arm to pick up the lump of flesh. Smirking, he reattached the severed arm to the still bleeding stump of his left arm. Blood red appendages, wormlike in appearance, burst out from the stump and wrapped around the arm. The worms made a sickening squiggle, burrowing themselves into his arm until they vanished completely. Not even a scar could be seen where the cut was made. Taking a moment he examined the usefulness of his arm by flexing his fingers and moving his reattached arm around testing it.