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A certain sage once said that when a person appears in history whose seemingly inevitable fate is death, in reality, things will be even worse for that person. I managed to see for myself, firstly, the truth of these words, and secondly, that when you are feeling bad, there is always someone who is feeling much worse.
I clearly remembered how our 606th battalion took an active part in military operations on the northern front, and then was transferred to the west to carry out a covert operation on the territory of the Larian Republic. Our task was to capture the great-grandson of Sonata Reim Cassius — the then-chancellor of that country. Whether this mission was successful or not, I do not know, for before that, my stomach had become acquainted with an enemy burst of automatic fire. As the last of my life force ebbed away, I still managed to make out the enemy's appearance... Romeo Hellsward, it seems we truly were bound by fate. With a final effort of will, I clutched my Makerat in my hands and fired a shot straight into his head. As I was dying, the headless body of my classmate Anelotta fell into my peripheral vision. Judging by the charred pieces of flesh and caked blood, she had been caught by an exploding shell at a distance incompatible with life. What a pity — she had a somewhat unpleasant personality, but she was also a good girl in her own way, with her whole life ahead of her. It seems that neither she nor I will be able to see the world that Her Majesty strives for...
As I lowered my eyelids, I did not expect to open them again, and yet it happened. I found myself in the middle of some well-appointed dungeon. It was quite clean here, but what caught the eye were the strange symbols drawn on the floor. Had I been taken prisoner? Perhaps the floor had collapsed during the operation?.. All these questions quickly vanished from my head when I saw five naked men approaching with meat swords at the ready. This terrible sight restored my clarity of thought instantly. I grabbed Fiammael lying beside me, jumped to my feet, and swung at one of the villains, but due to an inexplicable heaviness in my body, I accomplished nothing — five healthy men knocked me to the ground, intending to satisfy their lust against my will. "Stop," I shouted, resisting five pairs of hands, as if not realizing my own position in the situation, "I don't want my first time to be with ugly old men!" Amazingly, upon hearing these words, they stopped. Their eyes held a mixture of disappointment and exaltation. I had not a shadow of doubt that it was not my refusal that stopped them from doing what they intended to do to me. Minutes later, an unfamiliar woman appeared before my eyes.
"Welcome to the coven of passion, dear. My name is Dakini, and from now on your life is in my hands," she told me. Having no ability to resist, I had to submit. I was forced to eat a certain diet and given unknown medications. I was also allocated a place in one of the rooms where I was henceforth to live. When I saw the face of my roommate, I nearly choked on my own surprise. I could not fail to recognize her. The name of this woman was often mentioned on the pages of history textbooks. She was the eleventh empress of the Reimian Empire and the first woman to inherit that title. It was because of her that a civil war occurred in the empire and the course of world history changed. Nevertheless, given our position, these details did not prevent us from getting to know each other and even growing close. Thanks to her, I learned that I had ended up in another world. Probably, if not for her, I would never have believed it. She told me that the coven of passion was engaged in summoning attractive men and women from other worlds to satisfy the lust of its members. What foolishness... Such powerful sorcery, and for such purposes?.. During our conversations, I also learned that she had spent a full thirty-five years in this coven. In addition to daily violence, Dakini's mad accomplices conducted various experiments on her. For example, from her bodily fluids they managed to derive a very strong aphrodisiac, later named "Sonatin." Over time, however, they learned to use other ingredients to achieve the same result, but the name remained the old one. As a result of the experiments, my roommate became infertile, but in return she first received eternal youth, and then immortality. Even when they cut off her limbs, gouged out her eyes, or submerged her in a tank of acid — after some time she would fully heal. And all this continued for thirty-five years... It would be an understatement to say that I did not wish such a fate for myself, not in the slightest.
A month later, when Dakini decided that I was "ready" for the "coven to enjoy me," I was brought to the main hall. There I was stripped, and around me gathered at least several dozen naked men, each looking at me with hungry eyes. When they all began to approach me, I had a hysterical fit. I begged everyone I could for help — great-grandfather Cadmius, Romeo, Bert... Her Majesty, and even His Majesty, whose sword had moved to this terrible world along with me. When I spoke his name, Fiammael appeared in my hands, and driven by a rage previously unknown to me, I began to cut through my captors as if through thickets, piercing flesh and severing limbs that tried to stop me. Finding the exit, I... gritted my teeth and returned back to rescue my roommate.
Having left this nightmare place, we found ourselves not just in a foreign country, but in a foreign world, and moreover there was not a soul around, only a wasteland. So that I would not die of hunger, my companion forced me to eat her flesh, arguing that it "would grow back anyway." At first I resisted as best I could, but when hunger became unbearable, I finally yielded to the primal instinct of self-preservation. After several weeks of travel, we stumbled upon some kind of workshop. Its owner, who introduced himself as Krait Adalbert, offered us shelter and a warm meal. Due to the lack of alternatives, we had to agree. We lived with him for a couple of months, helping around the house. For me, it was a good time compared to recent experience, but one day I discovered that he had been giving us shelter in exchange for my companion's body. Remembering everything she had been through in the coven of passion, I was seized by immense fury, and I told the craftsman everything I thought of him. He got angry, called me an "ungrateful bitch," and began to recite some spell. My companion pushed me out of the spell's line of fire, but was hit by it herself, as a result of which her spirit and body were sealed into one of the craftsman's dolls. In rage and fear, I killed him, but the curse was not dispelled. Taking the doll, I set off again, but this time hunger took its toll and I lost consciousness. I was saved from death by Gaheris Bors, but by that point my emotions were already blocked, and my consciousness had become obsessed with three things: lifting the curse from the "doll," destroying the coven of passion, and reclaiming my family heirloom.