Once more, Ilvir had found himself acting as the vessel for some Corruptive being. He, the absolute greatest of the Order, reduced to some pitiable husk of a man whose only purpose was to act as a host for other beings! An absolute joke of a man, that was for certain...
His entire body shivered as he rose to sit, the ground slick beneath him. Already, he knew that he was naked, unarmed, and currently basking in a sea of Corruptive muck that for some thankful reason hadn't transformed him. He was already feeling an erection coming on at the shifting mass lapping at his skin, the thought of giving in too great to bear; although it was slightly mitigated by the splitting headache.
His hand rose to clutch the side of his face, clenching his eyes shut in an effort to thrust such unholy thoughts out of his mind. To disrespect his deity and the tenet of the Order… he was truly as low as the dragon described him to be. Unworthy of the title of "Paladin."
He was truly fortunate he could still manage to even cast purity magic. Surely that meant the Goddess still saw some merit within his soul. He prayed it to be so.
Squelching footfalls mixed with an unusual noise that appeared to be some sort of squeaking forced Ilvir's maroon eyes to rise sluggishly, meeting a pair of shimmering lavender orbs with white ring-like pupils; violet-scaled reptilian maw exposed from beneath a black hood. Strikingly enough, he noted how it's scales in particular appeared to be rather shiny, akin to the glossy sheen of the Corruptive sludge coating the ground.
"You were that dragon's companion in the library…" The cloaked figure's free hand rose to its jaw, studying him intently. "Your welcome for saving you."
"A-Ah, yes! Thank you… ummm…"
Ilvir trailed off, having expected a much lighter or feminine tone from the figure. Though, he noted how it's voice sounded strangely… distorted? An unusual echo plagued every word.
"Erviel."
"...Erviel, you have my sincerest gratitude." Ilvir nodded sheepishly, hastily rising to his feet; pleasantly surprised at how he stood a few inches taller than his lavender-eyed savior. "You may call me Ilvir."
Now that he saw him closer, he noted how lithe Erviel's frame was, especially when compared to his own stocky build. The substance coating him reminded him of something as well… some sort of new groundbreaking material discovered in Iazaroa called "latex." At least, from what he recalled from his hazy memories.
Though according to Isaac, he'd been in a sort of biological stasis for nearly thirty years… so maybe it wasn't so new anymore.
The sound of shredding cloth tore through his thoughts and snapped him back into reality, gaze falling to the extended hand of his savior; a long strip of black fabric offered, no doubt a result of tearing off the bottom of his cloak.
"Yeah, I understand you were Corrupted and all, but you nearly choked me to death so I'm in a bit of a pissy mood." Erviel remarked flatly, shoving the fabric into his hands. "Now, wrap this around your waist so I don't have to keep looking at that sorry excuse of a dick."
"Oh… r-right." He muttered begrudgingly, wrapping the spare fabric into a makeshift loincloth; genuinely hurt by the hooded figure's words about his manhood, though he did not show it.
The deed done, Ilvir's eyes followed Erviel's form as he strutted along to the whimpering mess that he recognized as being part of those cultists he and Isaac had encountered in the library. The ones who'd captured them both.
Almost as quickly, Ilvir felt his stomach lurch as he took notice of the various torsos separated from waists littering the open chamber wearing a similar garb. Not only had he been basking in Corruptive essence in the nude, he'd been, and was currently standing in a pool of Corruptive innards. Bits and pieces of the demonic armor he'd worn for a short time littered the ground as well, far beyond salvaging at this rate. He was reduced to his magic yet again.
Swallowing down the remainder of whatever food he'd even eaten during his time as a lupine beast, Ilvir steeled himself and trudged along to Erviel's side; whose slim frame kneeled at the cult leader's side.
"If you don't want a blade up your ass, I'd suggest you start talking." Erviel threatened, strengthening the Corruptive bindings with a clench of his fist. "Where did you take that dragon? What was the purpose of that orb?"
"A-As if… I'd a-answer to-"
"I'd take you seriously if your voice wasn't quivering." He mocked upon driving the dagger into the cultist's shoulder, apathetic to Ilvir's horrified expression. "Need I repeat myself? Or would you prefer to lose the entirety of your arm?"
Stifling a howl beneath his mask, the robed figure's clawed hands clenched so tight they pierced the skin of his padded palms. He knew he wasn't in a position of power, more so with the revelation of who he had the luxury of encountering. Not anyone could possess such frightening power, after all.
"V-Very well…" He croaked in reprieve, ceasing all resistance against his captor's bindings. "Sera and... my fellow siblings of Calmach... have taken that dragon to the furthest reaches of this crypt."
"You think I don't already know that?" Erviel growled, driving a fist into the cultist's stomach. "If you think I'm impatient now, keep wasting my time and you'll see how bad these next few minutes can get."
"They have… taken him... north of the obelisk..." He gasped between breaths, chest rising and falling rapidly. "Past that road of darkness… you will come across a sprawling base whose halls are flooded with those who seek the revival of our harbinger... alongside those deemed as obstacles..."
"...And for what purpose? Tell me more."
He couldn't hold in a depraved laugh, fur beneath his mask growing hot with the outburst of spit and air. As it died down, his head shifted to lock eyes with Erviel; the smirk undeniable beneath his mask.
"You are not qualified to gaze into the darkness, dear Ros-"
The cultist's sentence ceased to finish as a spear of Corruptive essence drove through the back of his head to pierce through the eye of his cross-shaped mask, the sight of spurting black fluid enough to make Ilvir's head snap away in revulsion.
"...Let's go." Erviel rose to his feet, adjusting his hood in apathy. "That dragon friend of yours is someone we can't afford to lose. Especially now."
"O-Of course…" Ilvir stammered, running his fingers through his hair with a breath. "Though… was such brutality necessary?"
"You're a Paladin, aren't you?" Erviel's lavender eyes bore into his own maroon gaze as he turned. "Be happy you're still human, cause if you weren't, you'd be a corpse on the floor alongside them."
"Y-Yes… of course, Erviel."
"A quick learner. I like that."
With a lead given, the pair began their trek through the remainder of the chamber in the direction from where the masked cultists had entered; the darkness growing ever thicker. Not a further word was exchanged between the two, mostly out of Ilvir's slight fear of provoking the same wraith instilled upon that cult leader, even if well-deserved.