Festering Desire

By the entangled road leading to the forest, there were several ladies dressed in unique costumes with a tall white headdress and a thin fabric of loincloth over their scantily clad body. They carried large armaments of weapons and stood patiently behind the twins, waiting for the arrival of their lord.

"This is...?" Upon being escorted out of the shrine, the boy gazed curiously at the strange attires on the women aside from the twins.

"They are the sentinels of the forest, tasked with the periodic purging of evil spirits lurking in the mountain." - Yuria

"These were the apparels worn by Miko and her followers during the battle against the demon." - Filia

Leo did not question why the costumes from centuries ago were embellished with so much culture. The way their breasts kneaded in firmness within the sarashi wrap, the scanty nature of the attire that revealed the navel on their slim waist, and the single thin fabric that covered the absolute territory between their bare meaty thighs, all looked pleasantly tempting to his eyes.

Let there be no underestimation to the men of ancients; civilization must be way advanced back then. The boy found a new topic of research for their human culture research club from school. Timmy would be extremely proud.

The edges of the forest were fixed with white sacred ropes embedded with numerous talismans to ward off the evils of the night. If one looked further down, there were long fences set up around the perimeter to prevent any unsuspecting travelers from wandering in. Yet, the effectiveness of both barriers had their limits.

"We will now guide you to the forbidden ground. Heighten your senses and maintain alertness at all times. Do not listen to the foul whispers that will echo in your ears..."

Even if Leo was immune to the curse, the priestess remained cautious with ample warnings to the boy despite her playful nature. Within just several minutes after treading into the forest, the group already encountered several evil spirits emerging from the trees in the form of black miasmas. However, under the broad daylight, the creature seemed to be mostly immobile.

With torrenting haste, the sentinels in erotic clothing quickly disposed of the creatures with enchantment of Anima on their weaponry. The creatures dispersed into black smoke that submerged back to the trees and land in rapid succession.

No one seemed to notice that portions of the dissipated black spirits were being ruthlessly absorbed by the boy. Regardless of the questions in his mind, Leo quite enjoyed the wide movements of the ladies in their combat.

"These foul creatures are fragments of the demon's soul. They prey on all travelers who enter the forest and eventually possess their souls through the same curse that runs through our veins."

Hence, it was the reason why the sentinels contained and eliminated all trespassers to the forbidden ground; those who were not related to the Halfmoon family had weaker resistance to the curse and would easily succumb to madness. From then, they would turn into man-eating beasts and grow stronger the more blood they taste.

"But unfortunately, as the demon and its soul could not be truly destroyed, the dark spiritual energies are simply re-absorbed into the land after eliminating the host, only to be reanimated in another day. It is an accursed cycle." Yuuko continued to explain.

The demon might one day regain its strength and break the seal if left unattended for too long. Thus, it became the responsibility of the Halfmoon family and the shrine maidens to regularly purge out and re-seal the conglomerated souls. However, with Anima resurging throughout the world decades ago, the loading of this task had become even more cumbersome.

The company finally arrived at a large carved out cave near the top of the mountain. Before the entrance, laid a large stone pillar sculpted with dense encryption of runes. On the path circling up the mountain slope, there were two more striking momentums with the same design. These were the three main pillars that were erected by Miko using unknown spells to seal the demon's body.

Before the large wooden gate leading into the cave, dark strips of miasma were slowly pouring out from the seams. They eventually dissipated within the air or sunk into the ground, gradually defiling the land with more wretchedness.

"Yuria and Filia will maintain the barrier. Young master, please head inside with the priestess." The twins stripped their robes and the scripted runes on their bodies glowed in ominous dark light. A secondary barrier was erected by the gate.

Escorted by Yuuko and two of the sentinels, Leo reached the end of the cave and finally witnessed the half dead corpse of the demon chained to the wall. With hooves as its two feet, claws as its two hands and a head of an ox, the demon had an overall large humanoid figure with bulging muscles. Its collar bones were ripped wide open, displaying a crimson red heart tied up by chains.

As of now, the corpse was just a soulless husk. The seals prevented the demon from returning to its body while the dispersed fragments of its soul were trapped on the island. As they cannot escape without its physical medium, they instinctively sought after any host to possess. The unwary tourists and islanders who were normal humans were often their targets.

"Miko herself probably couldn't find a way to kill the demon, that's why she resorted to sealing. Even in this state, whatever damage we dealt to its body, it can immediately regenerate at a frightening speed." The priestess pulled out a knife and mercilessly stabbed into its exposed heart.

Blood viscously flowed out from the wound in inhumane abundance and filled a vessel that had already been placed on the ground. The boy swallowed down his saliva at the sight of his favorite drinks that incited an inexplicable thirst in his body. Just as the vessel was filled to the brim, the open wound on the heart vanished without a trace.

"Just a little sip, ok? We still need the rest to suppress the curse." Yuuko watched the drool escape from Leo's mouth and couldn't bear to deny a growing boy from a hearty feast.

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With the retrieval of the demon's blood completed, the group went on to visit more landmarks within the mountain. At one point, they went inside a dungeon that locked up numerous women that turned into blood thirsting frenzy beasts due to the curse.

Each of them was blindfolded and had chains restraining their limbs. The struggles of some of the women grinding against the metals can be heard from afar. Why were all the inmates female? The question must have run through Leo's mind. It was later explained that the blood used to satiate the curse was ineffective on any man they tried for unknown reasons; hence, all men who were inflicted with the curse by trespassing the forbidden ground were slain without questions for containment.

Apparently, the demon was sexist too, which was understandably so; Leo thought in consideration. He won't want a bunch of men drinking his fluid as well. But indeed, to relieve the curse, one must consume more of the curse. Like an addictive drug, it was a vicious cycle. Perhaps it might have been more inhumane to grant them a quick and painless death from such torment.

The victims of this dungeon were mostly tourists from abroad and other trespassers accumulating over the years. They could not think or speak, living as mindless zombies lusting after blood. It was at this moment; the boy finally understood the weight of his responsibility. Not just the ladies of the family, he must liberate all these innocent women from their sufferings as well.

"The young master is compassionate." - Yuria

"This would have been our fate as well if not for the young master." - Filia

The fate of the Demilune when they succumbed to the curse were much more terrifying than those who weren't born with the demon's blood. A simple cell won't be able to contain the destruction of a top tier Anima user transformed into a monster.

"You will be able to save those poor girls eventually, but for now, let us return to the shrine. There is one last thing for you to see." Yuuko led the boy out of the dungeon.

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At the foot of the mountain and at the back of the shrine, there was an old isolated building surrounded by runic barriers for the purpose of sealing the possessed souls of men. Men possessed by evil have a portion of the demon's spiritual energy within them. It was one method to slowly contain the soul of the demon.

Many years ago, due to the awakening, the evil lurking for eons had grown too strong and escaped the barriers around the mountain. The outbreak of the foul spirits caused a disaster on the island, in which many islanders fell victim to the curse. It was also the day where all the male servants of the family were forcibly sacrificed to prevent the spread of evil.

As a young woman and the newly appointed head of the family, Maria ordered the murder of all accursed frenzied men, brutally slaughtered them all and sealed their possessed souls within the old shrine. Credited to her talent, Maria's ability to utilize the spells of the grimoire saved the family and the whole island from the disaster.

Of course, there was a price to pay for over exhausting her Anima. As a prodigy with the potential to break free of the curse on her own, this was one of the reasons for her eventual death. But her legacy was a great contribution for the family; even to this day, the old shrine was vital in the effort to contain the evil spirits.

In a distance away from the old shrine and hidden from sight behind a tree, a curvy feminine figure silently watched Leo and his company leaving the perimeter after their visit.

"Damn it, who is that kid? He is drawing all of them to the shrine." The woman cursed out and continued to murmur.

"Looks like I will need a distraction..." And there were perfect tools at her disposal.

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