"Ow..."

Kureha Touka slowly sat up from her rocky bed and used one hand to massage a sore spot on her lower back as she winced. The long yellow sleeves of her vibrant shrine maiden dress sprawled across the floor of the cave like curtains as she sat with her arms at her sides, and the elegant white ribbon knotted on the left side of her head was somewhat misshapen from her recent fall. The female archer's sparking brown eyes soon peered upward to study the collapsed hole above her. Moments earlier, she had been exploring the upper level of these caverns with her party. Unexpectedly, she had stepped on a fragile patch of ground and was shocked to find the floor suddenly give out under her baggy white boots. She was now separated from her friends, but her worries were dispelled with the knowledge that they were looking for a path to the lower cavern she had landed in to rejoin her.

She was surprised to find her light wooden bow on the ground beside her undamaged from the fall. She then lifted it into one hand before rising to her feet. After verifying she hadn't sprained or broken anything in the collapse, she brushed a fine film of gray stone dust off of her brown miniskirt and her bare knees. Her head turned about to survey her new surroundings, and she soon decided to explore the narrow path directly in front her in an attempt to reach the same destination the rest of her party was heading toward.

After quietly walking through the cave for several minutes, Kureha could hear the sound of a distant underground lake echoing between the stone walls around her. This sparked peaceful memories of the glittering springs Kureha used to purify herself before each adventure. Although she had enough sense not to take a break in the middle of what she knew was a monster-infested cavern, the sound gave her something to think about other than cold air and subterranean darkness in her loneliness. When she finally reached the source of this noise, however, she found something that didn't quite match her expectations.

"Eww!"

Kureha used the thumb and index finger of her free hand to squeeze her nostrils shut. She was now standing on a bridge-like rock formation overlooking an unearthly version of an underground hot spring. The pool glowed with a faint but ominous purple aura, and the warm steam rising from the water gave off an awful stench. The young priestess had heard stories of places like this during her journeys. Some said these springs were where goblins went to wash their filthy bodies after a day of pillaging, while others thought this must have been where succubi went to rejuvenate themselves after a lust-filled night. Whatever purpose this structure served, Kureha knew it probably didn't bode well for her if she so much as stuck her toes in. With nimble legs, she continued crossing the narrow bridge, determined to find the comrades she had been separated from.

Suddenly, Kureha stopped in place on the center of the archway when she was taken aback by a new sound. From the pathway further in front of her, she could hear the howling voices of what sounded like a small army of orcs charging toward her.

"Not good."

After muttering under her breath, she grit her teeth for battle and extended her empty hand into the air. In a flash of yellow light, a single delicate arrow appeared in her slender fingers. She took aim toward the mob that soon appeared in the pathway and killed the lead tribesman in a single shot. She gracefully backstepped as she summoned more arrows in a similar fashion and downed each monster as they rushed across the narrow structure in single file. This tactic worked to Kureha's advantage for a while, but the battle fell from her favor where a second parade of angry warriors suddenly entered the room and began charging the bridge from the opposite side.

Kureha now rapidly alternated her shots as she was surrounded on both sides of the precarious arch. The enemy forces were now pouring from every opening in the spring's chamber faster than Kureha could spawn her mystical arrows. The fight seemed to be a lost cause at the moment, but she didn't give up hope. She was convinced the sounds of battle would be more than enough to catch the attention of the other members of her party, wherever they were, and her rescue would be inevitable. Until that time would come, she did her best to block the orcs' advances on her own. Unfortunately, her best would not be enough.

The archer girl sharply turned to make her next attack, but found her efforts halted by an orc that had reached melee range. She dropped her current arrow and took her ornate wooden bow into both hands to strike the beast with her own close-range maneuver. Her swing missed, though, and she was left open for attack. The wind was knocked out of her by a sharp blow from the orc's crude club. It was not enough to wound her, but it caused her to lose her footing and stagger backwards. Her bow flew from her fingertips as the heels of her boots slipped off the edge of the stalagmite bridge, sending her into a backwards freefall a split second later. With a short, frantic cry followed by a loud splash, Kureha dropped into the unholy dip below.

Hey, this isn't so bad...

Kureha silently thought to herself as the underground lake's malevolent aura engulfed her. She wasn't expecting such an unsightly place to feel so warm and comforting. The scent wasn't even all that terrible up close, as it now conveyed a flower-like aroma. As she made no resistance and allowed herself to sink deeper into the water, her mind drifted into subconscious memories of the first time she could feel herself growing in her mother's belly. She even thought of taking a short nap as she was overcome by a sudden weariness, and she gradually surrendered to her heavy eyelids.

Then she remembered where she was. With a new spark of energy, she began thrashing her bare legs and paddling her robed arms in a desperate struggle to swim to the surface of the water. She had to get out of this impure place. She had to reach dry land before it was too late. No matter how hard she tried, though, she only kept sinking into warm blackness. It was as if the water itself had arms that were yanking her ankles deeper and deeper into their nest. When her lungs could take no more, she finally exhaled in a large gulp and suddenly felt the cave's haunted waters rush down her throat.

The orcs watched curiously as the last of a short pillar of bubbles floated to the surface of the spring. After a few moments of silence, the sound of water gently being sloshed about could be heard coming from near a large rock that ramped downward into the lake. Kureha quietly emerged from this spot and began taking slow, sultry steps through the shallow water. When her white boots touched the dry ground, she let out a tiny giggle and tilted her head back to dry her long, wavy brown hair of some of the clear, oily water dripping from it. The same water now glossed the bare skin of her legs and shoulders, but the cold air of the cave never made her shiver. As she listened to the orcs loudly celebrate their win, she didn't seem to mind how her soaked robes now clung to her curvaceous frame in a rather scandalous manner, and only barely blushed when she noticed her low-cut yellow dress was slowly slipping from her bosom. She casually raised her arms and adjusted her wet robe so it covered her more modestly, then turned her head to a single soldier calling down to her from the bridge in a gruff voice.

"Hey babe, are you alright?"

She turned her full attention to this speaker before answering with a cheerful smile and a simple polite nod. She was glad her new friends were enjoying their much-deserved victory, and she did nothing to impede their vulgar whistles and catcalls. She felt pity for those who she had impulsively slain moments earlier, but she looked forward to helping the remaining orcs through their suffering later that night.

When the mob died down and returned to their dens, Kureha was left alone on the cavern beach pondering her next course of action. Her decision was made when she heard voices of her former allies vaguely echo from one of the cavern's exits.

"Kureha, are you down here? Kureha!"

Her brown eyes narrowed in malice toward the sound of the intruders. She then silently extended one of her still dripping arms to her side, and a heavy black bow appeared in her hand after a short flash. Now armed, she spawned a twisted black arrow that matched the new weapon in her opposite hand. She carefully pricked the tip of her finger on the arrowhead, coating the projectile with a single droplet of lethal poison, before moving to a different spot in the glowing cave to give herself a clearer aim. Kureha wanted to defend her new home from these foolish trespassers, and she prepared herself for a fight to the death before they arrived.