Stepping out into the pale moonlight that bathed the courtyard of Dracula's castle, Yoko Belnades, a powerful witch and one of the only living humans in Dracula's castle, felt her shoulders untense as she passed through the protective barrier that made this tiny corner of the cursed castle a safe haven.  Although she kept up an unflappable front and was experienced in fighting monsters, the sheer scale of what she was facing investigating the castle was exhausting, and she had made the trip back to rest and regain her energy before further pursuing Graham, the cult leader she suspected had big plans for this castle.

"Oh, Miss Yoko! Welcome back!" called Mina Hakuba, the redheaded shrine maiden who had been unfortunate enough to be caught up in the eclipse that had transported her and several others to Dracula's castle, trapped within an eclipse after the final defeat of Dracula in 1999. Kept safe behind a protective barrier, she had little choice but to sit, wait, and worry about Soma, her childhood friend caught up in a grander destiny than he ever could have foreseen. Yoko waved back and smiled, acting as if she hadn't had dozens of close shaves with death since the two had last seen each other.

"Will you be staying long?" Mina asked, rising from her crouched position, some paper and an ink brush in her hands.

"Just long enough to catch my breath." Yoko smiled cooly. Even if she had been worried, she certainly wouldn't let it show and stress out this poor girl even more. Ever the worrier, her show of confidence wasn't enough to assuage the girl from looking concerned anyway, but at least it didn't make it any worse, and she returned to finishing writing on her thin paper before carefully placing it on the ground before her. Yoko raised an eyebrow at the curious ceremony she was carrying out, a combination of placed paper talismans and a half-drawn magic circle in a pattern she didn't recognise.

"Now what are you up to over there? I'm not too familiar with Shintoism, but I know preparations for a spell when I see it." The blonde witch crossed her arms casually, Mina blushing a little.

"Oh, it's nothing really, I just thought I might try to help out a little. You know, with what I can." Mina said with an awkward laugh, the two of them knowing that Mina's experience as an omnyouji or shamanism in general was next to none. She knew a handful of ceremonies, but had no practical experience using them. As she shouldn't, Yoko though to herself, looking at the peaceful girl who couldn't hurt a fly. Just what had she come up with, then?

"Whatever it is, I certainly hope you don't intend on leaving this sanctuary." Yoko said, her tone implying that Mina was not to take one step away from safety without her permission.

"Oh no, of course not! Soma and Mr. Arikado said not to leave under any circumstances. Even if Mr. Hammer comes and goes as he pleases." Mina hurried to clarify. "I was just going over my miko training, and remembered something that might help Soma."

"Go on." Yoko's curiosity was piqued.

"Well, Soma came by recently and he said that no matter how many times he defeats the monsters in this castle, they all come back by the time he returns, over and over."

Yoko nodded. "That's the power of this castle, even with its master gone. Monsters will revive endlessly, hence why it was sealed away."

"And then I remembered a ceremony that's meant to help lost spirits re-enter the cycle of reincarnation!" Mina said, her eyes lighting up, eager to be useful for once. "If I perform it, maybe those monsters will pass on instead of coming back to life!"

"Sounds interesting." Yoko smiled. "Sure, why not give it a shot? Omnyouji helped seal this castle in the first place, after all. I don't know how effective it'll be casting it here, but I'm sure Soma will appreciate any help he can get."

Mina looked extremely pleased with Yoko's reinforcement, and finished scrawling on her current talisman.

"Well, do you think you could place this over here for me? It'll go much faster with the two of us..."

A few minutes later the two were ready, having assembled an elaborate drawn circle with various implements Mina had cobbled together from what had come from the shrine with and what she had on hand, looking satisfied with her handiwork, and as far as Yoko could tell, had done quite a tidy job of it.

"Well, here I go!" Mina took a deep breath, closing her eyes and starting to chant quietly, Yoko stepping back, curious as to what would happen. The circle started glowing, spiritual energy swirling around the shrine maiden in her red and white uniform, her hands held together as the magic spread across the castle. Far-off and oblivious to what was happening, Soma cut a bloody path through the monsters of the castle, and their souls, usually either being drawn into his dark power for him to command or simply swirling around the body left over, soon to regain enough power to rematerialise, began to instead be pulled towards Mina and Yoko. It wasn't long before Yoko saw the souls visibly pass through the barrier and into the circle, purified by Mina and ready to return as ordinary humans somewhere in the world.

However, Yoko quickly saw that something was wrong. The pale souls, rather than dispersing or vanishing, began to circle around Mina, Yoko's eyes widening as one entered her body. However, Mina showed no signs of possession, simply continuing her endless chant, although she soon began to shift a little. She felt strange, but put it down to the fact that this was the first real magic she had ever done in her life, and Yoko had mentioned that it used up the caster's energy. Surely this was nothing unusual, right?

More souls entered her body, and Mina's uniform began to feel a little tight around the waist. But with her baggy outfit, it was impossible to tell what was going on until it was far too late. Mina let out a small gasp as her increasingly tight belly started to push out the fabric around it, her chanting faltering, and her hands began to undo her belt, desperate for relief. All of her discomfort was centred around her mid-section, but she felt better immediately after releasing her tied belt, enough to continue even as she started to feel strangely heavy until finally Yoko realised what was happening.

"Mina, that's enough!" Yoko called urgently, Mina's eyes snapping open and immediately looking down, gasping as she saw that her belly had pushed out the white fabric of her uniform until she looked almost nine months pregnant, and seemed to be growing more and more by the second. She saw a spirit directly enter her belly, causing it to surge outwards until she looked pregnant with triplets, her legs forced apart to keep her balance as she wrapped her hands around it in disbelief.

"W-What's happening to me!?" Mina exclaimed, frozen in place with more souls filling her by the second. She moaned, her pants dropping to the floor as they could no longer contain her quad-sized belly, an enormously gravid sphere thrusting outwards from her petite body. The white top half was large enough to form a makeshift dress, but it was clear that it wouldn't be enough to cover her forever. Meanwhile up top, her normally flat chest began to push out the thick top she wore, her breasts rapidly filling with milk and growing bigger than Yoko's considerable bust, enough to be visible to any casual observer.

"I should have known this would happen!" Yoko grit her teeth, feeling like an idiot for not realising why her spell was fundamentally flawed to begin with. "This whole castle is sealed in the eclipse specifically to stop anything from escaping, there's nowhere for the souls to go to reincarnate except you!"

"I'm pregnant!? Why are they growing so fast?" Mina was shocked, but soon felt a kick to confirm that she was filled to the brim with babies, her belly sticking out several feet in front of her.

"They're trying to come back to life the way they always have!" Yoko guessed. "Mina, get out of that circle!"

"I can't!" She moaned, collapsing to her knees and desperately clutching her belly, swelling until she looked pregnant with octuplets. Her pale flesh was starting to emerge from under her baggy top, Mina panting desperately as she looked totally overwhelmed. Yoko reached in to pull her out, but stepping into the circle was a huge mistake in and of itself. The many spirits saw that they had a second host, and Yoko groaned and doubled over as almost a dozen spirits that had been waiting their turn to enter Mina filled her all at once, Yoko's belly surging outwards like an inflating balloon that burst her thin belt and caused her to to sink to the ground, unable to carry her sudden weight.

"I didn't want to have kids yet!" Yoko moaned, blowing up to be as big as Mina, her dress popping open and her bra snapping to let her breasts and belly spill out the two having bellies large enough to fit each other in if they curled up. Lacking the strength to stand and with no idea what spell could help, Yoko started clawing at the ground around them, tearing up talismans and trying to scratch off the circle Mina had drawn. Luckily, before the two could swell much bigger, looking like they had at least twelve babies each within them, the light faded, and the last of the souls rushed to enter them before they dispersed back into the castle, the two's belly growth slowing to a halt, and then only gently pulsing with the occasional kick.

"Is it over?" Mina panted, looking dazed and totally out of it. Her white top was stained slightly, her milky breasts starting to lactate as it was clear that they were as big as her head, Yoko's melons reaching a similar size and sagging down to rest on her overcrowded womb.

"I think so. Can you stand?" Yoko wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling too ashamed of herself for ending up the same as her to chide Mina on her failed idea.

"I don't think so."

"Me neither." Yoko sighed. "So much for my investigation..."

"A-are we going to give birth now?" Mina asked nervously, rubbing her sensitive belly. It wasn't a bad feeling, honestly, even if she was too heavy to stand, or do anything but crawl away from the circle and try to find a more comfortable position to be burdened in.

"I don't think so. Not for a while, anyway." Yoko said, lying back, utterly exhausted. "Soma's in for a real surprise when he gets back..."