NTR Quest 50 - Demonkine - Confident Answer (Patreon)

You considered offering a humble, thoughtful answer for a moment but thought better of it. The woman standing in the way of your group was just one girl and better yet, she was on of 'your' kind at this point. On top of all that, you were the True Hero; something that Coda talked about. There was no way for her to reasonably deny you, no matter what you said.
“You know who I am?” The woman nodded, her blonde ears twitching as you spoke.
“Then let us through. Kara lead me to becoming one of you so as payment I'm taking my place at the top. I want to rule in exchange for what was lost along the way without my permission.” Kara was shocked to hear you say that. You offered her a look.
“Is that unfair?” She thought for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
“That's what this has lead up to, right? If I'm leading your Coven then we'll be in a better position to aid Demonkine.”

“I don't disagree completely, but what're you saying?” She whispered at you harshly.

The other fox was unperturbed however. “Okay. You can go, then.” You smiled cockily at Kara and began motioning for the cart to move as your companion planted her face in her palm.
“No.” The girl corrected.
“The other way, turn around and leave.” She pointed with her sword. She adopted a coy little smirk. She did not expect you to leave at all. She was preparing herself subconsciously for you to come at her. It was unfair for you to be tested in such a way after everything you had gone through because of Kara.

You narrowed your eyes. “We're not leaving.”

“Whether you leave this place or leave this world, you're leaving.” She stated with absolute certainty.

“You'd kill the Hero?” You were surprised by the response. The foxes always seemed to respond well to stubbornness, being an inherently stubborn species themselves. You realized that thought answered your question as to why she was not letting you through, however. In a gathering of people that are all very stubborn, you needed something else. Whether that be strength, or a good answer to a simple question. The strength to defeat her was the question that she was answering you with.

“Oh... I get it.” You smiled widely.

“No, I'm genuinely going to kill you and most of the people here if you don't stop.” The girl stated with that same coy smile. The group looked to you and Kara uncertainly. They were all following you out of their own will aside from a few outliers and they had always had confidence in your leadership, so they  were not offering questioning glances, just signs of certainty. Vura, Luire and the Orc were not missing that when they looked to you. She was just one girl.

Kara stood up. “Seriously, Leage!? Why are you doing this? This was LITERALLY part of the plan! Why are you stopping us?”

The girls stared each other down. Leage spoke softly in a way that only you and Kara could hear with your powerful hearing.
“Coda has foreseen many outcomes. This block is a stopgap to determine which Hero we are dealing with. Now that we have narrowed it down from that answer we have been able to determine on Coda's behalf that this hero is not one that should be allowed to reach her. Even if Mother would want him to pass, we have deemed him too wild.” She offered a cocky little shrug.
“Give it another thousand years or so. Let our daughters find another when we have them. In the mean time you can return and take our Mother's place as intended.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Even as close as you are you are just as bitter as Raithe. I know what she wants and she wants the Hero to be with her at the Horn.This is my life's work and it was all on Coda's design so how in the hell are you going to deny me here!?” In response to kara's plea Leage tilted her head to one side and cracked it. Then repeated the same action but in the other direction.

“Oh. You're done complaining?” Leage rolled her shoulder as she spoke cockily towards Kara.
“You've wasted your life because this operation was a failure. Coda is not infallible. Our judgment is that the Hero should not pass.”

“Bullshit!”

You sighed and hopped off the cart. “Normal formation. It's just one girl. Right?” You looked to Kara to make sure that there was no ambush waiting. She nodded reluctantly, but still seemed worried.
“Alright. Let's go. Advance slowly while pinning her with arrows. Surround her then occupy her with multiple attacks to keep her attention until we're eventually able to strike a disabling blow.” You glance over to the orc.
“Malik, if you help you can have her after.” In response to that he seemed mildly interested.

“Wait wait, this needs more pl-” Kara spoke a second too late.

Luire had adjusted the way she held her bow due to the addition of two heavy breasts on her chest. She obediently pulled the string and released a suppressive fire of arrows in the direction of Leage. You expected her to have to raise her shield or focus on them, but instead she took careful steps out of each arrows way. At one point when it looked like she could not avoid getting his she casually angled her body so that some bounced off of her shield and her raised sword, which barely moved. She was moving through the suppression towards Vura, who was advancing as planned.

“What do we do, Hero?” The Vura asked, raising her own shield and sword.

“Keep her occupied!” You looked to Kara.
“What is it? What's the problem? How strong is she?”

Kara gritted her teeth. “It's not how strong she is, it's what's backing her.”

As she spoke Leage stepped very awkwardly into Vura's space and with odd movements she seemed to change her mind millisecond-by-millisecond, all the while dodging swings within Vura's range. Finally Leage picked a moment and a spot while dodging a strike from Vura and dove her sword downward through the woman's collarbone and into her chest. The fox pulled her bloody sword free and pushed the lifeless Vura off and to the ground before centering hr gaze on Luire. You gulped. Kara had explained it to you in the moments that the fight lasted as best she could but you still could not quite grasp it unless you saw it.

“No!” Luire gasped, renewing her barrage.

“Everyone keep your distance!” You shouted. The girl named Leage was something known as a Soul Protector. The Coven could only adequately maintain one and it was a life charge due to the training required. Behind the girl was the full force of half the Coven accurately predicting in a localized area every move that Leage's opponents could make. But that would not be enough.The other half processed that information and worked together moment to moment to narrow it down to the most accurate couple of options before suggesting the perfect reaction or action, all within barely a fraction of a second. Behind the blonde fox was a legion of analysts.
“Why didn't you tell me about this?” You questioned angrily. Vura, someone who you had managed to protect for so long looked to have died instantly. The blow was so precise and quick.

“I didn't think it would be a thing!” Kara stated defensively.
“This is what we were supposed to do, I thought we'd be welcome... I didn't think they would go rogue...” She offered sadly.

“Okay, so what do we do?” You looked over and saw Luire grabbing another quiver. The mages and Malik were joining in as well, which caused the fox to finally have to actually use her shield to dissipate their magical attacks. Sparks flew off from Leage's equipment but it seemed unharmed.

“She's almost as strong as me in the forest and she has the backing of the Coven. This is way outside what I expected to have to face.” Kara complained.

As Leage began moving with intent towards the group you grunted and began running off into the woods past the fox. If you expected to get a lead on her, she began moving at the same time in the same direction perpendicular to you. She was on a collision course but had to correct as another hail of arrows came at her from behind and stuck into the tree that would have been her if they had hit. Kara then stepped in and stood in her path.
“This isn't going to end well for you.” Leage advised.
“I can't get overwhelmed. I'm 'connected' to every rank and file member of the coven. Their power and judgment is mine.” She smiled.
“That's why I know this is right. I'm the walking vox populi.” She spoke loudly enough that everyone could hear.
“It's useless!”

“You don't know that.” As Kara said that the fox laughed, as though it was a very good joke. Kara shouted past her.
“Get to the Horn!” With that demand Leage did seem annoyed.
“She can't get overwhelmed but she can be slowed.”

“I'll get to you eventually.” She growled after you.

* * *

As you got closer to the huge, black mountain you saw the ways in which it angled oddly near the tip and the odd patterns in it's face. Extending out from it's base were long, vast hills that stretched on for a mile before eventually disappearing into the ground. The city itself was nestled between two of them on the far side. You slowed for just a moment to look upon it with awe. You were startled by a voice next to you.

“It's a tree!?” She repeated your thoughts sarcastically while covering her mouth. She was close enough to practically be talking in your ear. You jumped back, startled.
“Well, it was.” She answered.
“THE Tree.” The woman that spoke almost directly into your ear looked like Raithe.

“You?”

“Me? Oh, I guess you preferred...” She shifted to look more like Kara before she absorbed her Sister's Core.

“Who are you?” You demanded, glancing between her and the base of the tree that held a giant keep beneath it's roots. It seemed to be a larger version of the den the Raithe had.

“I'm all of them. Because they all came from me. But we've met before so you should know.” She offered cryptically. The woman in Kara's shape reached forward with a smile disarming enough to allow her to take your head. Your tail wagged gently as she took it and began leading you towards the keep at the base of the Horn.

“Coda?” As you said that she snapped her fingers and grew slightly taller. The shift of her features and the simple lengthening and deepening of the red in her hair put into perspective just how much Kara and her looked alike.

“That's right.” She spoke again after that, a mockery of your thoughts.
“Why are your people turning us away at the last moment?” You nodded, as that voiced your main concern.
“Can I not stop my own people from acting on their own?” She thought for a moment.
“No. I can't, for the most part. They have their own ideas. That is why Raithe put her trust in D'jir and why the rest trust themselves. Kara, for all her faults, was the only one to put her trust purely in me.”

“How can they have their own ideas about what should happen with the Coven? Aren't you the best at seeing the paths?” You asked after finally being able to ask your own questions without her soft voice mocking it as an intermediary.

“All of the conclusions we draw from the paths converge upon similar outcomes because we deal in numbers. It is far more boring than anyone would let on. That is the flaw in our sight. We look to probability too much to trust the smaller chances.” Coda smiled widely.
“Like 'wasting' hundreds of years searching for a one and a million human being.”  She winked at you.
“That one was one of mine, by the way. Of all the places you could've arrived at you came to me. That being said, the path you took to arrive here put you through many troubles. It defined you in probability as one that would lead to my downfall.” She sighed deeply and patted your hand with hers as she held it.
“They are worried that you are a threat. All likelihood points to that being the case and the last little stopgap only solidified that in their minds.”

“So I failed a test?”

She shook her head. “This is as much a test for me. I'm facing uncertainty for the first time with you here.” You looked at her quizzically as she said that. You got the sense that she was being very literal.
“It happened once before. The feeling of being with someone that can change your fate is exhilarating and terrifying to someone like me that plays at gambling on the future. All likelihood and all probability... All sense goes out the window.” She shrugged her delicate shoulders. Coda stared up in thought.
“I suppose the test was... a misguided attempt at wresting control from chaos, but it had it's uses.”

“One of my friends is dead.” You said flatly.

“I'm sorry about that. I do care about humans” You bristled at her very mild condolences.

“Your daughter is fighting Leage to the death back there... Don't you think you should stop this?”

“They are both my daughters, but I understand your point. I wish I could But only you can end this.” She stopped in front of you, just before the entrance. She looked at you, eyeing you up and down.
“I would like to have your body. Your ability to change fate. That is what this was all for. My gamble to stay alive for another Ten-thousand years. I missed my chance with Tintamere, and here I am dying. So it is just you.”

You pulled your hand from hers and stared daggers at her. “You're admitting it?”

“I've been alive since ascension, so I don't have regrets but I want to live longer or at least try. Can you fault me for that?”

“I... Guess not? But you can't have my body.” You asserted strongly.

Coda smiled. “But here's the trick. Your friends and Kara are probably not going to make it unless my daughter's are satisfied. They want to protect me from you.” She raised three fingers.
“Two options: We can join amicably. I will even be gentle. I will do my best to keep part of you alive inside of the new 'me.' The second option is for you to make it hard. It is likely that everyone, including Kara will die in the struggle and you will disappear completely. I don't like that option because it is so destructive and pointless.”

“You're describing a lose-lose.”

“For you it has to be. I feel as though the decision is obvious, 'Hero.'”