53 Illusions

Ash walked with fierce determination through the barrier to the swamp. It's not that this swamp was not horrifying, the reptiles in the swamp were enough to make any person or spider shiver. She was determined because only by placing her lovers skeletal hand on the alter would she feel like Dark had not died in vain. If they could complete his holy mission, it would be the best send off he could get.

She could sense the presence of spiders in swamp, though it was obvious that they lacked a queen. Their movements were independent, and their numbers far too lacking. The instinctively shied away from her, not wanting to approach her. She knew that the other students would not be so lucky, these spiders were hungry, and they were getting tired of eating mosquitos and the occasional snake.

Beside her lily walked in step with her, only by being close would Ash's presence help deter the insects and arachnids. In her right hand she carried Darks skeletal hand, holding it, as one would hold the hand of a lover as they took a leisurely stroll. "You truly loved him" Ash couldn't help but ask aloud.

Lily nodded as she walked, her eyes forward wary of the looming danger. "He was my everything, I wouldn't even be alive without him. He did not hesitate to rush into certain death to save me, even when the consequences were severe. He sacrificed everything for me, for us. How could I not love him? But it's more than that. His smile sends butterflies through my being, his touch is an aphrodisiac. His arms feel like home."

Ash grinned "I can certainly understand the aphrodisiac part. I wish it was that simple for me. I can't say that I love him, more like I need him. I am dependent on him. Not him as a person, him as the spider king. I need the embrace of the king, I want the embrace of the king. And I will destroy anything that gets in the way." Her eyes shined with passion as she spoke, but a goofy smile on her face."

"I'm pretty sure that's part of love"

"No, its instinct. It's the spider queen calling out to her mate. I mean yes I enjoy his company, and I love it when he laughs, but the feeling I was talking about is much more primal, animalistic in nature. It's a basic need that only he can satisfy. It didn't even exist until He evolved."

The girls' conversation was cut short by the arrival of a group of venomous snakes. Their eyes glowing red as they slithered towards they prey that had so thoughtfully walked into their territory. A relatively larger snake lifted its body off the ground, its head reaching the height of the girls as it stared at its prey. Its mouth abruptly opened, shooting out a bullet of venom, the other snakes followed, shooting a hail of venomous bullets at the girls, leaving behind sizzling holes through their corpses.

The snakes advances on their prey, their movements sluggish as they approached the two dying girls. A look of hunger could be seen in their eyes as the leading snake attempted to swallow Ash hole, unopened its mouth, its jaw unhinged as it swallowed her dying corpse. The other snakes rushed to the remaining body, trying to get their fill from the left overs.

Blood gushed everywhere as a small wire like thread cut through the horde of snakes, killing all of them. Several feet away Ash and Lily appeared, Lily was pouting as she looked at Ash. "I wasn't done feeding yet"

Ash shuddered "I was getting the creeps watching them eat my body, even if it was just an illusion."

"You're no fun."

"Its a shame that Floe got reassigned, it would have been fun to see her reaction."

"They tried reassigning us too, we just flat out rejected them, she did not have that luxury."

The scene repeated several times throughout the morning, the girls did not even bother to pick up the dropped cores from these weak beasts. The cores were Assassin type, but Ash had no interest in such a weak core.

As the day dragged on, afternoon approached. The groups of the marksman snakes began to grow larger, but they stood no chance against Lily's potent illusions, and Ash's venomous web. Hundreds of the beasts had fallen to the pair.

With a grim look they approached the more liquid than solid swamp. They had passed the outer barrier, and truly stepped into the swamp. In the distance they could hear the shouting of other students, and the buzzing of swarms of mosquitoes.

"Well it looks like our adventure really begins now" ash thought aloud.

"Let's show those bastards that we are more than just pretty faces. The look in their eyes when we refused to join other groups infuriated me, implying that we were dead women."

A grim silence fell over the two as the walked into the swamp. Ashes boots sunk deep into the mud under the stagnant water. Behind her, Lily focused her Dark resonance ability to the max, detecting any unseen enemies under the water. This very skill was how they had advanced as far as they did, avoiding the ambushes of the marksman snakes.

They had previously worked out their team work, they had no tank, or a front man of any sort, so Lily would detect the enemy and use her powerful illusions to distract them, while Ash went in for the kill with her venomous threads. The threads cut through flesh like a knife through butter, they only worried about when they got deep into the swamp. The large reptiles they would gave there would take much longer to kill, they would not fall to a simple ambush strike that they were using.

Ash's boot struck something hard, much harder than the mud she had been stepping into. She lost her balance, falling into the mud, as the ground underneath her shifted. Lily grabbed her by the shoulder dragging her away as a giant snake emerged from the swamp. It had perfectly camouflaged into the surroundings, despite its massive size. Two large red eyes stared at the girls, as its tongue flickered through the air, tasting the presence of the girls.

"My illusions won't work on this one!" Lily cried as she became captivated by the gaze of the snake, quickly loosing focus as it slithered towards her. A sense of calmness entered her body as the snake approached. The snake began to morph as it approached, its reptilian body becoming more human with each inch it moved.

The snakes body had shrunk down, it was not a deadly constrictor that was looking at her, it was the love of her life. Dark was looking at her, becoming for her to come to him, to come into her embrace. Lily stepped towards him instinctively as her lover beckoned to her to come with his left hand. That beautiful left hand that matched his skin tone.

In the back of her Mind Lily felt that something was not right as she advanced towards Dark. His mere presence cast out all other thoughts and needs. All she needed was him.

Her hand started to ache, the one holding a skeletal hand. Black and red essence began to spiral around her hand, biting into her flesh. She tried to let go, but she couldn't. The skeletal hand gripped onto her, the boney appendages digging into her flesh. She looked towards Dark, sending a pleading look into his red snake like eyes.

A thought crossed her mind as she stopped approaching her lover. The pain from her bleeding hand giving him a moment of respite. "Dark does not have snake like Eyes" she thought "he is a humanoid spider, snakes like this, all demonic beasts, are his prey."

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the imposter in front of her. Her illusionary powers rotating at max as she created a double of herself. Super imposed on her, as she turned herself invisible. She slowly backed up, hiding her movements through the water with her illusions, using her dark resonance to find Ash.

It did not take long, ash was close, only 10 feet away as she looked on in horror as the giant constrictor advanced on her friend, its mouth opening wide as it went to swallow her.

Ash felt a hand on her mouth, and smelled the familiar scent of her friend lingering on her. She relaxed, realizing what was going on, she began to move in sync with Lily. Lily hid their presence and disguised their movements as Ash began to cast her web.

Venomous threads surrounded the beast, slowly constricting the distracted beast. The snake roared as hundreds of threads bit into its flesh, drawing tighter against it. Blood began to pour from its various wounds as green poisonous essence invaded its body.

The snakes struggled, thrashing its self around, lifting Ash from the ground and splashing her down several times. Its actions were pointless, as the movement only caused the threads to. Dig in deeper, slicing the snake into pieces. With a laugh Ash announced "it looks like we found a suitable core for you doll."