Changeling Episode 5: Helena (Patreon)

Three years after the Coven agreement.

Helena backed away with careful steps. The fae knight took this as weakness, charging forward with a vicious cry.

They always fell for it, somehow. As her team fought around her, Helena blocked the first thrust with her shield, then her axe met a casual parry. 

The knight’s expression fell when her monstrous strength smashed against the blade, deflecting it despite a poor angle. The void coated head cracked through the chest armor and a few ribs. As the knight fell back with a hiss, Helena focused her meagre strength mana in her legs. Her chest ached.

Almost.

The jump let her close the distance. A water shield formed in front of the fae, his teeth bared and blood-tinged. She crushed it in one blow, gutted him with the second, blocked an arrow, then finished the duel with a downward strike. Her gaze met the archer’s.

The fae warrior ran away, her eyes filled with the promise of vengeance until one of Albert’s bolts hit her in the back. Helena didn’t care. It was happening. She sat in the lotus position with eyes closed while her team quietly took place around her. Her chest was warm and pulsing, just like the textbooks said. It was really happening. 

Helena focused on her core which collapsed on itself, growing to a single point with a little help from Helena herself. All her mana coalesced on her sternum. The sensation was both hot and cold, leaving her shivering. All she had to do was keep focused to accelerate the process.

A little less than five minutes later, it was done. Her team whispered hushed congratulations. 

“Well done. Congrats!”

C-class. Helena was so proud, but she also remembered her father’s advice. Don’t let it get to your head, he’d always say. Nes also talked about hubris. She knew she should take it slow, but there was one thing she wanted to do now. Picking the box left by Moon Dancer, she placed it in front of her.

The box was made of wood so dark it drank the light. Moon Dancer had warned her that she had to wait until C-class because her blood wouldn’t be a perfect match. Well, she was C-class now! With careful hands, Helena opened the box.

Something made of teeth and scales and definitely not made of space exploded out in a hurricane of fractal fangs, violating Helena’s depth perception. The symbiote latched on her. In seconds it had devoured her armor and replaced it with a tight-fitting Skin that didn’t quite reach her feet. The creature purred contentedly before falling into torpor.

“That was wired in not a super good way,” Miu commented.

With barely a request from her mind, Helena had the Skin open to show a tiny black core shining between her breasts. There it was. The core.

“Ahem,” Albert said. “It’s, ah, a tight fit.”

“Eyes up,” Helena ordered with some amusement. Unfortunately, her armor was gone but hey, she still had her shield.

In retrospect it had been a bit of a shit idea to open the package right now and her mom was going to ground her. Even though Helena was legally an adult. Dammit.

“Ok let’s finish this world so I can get myself a replacement. We take it slow and careful.”

Her team glared.

“Shut up.”

***